Leather Goddesses of Phobos
Encyclopedia
Leather Goddesses of Phobos is an interactive fiction
computer game written by Steve Meretzky
and published by Infocom
in 1986. Like many other Infocom titles, it was released for the IBM PC
(DOS
), Atari 8-bit, Amiga
, Apple II
, Apple Macintosh, Atari ST
and Commodore 64
computers. This game was Infocom's first "sex farce" and featured selectable "naughtiness" levels ranging from "tame" to "lewd". It was one of five top-selling Infocom titles to be re-released in Solid Gold versions including in-game hints. It is Infocom's twenty-first game.
, in 1936 and is presented in the manner of a science fiction
serial
of that time. The Leather Goddesses of Phobos
are just finalising their plans for the invasion of Earth
. The player's character has been abducted by the Leather Goddesses for the final testing of the plan which will enslave all of humanity. Unless this nefarious plan is stopped, the Earth will be turned into these twisted vixens' pleasure dome. Despite the player's possible motives, this outcome is considered unfavorable.
as such, but like many Infocom games, it included puzzles that were nearly impossible to solve without hints from the accompanying documentation (the so-called feelie
s).
Leather Goddesses included the following feelies, one of which was quite uncommon among Infocom's games:
This creative take on copy protection earned Leather Goddesses a SPA Excellence in Software Award
for Best Software Packaging in 1987.
An additional by-product of the player's chosen gender is the nature of the "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 were a few differences in game-play between the two sexes, so players would often replay the game as the other sex, just to see what would happen. If the player referred to things pertaining to one gender when playing as the other (such as using the words "bikini" or "Tiffany" when playing as a male), the game would reply, "I see you've played the game as both a male and a female. You must be the kind that swings both ways -- wink, wink, nudge, nudge!"
So as to appeal as widely as possible to Infocom's existing customer base, the game included three different "naughtiness levels", offering the player a choice between a sexually explicit ("Lewd") game, a merely titillating ("Suggestive", the default) game, or a family-friendly ("Tame") game. The basic puzzles are the same in any mode, just described differently. For example, at one point the player can gain entrance to the harem
of a Sultan(ess), one of whose spouses is also present. With the right information the player can get help from this spouse which is necessary to complete the game. The player may also choose to interact more "personally" with the spouse, which in Lewd mode produces a detailed description. Tame mode restricts the interaction to stimulating discussion about such subjects as jazz
music and the writings of Jules Verne
.
Another feature was the inclusion of a Boss Key
that displayed what looked like a Cornerstone
-like spreadsheet, so that if the boss walked by, the player might seem to be really working, instead of playing a game. However, looking closely at the spreadsheet gave the secret away as it included some "unique recreational items," such as leather whips.
Leather Goddesses of Phobos bore a difficulty rating of "Standard".
The game was followed in 1992 by the sequel Leather Goddesses of Phobos 2: Gas Pump Girls Meet the Pulsating Inconvenience from Planet X!
The game has 75 locations.
Interactive fiction
Interactive fiction, often abbreviated IF, describes software simulating environments in which players use text commands to control characters and influence the environment. Works in this form can be understood as literary narratives and as video games. In common usage, the term refers to text...
computer game written by Steve Meretzky
Steve Meretzky
Steven Eric Meretzky is an American computer game developer, with dozens of titles to his credit. He has been involved in almost every aspect of game development, from design to production to quality assurance and box design...
and published by Infocom
Infocom
Infocom was a software company, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that produced numerous works of interactive fiction. They also produced one notable business application, a relational database called Cornerstone....
in 1986. Like many other Infocom titles, it was released for the IBM PC
IBM PC
The IBM Personal Computer, commonly known as the IBM PC, is the original version and progenitor of the IBM PC compatible hardware platform. It is IBM model number 5150, and was introduced on August 12, 1981...
(DOS
DOS
DOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is an acronym for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition.Related...
), Atari 8-bit, Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
, Apple II
Apple II
The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977...
, Apple Macintosh, Atari ST
Atari ST
The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was released by Atari Corporation in 1985 and commercially available from that summer into the early 1990s. The "ST" officially stands for "Sixteen/Thirty-two", which referred to the Motorola 68000's 16-bit external bus and 32-bit internals...
and Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
computers. This game was Infocom's first "sex farce" and featured selectable "naughtiness" levels ranging from "tame" to "lewd". It was one of five top-selling Infocom titles to be re-released in Solid Gold versions including in-game hints. It is Infocom's twenty-first game.
Plot
The game begins in Upper Sandusky, OhioUpper Sandusky, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 6,533 people, 2,744 households, and 1,682 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,246.2 people per square mile . There were 2,910 housing units at an average density of 555.1 per square mile...
, in 1936 and is presented in the manner of a science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
serial
Serial (film)
Serials, more specifically known as Movie serials, Film serials or Chapter plays, were short subjects originally shown in theaters in conjunction with a feature film. They were related to pulp magazine serialized fiction...
of that time. The Leather Goddesses of Phobos
Phobos (moon)
Phobos is the larger and closer of the two natural satellites of Mars. Both moons were discovered in 1877. With a mean radius of , Phobos is 7.24 times as massive as Deimos...
are just finalising their plans for the invasion of Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
. The player's character has been abducted by the Leather Goddesses for the final testing of the plan which will enslave all of humanity. Unless this nefarious plan is stopped, the Earth will be turned into these twisted vixens' pleasure dome. Despite the player's possible motives, this outcome is considered unfavorable.
