Jay Null said:
Back in 1996, just 2 years after getting a Windows 95 machine, my father decided to upgrade the graphics to a whopping 16-bits of colour depth. (My, Lords of the Realm II never look'd so good.) Well, we received a large demo-disk that launched into a huge (for the time) first-person game selector, a great mother-ship. But all this is wonderfully irrelevant.
Dude, I had the exact same thing back then. Played the hell out of the Bevis and Butthead demo, really wanted to get the full game(still do). Did you know, when in the FP demo selection, you could throw coins by pressing some key, and if you throw them into a specific wall a door will open into a hidden area with a few more game demos? Accidentally learned that by bouncing them off walls for fun. Realistic physics in first person perspective in the mid 90s? The selection was more fun than most of the demos. Anyone who knows what I'm talking about know where I can download it? I assume it was free since it was a bunch of game demos, if not maybe abandonware.
I_eat_supermutants said:
Super Mario 64 and swimming in it. It was the first time swimming in a 3d plain and it scared the fuck out of me. Sure now-a-days it doesn't bother me so much but there were a few levels that freaked me out.
I know exactly what you mean. First time I swam in the Tomb Raider demo I nearly shit my pants. For some reason tomb raider always put me on edge. Not really scared, but paranoid and jumpy, sometimes I'd be scared to turn the next corner not knowing if I'd be shot at or fall into a pit or be devoured by a lion.
As for the very first time a game scared me... This was back when my parents assumed the SNES was a kids toy and any game was ok. Imagine playing this at four years old...
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lfBtSiYiuE[/youtube]
Dunno if it was the subject matter or the creepy way everything moves, but I ran out of the room crying with my hands over my ears after about five minutes and, long story short, my parents didn't buy me another game until I was seven.
I never understood how resident evil or silent hill were scary though. I was 10-12 years old when I played them and even back then I thought they were trying too hard. I think I spent more time laughing at the awkward voice acting and checking out the ladies in the games than feeling scared. (rebecca was my first game crush. I totally wanted to be alone with her in an empty mansion)