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On Early Game Packaging Treasures
Thanks to Armchair Arcade for its article discussing the wonders of classic game boxes, as the author reminisces about the "lost art of innovative game packaging from the early to mid-1980's, when there seemed to be an abundance of real thought and care behind the customer's experience beyond the software itself." He points out: "Hardcore gamers appreciate hardcore packaging, with unusual boxes and a handful of feelies... Today, hardcore packaging - if available at all - has a hardcore price. There are still tens of thousands of hardcore gamers like in the past, it's just more profitable to go after the hundreds of thousands of mainstream consumers instead." The article ends with a series of gallery pages, including some of the classic boxes from "the company with arguably the greatest overall packaging", Infocom.
I still have my Hitchhiker's Guide box, complete with destruction orders for my home/Earth, Sub-Atomic Space Fleet, and of course, Pocket Lint.
Sadly, the peril-sensitive sunglasses are long gone. Being the best of all items packed- including the game -they were often shown off, and eventually tore.
I think there was also a "Don't Panic" button that my mom ignorantly tossed away (curses!)
-- 'The' Lord and Master Bitman On High, Master Of All
On the day I just threw out a pile of game boxes stacked to my waist, I say good riddance. It just marketing trinkets that don't add to the game. Did anyone actually put on the head band pictured every time they decided to play Moebius?
Now don't get me wrong. I like a good manual, and I appreciate a well designed tech-tree poster or map. These things enhance game play by adding what amounts to a second screen for cheap. But most of the things mentioned are so useless they are forgotten about by the second day of game play.
Anm
Hardcore gamers appreciate hardcore packaging, with unusual boxes and a handful of feelies...
Wait, we're talking about video games, not porn, right?
As anyone who was around in the 1980's probably remembers, pirate C=64 games were rampant (maybe even worse than today, especially most copying was done person to person, as opposed to via P2P networks).
In addition to the usual 1541 drive errors, it was common for the copy protection to include secret decoder wheels or references to a specific page in the manual, which provided the code you had to input before running the game. Some manuals even had the code printed such that you needed a red plastic lens to be able to see the code (to prevent photocopying).
Damn those codes were a pain in the butt! And of course, there were cracks and ways to bypass the codes, but the extra packaging, manuals, and maps did provide an incentive to actually buy the game. Today, companies are happy to sell nothing more than a CD-ROM and jewel case - and people are happy to download the game use their own CD-R disc.
Back then the biggest problem was graphics. it was really hard for some people to imagine that they were fighting some big ugly monster with ten heads when all they would see on the screen as representative of the monster was an ascii symbol. I think fancy packaging made up for this deficiency. Today it's no longer a problem. Besides I'd rather have a good game with extra money spent toward better QA or other things that are actually in the game as opposed to collectible junk.
I had a copy of "Pirates! Gold" and whenever you happened to encounter another pirate ship you had to look up the name of the pirate which corresponded with whatever flag it showed you in the manual. I loved the game, so I dug up the CD a year or two ago and started playing, only to realize I'd lost the manual...
:P
If you haven't played Pirates! Gold maybe you've seen Pirates! 2, which I have unfortunately not played..(I'm poor and don't get out much). Regardless, it's a GREAT game which has given me countless hours of entertainment, and the packaging and manual were great to boot (woohoo I'm double-on-topic.. pause..). The linked site has the entire thing in PDF, which makes me regret having now lost my Pirates! CD.. as if the irony in the last paragraph wasn't enough.
"where words meet intent, lies rhetoric's lament"
My Commodore 64 was the best games machine I've ever owned, one game where the packaging really stood out (for better and worse) was "Dr. Who and the mines of terror."
:)
This game was great, the packaging featured a picture of the TARDIS on the front with a image of the Doctors brain on the back, inside (along with the 'tape') were numerous documents that really added a lot to the game.
There was however one item that had gave no clue as to why it was included, a credit card sized piece of card in a protective sleeve with three symbols printed on it.
I played through much of the game (about 90% as it turns out) and didn't find a use for the card, as time went on I lost parts of the packaging (including the card).
When I finally went back to the game I found myself stuck at a door, the door required those three symbols from the card to be set correctly to get though, I was screwed. Not till I obtained an "Action Replay Cartridge" and turned "collision detection" off, was I able to get past that damned door.
They didn't mention that cool tin can that the Linux version of Quake 3 came in! That was the best.
My favorite game packaging has always been NES games. The box of the game was cardboard and discardable. It was just to sell the game anyway, not to store it in. Every game had black plastic sleeve. 1st party games has the nintendo logo on the sleeve. 3rd party did not. Towards the end of the NES they started selling sleeveless games and it really cheezed me off. The SNES had little plastic covers for games, but the N64 didn't. The Gameboy used to have plastic cases you could put games in. I've still got some, they are awesome.
What was even better that catrdiged containers was the smell. Remember the smell when you opened up a brand nes NES game? It was like nothing else. New car smell is pale in comparison to new NES cartridge smell. It is similar, yet much better than the smell of a new pack of baseball cards. Nowadays with games on disc there just isn't that great aroma of catridge manufacturing plant anymore. Oh, how I long for those days.
I'm not the only one who remembers the smell... right?
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