Feelies
The game featured no copy protectionCopy protection
Copy protection, also known as content protection, copy obstruction, copy prevention and copy restriction, refer to techniques used for preventing the reproduction of software, films, music, and other media, usually for copyright reasons.- Terminology :Media corporations have always used the term...
as such, but like many Infocom games, it included puzzles that were nearly impossible to solve without hints from the accompanying documentation (the so-called feelie
Feelie
Infocom used the term feelie to refer to the extra content included with the boxed versions of their interactive fiction computer games. Feelies differed from game to game and were of the same theme as the game they came packaged with...
s).
Leather Goddesses included the following feelies, one of which was quite uncommon among Infocom's games:
- A small scratch and sniffScratch and sniffScratch and sniff technology generally refers to things that have been treated with a microfragrance coating. When scratched, the coating releases an odor that is normally related to an image being displayed under the coating...
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. Given the possibilities for a game featuring a "lewd mode", the scents were relatively innocuous, such as pizza and chocolate.) - The Adventures of Lane Mastodon, a 3-DStereoscopyStereoscopy refers to a technique for creating or enhancing the illusion of depth in an image by presenting two offset images separately to the left and right eye of the viewer. Both of these 2-D offset images are then combined in the brain to give the perception of 3-D depth...
comic bookComic bookA comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
containing vital hints to the game - 3-D glasses for the Lane Mastodon comic book
- A double-sided map of the catacombs
This creative take on copy protection earned Leather Goddesses a SPA Excellence in Software Award
Codie awards
The CODiE awards are annual awards issued by the Software and Information Industry Association for excellence in software development within the software industry....
for Best Software Packaging in 1987.
Details
In a particularly unusual way, Leather Goddesses forces the player to "choose" a gender for his or her character: the game's first scene is in a bar, and the player's character has a sudden, powerful urge to urinate. The player has a few turns in which to enter either the men's room or the ladies' room, or else face an early, embarrassing end to the game. The game assumes that whichever restroom is entered is "appropriate", so entering the men's room means that the player's character will be male. Further, LGOP assumes that the player's character is heterosexual, in that in "Lewd" mode a variety of sexually suggestive situations with the opposite sex are encountered. (As another note, the first scratch-and-sniff moment occurs in the bathroom – fortunately, the item is a piece of day-old pizza.)So as to appeal as widely as possible to Infocom's existing customer base, the game included three different "naughtiness levels", offering the player a choice between a sexually explicit ("Lewd") game, a merely titillating ("Suggestive", the default) game, or a family-friendly ("Tame") game. The basic puzzles are the same in any mode, just described differently. For example, at one point the player can gain entrance to the harem
Harem
Harem refers to the sphere of women in what is usually a polygynous household and their enclosed quarters which are forbidden to men...
of a Sultan(ess), one of whose spouses is also present. With the right information the player can get help from this spouse which is necessary to complete the game. The player may also choose to interact more "personally" with the spouse, which in Lewd mode produces a detailed description. Tame mode restricts the interaction to stimulating discussion about such subjects as jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
music and the writings of Jules Verne
Jules Verne
Jules Gabriel Verne was a French author who pioneered the science fiction genre. He is best known for his novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea , A Journey to the Center of the Earth , and Around the World in Eighty Days...
.
Another feature was the inclusion of a Boss Key
Boss key
A boss key or boss button is a special keyboard shortcut used in computer games or other programs to quickly hide the program and possibly display a special screen that appears to be a normal productivity program...
that displayed what looked like a Cornerstone
Cornerstone (software)
Cornerstone is a relational database for DOS by Infocom in 1985. It was widely hailed upon its release for its ease of use, but is generally considered one of the leading factors that led to the demise of the company.-History and development:...
-like spreadsheet, so that if the boss walked by, the player might seem to be really working, instead of playing a game. However, looking closely at the spreadsheet gave the secret away as it included some "unique recreational items," such as leather whips.
Leather Goddesses of Phobos bore a difficulty rating of "Standard".
The game was followed in 1992 by the sequel Leather Goddesses of Phobos 2: Gas Pump Girls Meet the Pulsating Inconvenience from Planet X!
Leather Goddesses of Phobos 2: Gas Pump Girls Meet the Pulsating Inconvenience from Planet X!
Leather Goddesses of Phobos 2: Gas Pump Girls Meet the Pulsating Inconvenience from Planet X! is a graphic adventure game written by Steve Meretzky and published by Activision in 1992 under the Infocom label...
The game has 75 locations.
External links
- Invisiclues for the game
- Photos of entire game contents including feelies, maps and all pages of the Lane Mastodon comic
- Computer Chronicles: games showing the Mac version and accompanying feelies
- The Infocom Bugs List entry for Leather Goddesses of Phobos