super mario 64

i think one of the things (the many things) that Super Mario 64 did that no one else has really done,
was to make the camera into a character.
To embody it.
and also to put it under the player's control. They needed some sort of metaphor, i suppose. It seems interesting that no-ones really followed up on that concept. i guess more experienced gamers take camera control for granted. you don't really need a metaphor anymore.
Mario 64 is maybe something else, something more basic.
An introduction to games, and the conventions of games.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzjeBckxOAM