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	Title: (Letters from Paradise) Prognosis for Phobos Phobia
	Author: Peter Doctorow and Computer Gaming World editors
	Source: Computer Gaming World, v12(10)
	Date: October 1992
	Transcription by Steve Derby
-->

It was with mixed emotions that I read [your review of *Leather
Goddesses of Phobos 2*](/library/cgw-lgop2-review). It seems clear to me that you must be
among those who long for the good old days when films were
black and white, comic books were a dime and you could get an
American-made gas guzzler with a distinct personality, meticulously
designed tail lights and a grill reminiscent of a gargantuan
grin. Mind you there is nothing wrong with any of these bits of
memorabilia or those who long for yesteryear. In fact, thanks to
this faithful band, both *The Lost Treasures of Infocom* and the
latest release of *Volume 2* of these classics are selling extremely
well. Those products are well-written, contain imagery that can
be best visualized via the printed word and have stood the test of
time. But sadly, the merry band that was Infocom can no longer
be supported with such text adventures.

Excerpting from your commentary, I found that you properly
recognized that our 1990s version of Steve Meretzky's original
hit did still provide the user with the option of playing the part of
either a male or female protagonist, had an interface that was
"intuitive and unambiguous" and "includes the most ambitious
speech support effort ever packed into an entertainment product."
Not bad, I'd say. In addition, you also pointed out, quite correctly,
that the game package includes the *LifeSize Sound Enhancer*, a
device that requires no additional computer hardware and provides
high-quality digitized audio.

Our goal is to appeal to the expert users, such as yourself, while
at the same time to make a contribution to the movement to
broaden the marketplace for interactive entertainment and to
attempt to entice those who have, to date, held out and not
purchased a computer with products that will appeal and not be
quite so difficult to install, play and successfully complete. To
find a happy medium between these two honorable goals is
admittedly difficult. Our subsequent products may well be more
acceptable to the former camp. However, to continue to provide
text adventures at a time when the medium is becoming increasingly
more visual would be a mistake, in our opinion. To provide
a graphic adventure with puzzles that are obtuse, at a time when
novices are beginning, albeit slowly, to enter the marketplace
would be counterproductive to the industry's goals. Analogously,
I personally avoid, at all costs, the crossword puzzles from the
Manchester Guardian because they are so abstruse and difficult.

I can appreciate your recollections about the old days when
Infocom was king, when graphics in 256 colors (or more) didn't
exist and the marketplace was limited to those hearty souls who
loved to type and tirelessly responded to the admonition, "I don't
understand that word," but that was 8 years ago and those were
books. Now we're doing movies. And while many people prefer
the former, we are confident that it will be multi-media products
like *Leather Goddesses of Phobos 2* which will, in the long run,
help to expand the base of end-users and ultimately result in many
more products being developed.

Peter Doctorow<br>
President, Activision/Infocom

*We think mixed emotions is exactly what the* Leather Goddesses
of Phobos 2 *review should have evoked It was a mixed review
which recognized both the technological advances within the
game without affirming what the reviewer perceived as the
trade-off of less-challenging game play for audio-visual effects.
We trust your reasoned response will underscore the rationale
behind that trade-off and encourage those looking for a simpler
style graphic adventure to give it a try.*