Leather Goddesses of Phobos

Infocom
Industry	Video games
Founded	1979
Headquarters	Cambridge, United States
Key people	Steve Meretzky (game creator)
Products	Leather Goddesses of Phobos

Leather Goddesses of Phobos is an interactive fiction title created by Steve Meretzky and released by Infocom in 1986. It became available on various systems such as Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Apple II, Mac, Atari 8-bit computers, Atari ST, Commodore 64, TI-99/4A, and MS-DOS. As Infocom’s inaugural "sex farce," the game allowed players to choose their gender and adjust the level of "naughtiness" from "tame" to "lewd." It was one of five top-selling Infocom titles reissued in Solid Gold editions and represented the company’s twenty-first release.

Gameplay

At the beginning, players pick their character’s gender, which determines their companion: male characters are accompanied by Trent, a strong but simple-minded man, while female characters travel with Tiffany, a charming yet scatterbrained woman. The gameplay experience differs based on this choice. Rated as "Standard" difficulty, the game features 75 distinct locations, including complex catacombs, the planets Mars and Venus, outer space, and the city of Cleveland—represented by a single building with two exits.

Plot

Set against the backdrop of 1936 Upper Sandusky, Ohio, the storyline pays homage to 1930s science fiction serials. The Leather Goddesses from Phobos intend to conquer Earth by enslaving humanity through the player’s character, who has been abducted. Their goal is to transform Earth into a bizarre sexual pleasure dome unless the player intervenes.

Development

Following Infocom’s relocation to Cambridge, Massachusetts, Meretzky initially created the title "Leather Goddesses of Phobos" as a humorous placeholder. In 1985, he expanded it into a pulp sci-fi narrative inspired by 1930s serials. While some Infocom staff supported the concept, upper management was initially hesitant. After Infocom’s acquisition by Activision in 1986, Activision president Jim Levy enthusiastically endorsed the project. Marketing director Mike Dornbrook described it as "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy with sex." Meretzky drew inspiration from classic space opera pulp fiction and modeled the game’s "naughtiness" settings after the Motion Picture Association of America’s film rating system (G, PG, R).

Release

Instead of traditional copy protection methods, the game integrated puzzles that required physical items included in its packaging: a scratch-and-sniff card featuring seven scents such as pizza and chocolate; The Adventures of Lane Mastodon, a 3-D comic book containing vital clues; accompanying 3D glasses; and a double-sided map of the catacombs. This inventive packaging approach earned Leather Goddesses the 1987 Codie award for Best Software Packaging.

Reception

In 1986, Leather Goddesses of Phobos was Infocom’s highest-selling title with 53,543 units sold—exceeding sales of Trinity by over half. After being acquired by Activision, total sales approached 130,000 copies, making it Infocom’s final game to surpass 100,000 sales and ranking it sixth among their best sellers.

The Macintosh edition received accolades from Macworld for its exemplary text-only interactive fiction design featuring respectful humor toward female players and creative puzzles, though it lacked text scrollback functionality. The Commodore 64 version earned four out of five stars from .Info, which praised its entertaining gameplay while assuring readers that even its risqué content remained fairly mild. In 1988, author Tom Clancy listed it among his preferred computer games.

Legacy

In 1992, Activision launched a follow-up titled Leather Goddesses of Phobos 2: Gas Pump Girls Meet the Pulsating Inconvenience from Planet X!.

The original game made a notable appearance in the 2015 movie The Martian, where it was shown on astronaut Beth Johanssen's laptop alongside Zork II.

Moreover, Sierra Online created a parody named Space Quest X: Latex Babes of Estros within their graphical adventure game Space Quest IV.

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