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Leather Goddesses of Phobos

November 28, 2023

Leather Goddesses of Phobos is an interactive fiction video game written by Steve Meretzky and published by Infocom in 1986. It was released for the Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Amstrad PCW, Apple II, Macintosh, Atari 8-bit family, Atari ST, Commodore 64, TI-99/4A and MS-DOS.[1] The game was Infocom's first "sex farce", including selectable gender and "naughtiness"—the latter ranging from "tame" to "lewd". It was one of five top-selling Infocom titles to be re-released in Solid Gold versions. It was Infocom's twenty-first game.

Gameplay edit

To start the game a gender must be chosen and the player will get a sidekick character. If the player's character is male, he will meet a burly but dim-witted man named Trent; if the player's character is female, she will find an attractive but somewhat ditzy woman named Tiffany. There are differences in game-play between the two sexes.

Leather Goddesses of Phobos bore a difficulty rating of "Standard". The game has 75 locations, including the maze known as the catacombs, the planets Mars and Venus (which must be explored extensively), outer space, and the city of Cleveland, which is a single location with one building and two exits.[2]

Plot edit

The game begins in Upper Sandusky, Ohio, in 1936 and is presented in the manner of a science fiction serial of that time. In the story, the Leather Goddesses of Phobos are just finalizing their plans for the invasion of Earth. The player's character had been abducted by the Leather Goddesses for the final testing of the plan which would enslave all of humanity. Unless this nefarious plan is stopped, the Earth is turned into a twisted sexual pleasure dome.

Development edit

A few months after Infocom moved into its Cambridge offices, Meretzky jokingly wrote the words "Leather Goddesses of Phobos" on a large chalkboard that listed all of the Infocom games that were in release at that point. Meretzky described the title as "something that would be a little embarrassing, but not awful." Joel Berez spotted the added line before anyone else arrived and erased it quickly, but the name stuck and was jokingly brought up whenever a non-existent game title needed to be worked into a sentence. Eventually, in 1985, Meretzky came around to the idea of actually creating a game under this title, and started its development as a 1930s science fiction pulp story – the idea was instantly accepted by Marc Blank and the other Infocom staff. Upper management was more difficult to convince, and then-CEO Al Vezza (who was more interested in the business side of the company) was not enthused with the idea. However, when Infocom was acquired by Activision in 1986 due to the bankrupted business products effort, Activision president Jim Levy was much more excited: when told that "Leather Goddesses of Phobos" was not its definitive title, he allegedly responded with "I wouldn't call it anything else!"[3]

Infocom marketing director Mike Dornbrook referred to Leather Goddesses of Phobos as "Hitchhiker's Guide with sex."[4] In The Status Line (formerly The New Zork Times), Infocom's official newsletter, Steve Meretzky stated that the title Leather Goddesses of Phobos was conceived more than four years before the game was released.[4] He also cites "pulpy space opera" as an inspiration for Leather Goddesses, and expresses that a lack of controversial response to A Mind Forever Voyaging was another reason for Leather Goddess' conception, stating that "I was hoping that [A Mind Forever Voyaging] would stir up a lot of controversy. It didnt ... So I decided to write something with a little bit of sex in it, because nothing generates controversy like sex. I'm hoping to get the game banned from Seven-Eleven stores."[4] Meretzky states that the "naughtiness" levels were based on the film rating system, with tame, suggestive, and lewd corresponding to G, PG, and R respectively.[4]

Release edit

 
Cover of the Lane Mastodon comic

The game was not copy protected, but included puzzles that relied on the accompanying documentation and physical items in the package:

  1. A small scratch and sniff card which bore seven numbered areas (at certain points in the game, the player would be instructed to scratch a certain number and then whiff the resulting odor such as pizza and chocolate).
  2. The Adventures of Lane Mastodon, a 3-D comic book containing vital hints to the game.
  3. 3D glasses for the comic book.
  4. A double-sided map of the catacombs.

This take on copy protection earned Leather Goddesses a Codie award for Best Software Packaging in 1987.

Reception edit

Leather Goddesses of Phobos was Infocom's best-selling game in 1986 with 53,543 copies sold, more than 50% greater than that of Trinity, which also debuted that year.[5] The company sold a total of about 130,000 copies, three times as many as any other game after Activision bought them. The game was Infocom's last to sell more than 100,000 copies, and its sixth best-selling game overall.[6]

Macworld reviewed the Macintosh version of Leather Goddesses of Phobos, calling it "an excellent [example] of text-only interactive fiction." Macworld expresses that Leather Goddesses has "respect for female players ... Leather Goddesses is neither sexist nor truly offensive. Its humor punctures the pretensions of the fantasy adventure genre." Macworld praises the gameplay, stating that it has "inventive plots and puzzles" and "consistency of mood and attitude". Macworld criticizes the inability to scroll back to previously seen text.[7]

.Info in 1987 gave the Commodore 64 version four stars out of five, describing it as "fun to play, though Infocom has produced more challenging standard-level text adventures ... a lot of giggles in this one". The magazine assured readers they would not be offended by the game, as even its lewdest "naughtiness" level is relatively tame.[8] In 1988, Tom Clancy named Leather Goddesses of Phobos one of his favorite computer games, stating "I'd like to meet whoever wrote that. I just don't know what asylum to go to".[9]

Legacy edit

A sequel to Leather Goddesses of Phobos, subtitled Gas Pump Girls Meet the Pulsating Inconvenience from Planet X!, was published by Activision in 1992.

