Take a clean floppy disk. Fill it nearly to the brim with loving satire of pulp science fiction. Stir in generous helpings of zany humor and a healthy dash of clever puzzles. Add ribald sex scenes to taste. Toss in just a hint of hints to bring concoction to the standard level. Mix well and bake for nine months. Surround by an intriguing package and serve immediately.
That's the recipe for Leather Goddesses of Phobos, Infocom's new interactive fiction comedy. Author Meretzky calls Leather Goddesses of Phobos "an unbeatable combination of space opera, bawdiness, and humor, plus lots of good old-fashioned Infocom puzzles." Infocom Marketing Director Mike Dornbrook, being a scheming marketeer, simply describes Leather Goddesses of Phobos as a "Hitchhiker's Guide with sex."
Leather Goddesses of Phobos is set in the 1930's, the Golden Age of pulpy space opera. You begin the story in a sleazy bar in Upper Sandusky, Ohio, unaware that on a tiny moon of Mars, the evil Leather Goddesses are plotting an invasion of the Earth to turn it into their private pleasure world.
You are subsequently kidnapped by minions of the Leather Goddesses. If you escape from their dungeon on Phobos, you'll be plunged into a bawdy romp through the solar system's most exotic (and erotic) locales. You'll find yourself battling giant carnivorous plants in the jungles of Venus, sword fighting by the light of Saturn's rings, exploring the pleasures of the harem near the Grand Canal on Mars, and avoiding the unspeakable horrors of Cleveland, Ohio.
Leather Goddesses of Phobos gives you the option of playing as either a man or a woman - no minor point, since your choice will affect many of your encounters in the story. And in order to make Leather Goddesses of Phobos suitable for everyone from the prude to the lewd, you can play it in any one of three "naughtiness levels".
What possessed Meretzky, whose last work was A Mind Forever Voyaging, a sober work of speculative fiction, to write a giddy story like Leather Goddesses of Phobos? We sent a reporter to find out:
Reporter: MERETZKY, HELLO.
SM: Howdy! Always happy to chat with representatives of the media.
Reporter: MERETZKY, TELL ME ABOUT LEATHER GODDESSES OF PHOBOS.
SM: Well, I thought of the title more than four years ago, before I was even writing interactive fiction. Everyone loved the title; it appears in the diary of the new Starcross package, and it's the name of the machine in the Festeron arcade in Wishbringer. I finally decided that it was about time we had a game to match the name. But there were other reasons as well....
Reporter: MERETZKY, WHAT ARE THE OTHER REASONS?
SM: I was weaned on pulpy space opera, and I've always had a deep desire to write something in that genre. Another reason: A Mind Forever Voyaging dealt with some politically sensitive topics, and I was hoping that it would stir up a lot of controversy. It didn't. Not a single flaming froth-at-the-mouth letter. 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. Finally, I get asked all the time, "When are you guys gonna do a graphic adventure?" Well, we won't add pictures to our stories, so this was the only way to create a graphic adventure.
Reporter: ASK MERETZKY ABOUT THE NAUGHTINESS LEVELS.
SM: I tried to make them roughly equal to G, PG, and R ratings used for movies. I doubt that even the "naughtiest" mode will offend anyone, but why not ask some of the folks who've played Leather Goddesses of Phobos?
Greg K. from Rancho Palos Verdes agreed. "I showed it to my mom, and she decided it was 'harmless.'"
"None of the sexual content bothered me...I was hoping for more," said Steve K. from Tulsa. "I wouldn't have much trouble showing the game to my eight-year-old son."
Judith C. from Huntsville, a self-described conservative Bible Belt southerner, said, "The sexual content is dependent upon the player's input... Leather Goddesses of Phobos is only as lewd as the player wants it to be."
However, M'gump-kin X. from the lesser moon of Falwell VII told us, "My shrooks and I were greatly offended. The descriptions of g'wik-acts were unsuitable for thwai'ves or ik-ti'ups to read. By Hoov, if Infocom ever wis's!ms this b'h:o'vich, I'll th-t!'rop my ig'1%ig!-o'o?1s."
"Enough about the story already!" the marketeers bellow from down the hall. "Talk about the awesome game packaging!"
The package features some unusual elements which are, as usual, deeply intertwined with the story itself. Upon spreading the covers of the package, you'll be greeted by a '30s-style 3-D comic book entitled "The Adventures of Lane Mastodon (#91)" which displays a typically myopic 1936 version of 1986, when the Leather Goddesses are once again scheming to conquer humanity. To properly view your 3-D comic, each package comes well-equipped with a huge pair of red-blue 3-D glasses. Sliding deeper into the package, you'll come across a handsome parchment map of the Catacombs, to help you grope your way through the ancient burial chambers that lie under the palace of the Sultan (or Sultaness, if you're playing as a woman).
The packaging climaxes with a new dimension in interactive fiction: a scratch 'n' sniff card. At various points in the story, you'll be ordered to scratch one of the spots on the card and sniff the heady odor that results.
We'd be remiss if we didn't mention one additional feature of Leather Goddesses of Phobos, which is available only in the IBM version: a "boss key." This feature makes it "safe" to play Leather Goddesses of Phobos at work - if your boss should walk in on you, just press CONTROL-B and hit RETURN. Your screen will clear and be replaced by a sample screen from Infocom's database, Cornerstone! Naturally, we're not encouraging anyone to play Leather Goddesses of Phobos at work - but then again, we do it all the time, so why shouldn't you?
Leather Goddesses of Phobos is the fifth work of interactive fiction by Steve Meretzky, who has also authored Planetfall and Sorcerer, and co-wrote The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in collaboration with Douglas Adams. Leather Goddesses of Phobos has been given a difficulty rating of Standard Level. Available September 10, Leather Goddesses of Phobos will run on most personal computers and sells for a suggested retail price $34.95 on the Atari XL/XE series, the Commodore 64, and the Commodore 128; $39.95 on all other computer systems. So you don't forget, order before midnight tonight.
[A picture of the Leather Goddesses of Phobos packaging accompanys this article with the caption: Leather Goddesses of Phobos includes a scratch 'n' sniff card.]
The Status Line; Vol. V, No. 3; Summer 1986; Lawsuit Edition; page 1
Copyright 1986 (c) Infocom
Thanks to David Jinks for transcribing and donating this article.