[SIGCIS-Members] Laine Nooney on Softporn Adventure in the Atlantic

[Laine Nooney]

Actually, the woman you marry winds up tying you to a bed, stealing your
money and leaving you. The "final girl"/true love, who appears later, is
named Eve and requires nothing but an apple (such are the jokes of the
Apple II world).

I thought alot about the listservs recent discussions re: journalism vs.
academia while writing this piece. It was certainly a new challenge to
balance historical accuracy with the tightness, focus and accessibility
(and lack of footnotes!) of mainstream journalism, but one I certain
encourage others to pursue.

And for those that are interested, I had phenomenal support in obtaining
some of these images from the folks at the Softalk Apple Preservation
project: http://www.softalkapple.com/ <http://www.softalkapple.com/>. If
you're looking for some primary documents from the early PC era to throw at
a class, you couldn't do better than these folks.

Thanks for the circulation, Tom!

Laine Nooney
www.lainenooney.com

ISTC <http://socialcomputing.uci.edu/> @ MCC
<http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/mcc/> @ NYU <http://www.nyu.edu>
Postdoctoral Associate

On Tue, Dec 2, 2014 at 6:42 PM, Thomas Haigh <thaigh at computer.org> wrote:

> Hello everyone,
>
> A teaser on the Onion's AV Club just alerted me that our own Laine Nooney
> has published a fascinating article in The Atlantic showcasing her work on
> the history of Sierra Online's early Softporn Adventure (later remade as
> Leisure Suit Larry). I was lucky enough to comment on this material when
> she
> presented it at SIGCIS-sponsored session during the SHOT 2012 meeting in
> Copenhagen. Laine also served on our workshop organizing committee earlier
> this year.
>
>
> http://www.avclub.com/article/read-how-first-erotic-video-game-presaged-cult
> ure--212483
>
> http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/12/the-odd-history-of-the
> -first-erotic-computer-game/383114/?single_page=true
>
> As Laine explains, the Softporn advertising shoot featured a bounty of
> naked
> women (all Sierra employees) in a hot tub with a butler and a computer. In
> contrast I recall Larry itself, played with my fellow interns during the
> lunch break at a small computer company in 1990, as curiously reluctant to
> engage in wish fulfillment or titillation. The pathetic antihero spent the
> game squandering money in a depressing environment humorously attempting
> with little success to score. Also no onscreen nudity. Checking an online
> walkthrough suggests that it was necessary to get married to complete the
> game! No consequence-free hot tub orgy for you. Also great: her quoted
> characterization of the computer as a "sexless tool".
>
> Best wishes,
>
> Tom
>
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