In the 2015 film The Martian starring Matt Damon, Leather Goddesses of Phobos was referenced as being loaded on fellow astronaut Beth Johanssen's laptop alongside Zork II.[10]

Sierra Online parodied the game as Space Quest X: Latex Babes of Estros in their graphical adventure Space Quest IV.

References edit

  1. ^ "Leather Goddesses of Phobos". MobyGames. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  2. ^ . Resonant.org. 1996. Archived from the original on 2018-05-06. Retrieved 2017-06-26.
  3. ^ Rouse III, Richard (2005). Game Design Theory & Practice. Second Edition. Worldware Publishing, Inc. p. 179. ISBN 1-55622-912-7.
  4. ^ a b c d "Leather Goddesses of Phobos". The Status Line. Infocom. 5: 1–3. September 1986.
  5. ^ Carless, Simon (2008-09-20). . GameSetWatch. Think Services. Archived from the original on 2008-09-24. Retrieved 2008-09-23.
  6. ^ Maher, Jimmy (2015-03-05). "Leather Goddesses of Phobos (or, Sex Comes to the Micros — Again)". The Digital Antiquarian. Retrieved 2015-03-05.
  7. ^ McCandless, Keith (August 1987). "Gender-Specific Leather and Lace: Leather Goddesses of Phobos Release 59 Review". Macworld. Mac Publishing. pp. 159–160.
  8. ^ Dunnington, Benn; Brown, Mark R.; Malcolm, Tom (January–February 1987). "64/128 Gallery". Info. p. 21.
  9. ^ Sipe, Russell; Wilson, Johnny; Clancy, Tom; Meier, Sid (July 1988). "An Interview with Tom Clancy". Computer Gaming World. pp. 22–24.
  10. ^ Eisenberg, Eric (5 October 2015). "The Martian: 5 Cool Little References The Movie Works In". Cinemablend. Retrieved 23 February 2022.

External links edit

  • Invisiclues 2017-04-10 at the Wayback Machine
  • Photos of package contents
  • Computer Chronicles: games
  • Infocom Bugs List entry
  • Infocom Cabinet
  • Leather Goddesses of Phobos in the Interactive Fiction Database

