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/. 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 @ MCC @ NYU
Postdoctoral Associate

On Tue, Dec 2, 2014 at 6:42 PM, Thomas Haigh <thaigh@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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