November 28, 2023
leather, goddesses, phobos, interactive, fiction, video, game, written, steve, meretzky, published, infocom, 1986, released, amiga, amstrad, amstrad, apple, macintosh, atari, family, atari, commodore, game, infocom, first, farce, including, selectable, gender,. Leather Goddesses of Phobos is an interactive fiction video game written by Steve Meretzky and published by Infocom in 1986 It was released for the Amiga Amstrad CPC Amstrad PCW Apple II Macintosh Atari 8 bit family Atari ST Commodore 64 TI 99 4A and MS DOS 1 The game was Infocom s first sex farce including selectable gender and naughtiness the latter ranging from tame to lewd It was one of five top selling Infocom titles to be re released in Solid Gold versions It was Infocom s twenty first game Leather Goddesses of PhobosCover artDeveloper s InfocomPublisher s InfocomDesigner s Steve MeretzkyEngineZ machinePlatform s Amiga Amstrad CPC Amstrad PCW Apple II series Atari 8 bit Atari ST Commodore 64 MS DOS TRS 80 TI 99 4A MacintoshReleaseRelease 50 July 11 1986Release 59 July 30 1986Solid Gold April 5 1988Genre s Interactive fiction Contents 1 Gameplay 2 Plot 3 Development 4 Release 5 Reception 6 Legacy 7 References 8 External linksGameplay editTo start the game a gender must be chosen and the player will get a sidekick character If the player s character is male he will meet a burly but dim witted man named Trent if the player s character is female she will find an attractive but somewhat ditzy woman named Tiffany There are differences in game play between the two sexes Leather Goddesses of Phobos bore a difficulty rating of Standard The game has 75 locations including the maze known as the catacombs the planets Mars and Venus which must be explored extensively outer space and the city of Cleveland which is a single location with one building and two exits 2 Plot editThe game begins in Upper Sandusky Ohio in 1936 and is presented in the manner of a science fiction serial of that time In the story the Leather Goddesses of Phobos are just finalizing their plans for the invasion of Earth The player s character had been abducted by the Leather Goddesses for the final testing of the plan which would enslave all of humanity Unless this nefarious plan is stopped the Earth is turned into a twisted sexual pleasure dome Development editA few months after Infocom moved into its Cambridge offices Meretzky jokingly wrote the words Leather Goddesses of Phobos on a large chalkboard that listed all of the Infocom games that were in release at that point Meretzky described the title as something that would be a little embarrassing but not awful Joel Berez spotted the added line before anyone else arrived and erased it quickly but the name stuck and was jokingly brought up whenever a non existent game title needed to be worked into a sentence Eventually in 1985 Meretzky came around to the idea of actually creating a game under this title and started its development as a 1930s science fiction pulp story the idea was instantly accepted by Marc Blank and the other Infocom staff Upper management was more difficult to convince and then CEO Al Vezza who was more interested in the business side of the company was not enthused with the idea However when Infocom was acquired by Activision in 1986 due to the bankrupted business products effort Activision president Jim Levy was much more excited when told that Leather Goddesses of Phobos was not its definitive title he allegedly responded with I wouldn t call it anything else 3 Infocom marketing director Mike Dornbrook referred to Leather Goddesses of Phobos as Hitchhiker s Guide with sex 4 In The Status Line formerly The New Zork Times Infocom s official newsletter Steve Meretzky stated that the title Leather Goddesses of Phobos was conceived more than four years before the game was released 4 He also cites pulpy space opera as an inspiration for Leather Goddesses and expresses that a lack of controversial response to A Mind Forever Voyaging was another reason for Leather Goddess conception stating that I was hoping that A Mind Forever Voyaging would stir up a lot of controversy It didnt So I decided to write something with a little bit of sex in it because nothing generates controversy like sex I m hoping to get the game banned from Seven Eleven stores 4 Meretzky states that the naughtiness levels were based on the film rating system with tame suggestive and lewd corresponding to G PG and R respectively 4 Release edit nbsp Cover of the Lane Mastodon comicThe game was not copy protected but included puzzles that relied on the accompanying documentation and physical items in the package A small scratch and sniff card which bore seven numbered areas at certain points in the game the player would be instructed to scratch a certain number and then whiff the resulting odor such as pizza and chocolate The Adventures of Lane Mastodon a 3 D comic book containing vital hints to the game 3D glasses for the comic book A double sided map of the catacombs This take on copy protection earned Leather Goddesses a Codie award for Best Software Packaging in 1987 Reception editLeather Goddesses of Phobos was Infocom s best selling game in 1986 with 53 543 copies sold more than 50 greater than that of Trinity which also debuted that year 5 The company sold a total of about 130 000 copies three times as many as any other game after Activision bought them The game was Infocom s last to sell more than 100 000 copies and its sixth best selling game overall 6 Macworld reviewed the Macintosh version of Leather Goddesses of Phobos calling it an excellent example of text only interactive fiction Macworld expresses that Leather Goddesses has respect for female players Leather Goddesses is neither sexist nor truly offensive Its humor punctures the pretensions of the fantasy adventure genre Macworld praises the gameplay stating that it has inventive plots and puzzles and consistency of mood and attitude Macworld criticizes the inability to scroll back to previously seen text 7 Info in 1987 gave the Commodore 64 version four stars out of five describing it as fun to play though Infocom has produced more challenging standard level text adventures a lot of giggles in this one The magazine assured readers they would not be offended by the game as even its lewdest naughtiness level is relatively tame 8 In 1988 Tom Clancy named Leather Goddesses of Phobos one of his favorite computer games stating I d like to meet whoever wrote that I just don t know what asylum to go to 9 Legacy editA sequel to Leather Goddesses of Phobos subtitled Gas Pump Girls Meet the Pulsating Inconvenience from Planet X was published by Activision in 1992 In the 2015 film The Martian starring Matt Damon Leather Goddesses of Phobos was referenced as being loaded on fellow astronaut Beth Johanssen s laptop alongside Zork II 10 Sierra Online parodied the game as Space Quest X Latex Babes of Estros in their graphical adventure Space Quest IV References edit Leather Goddesses of Phobos MobyGames Retrieved July 12 2021 Leather Goddesses of Phobos Resonant org 1996 Archived from the original on 2018 05 06 Retrieved 2017 06 26 Rouse III Richard 2005 Game Design Theory amp Practice Second Edition Worldware Publishing Inc p 179 ISBN 1 55622 912 7 a b c d Leather Goddesses of Phobos The Status Line Infocom 5 1 3 September 1986 Carless Simon 2008 09 20 Great Scott Infocom s All Time Sales Numbers Revealed GameSetWatch Think Services Archived from the original on 2008 09 24 Retrieved 2008 09 23 Maher Jimmy 2015 03 05 Leather Goddesses of Phobos or Sex Comes to the Micros Again The Digital Antiquarian Retrieved 2015 03 05 McCandless Keith August 1987 Gender Specific Leather and Lace Leather Goddesses of Phobos Release 59 Review Macworld Mac Publishing pp 159 160 Dunnington Benn Brown Mark R Malcolm Tom January February 1987 64 128 Gallery Info p 21 Sipe Russell Wilson Johnny Clancy Tom Meier Sid July 1988 An Interview with Tom Clancy Computer Gaming World pp 22 24 Eisenberg Eric 5 October 2015 The Martian 5 Cool Little References The Movie Works In Cinemablend Retrieved 23 February 2022 External links editInvisiclues Archived 2017 04 10 at the Wayback Machine Photos of package contents Computer Chronicles games Infocom Bugs List entry Infocom Cabinet Leather Goddesses of Phobos in the Interactive Fiction Database Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Leather Goddesses of Phobos amp oldid 1174342566, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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