Sex Vixens from Space

Last updated
Sex Vixens from Space
Sex Vixens from Space Amiga Box Art.jpg
Amiga box art
Developer(s) Free Spirit Software
Publisher(s) Free Spirit Software
ASoft (Europe) [1] [2]
Director(s) Joe Hubbard (Amiga)
Designer(s) Dana M. Dominiak (Amiga)
Programmer(s) Mark Brannon (Amiga)
Artist(s) Light Systems (Amiga)
Robert J. Dominiak (Amiga>
Greg Vickers (Amiga)
Writer(s) Lance Strate (C64, Apple II) [3]
John R. Olsen Jr. (Amiga)
Platform(s) Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, DOS, Apple II
Release1988
Genre(s) Interactive fiction (C64)
Graphic adventure
Mode(s) Single-player

Sex Vixens from Space is an erotic interactive fiction game developed and self-published by Free Spirit Software and originally released in 1988 for the Commodore 64 and Apple II as part of the compilation Sex And Violence Vol. 1. [4] It was released as a standalone game, with the addition of graphics, in November 1988 for DOS and Amiga [5] and in 1989 for the Atari ST. Sex Vixens was inspired by the 1974 sexploitation film Flesh Gordon . [6] The game was panned by reviewers. [7] [8] [9] [10] [11]

Contents

In the United Kingdom in 1989, copies of Sex Vixens from Space were seized by British Customs authorities and subsequently destroyed due to their sexual content. [1] [10] [12] [13] [14]

Sex Vixens from Space is the first entry in the Brad Stallion series, and was followed by Planet of Lust (1989), Bride of the Robot (1989), and Sex Olympics (1991).

Plot

Brad Stallion, freelance government agent and captain of the phallic spaceship the Big Thruster, has been hired by the Federated Government to neutralize "The Tribe", a colony of cloned hypersexual amazon women that raid planets to castrate men using their sex-ray gun. [3] [8] [2] Brad Stallion is tasked with travelling to their home planet of Mondo, and destroying the sex-ray gun. [15] [2]

Gameplay

The sexual content was considered underwhelming by some reviewers. Sex Vixens from Space Amiga Gameplay Screenshot.png
The sexual content was considered underwhelming by some reviewers.

The Commodore 64 version of Sex Vixens from Space is purely a text adventure, with no graphics or alternate controls. [16]

While most actions in the DOS, Atari ST, and Amiga ports of Sex Vixens from Space are still entered via text commands, [8] alongside the addition of graphics, objects and characters may be interacted with using the mouse in the style of a point-and-click adventure; [17] this is absent in the Commodore 64 version. The player may move in the cardinal directions using the arrow keys, and certain UI elements may be accessed through shortcut keys. [17] 'I' may be inputted to access the inventory, 'L' for information on current location, and 'S' for game status; the Big Thruster's computer AI Sandie gives advice pertinent to the player's location and situation. [17]

Development

Sex Vixens from Space was originally released in 1988 on the Commodore 64 and Apple II as part of the game compilation Sex And Violence Vol. 1, alongside Bite of the Sorority Vampires and Hatchet Honeymoon. [4] Sex And Violence Vol. 1 cost $29.95 USD in 1988. [4]

The Amiga version of Sex Vixens from Space cost 'around 85' Deutschmark in 1988, [8] and $39.95 USD in 1989. [11] Alongside the real credits, there are several fake names with fake roles for comedic effect. [18] The Commodore 64 and Apple II versions of Sex Vixens from Space are credited to Lance Strate, [3] although it is unclear whether this is a real person, as the other two games in Sex And Violence Vol. 1, Bite of the Sorority Vampires and Hatchet Honeymoon, are credited to 'Dick Long' and 'Peter Grow' respectively. [16] Other ports of Sex Vixens from Space had a larger development team. [18] Sex Vixens from Space was published by ASoft in Europe. [1] [2] While the Amiga and DOS versions of Sex Vixens support the use of a second disk drive to run both game disks at once, the Atari ST version is incompatible with using both disks at once, thus the disks must be swapped out as needed. [19] Sex Vixens from Space was exhibited at the World of Commodore expo in 1989. [20] [21] A patched release of the Amiga version of Sex Vixens was released around October 1989. [22]

In the UK in 1989, a shipment of copies of the Amiga version of Sex Vixens from Space were seized by British Customs and subsequently destroyed due to their sexual content; [10] [12] [1] [13] [14] while other publications did not specify a number, .info stated that 75 copies were destroyed. [13] Joe Hubbard from Free Spirit Software defended Sex Vixens' sexual content in a statement to The Australian Commodore and Amiga Review, stating that "While Sex Vixens from Space may be a bit racy, it is not pornographic. Apparently, the British authorities are either quite prudish or completely lacking a sense of humor. Regardless, freedom of artistic expression and the freedom to disseminate such are cornerstones of democracy. The act of seizing these game [sic] is the act of a fascist government." [14] Tim Harris, the CEO of ASoft, Sex Vixens' European publisher, said in a statement to Your Sinclair that "The game's been hyped up, but there isn't really that much sexual content. It's a heck of a lot tamer than Strip Poker." [1]

In an interview with Italian gaming magazine Amiga Magazine, the president of Free Spirit Software, Joseph Hubbard, expressed that Sex Vixens from Space was inspired by the 1974 sexploitation film Flesh Gordon , stating that "When we made Sex Vixens, we thought of an old soft-core movie called Flesh Gordon ... It gave the public some eroticism and a lot of fun, although not necessarily in that order." [6] When asked about the moral impact of sexual computer games, Hubbard expressed that "Everyone has some fantasy, and there's nothing wrong with that. A computer cannot do more damage than what an individual can already do on their own. I prefer to see people play with erotic software rather than violent games." [6] Hubbard further expressed that "Anyone can sit at their computer and exterminate hundreds of aliens, or human beings in enemy uniforms ... Do you think this is healthier or less dangerous than sex?" [6]

Reception

In a June 1990 issue of STart magazine, the plot of Sex Vixens from Space was given as an example of sexism in the gaming industry and objectification of women in media. [23] In 1996, Computer Gaming World declared Sex Vixens from Space the 19th-worst computer game ever released, stating that "This funny, sexy adventure game was neither funny, sexy nor adventurous." [7]

German gaming magazine Aktueller Software Markt gave the Amiga version of Sex Vixens from Space an overall score of 3.2 out of 12, summarizing it as a "soft porno computer game" and calling the game's sexual content 'more tame' than what the cover or advertisements suggest. ASM criticized Sex Vixens from Space's graphics and text input, expressing that "If you're hoping for crisp graphics, you'll be disappointed. What is also disappointing is the adventure, specifically the core elements that determine the quality of the adventure. The parser should be red in the face should you flatter it by describing it as such. The graphics are thoroughly low quality, and the title screen is an absolute catastrophe: for this alone Free Spirit Software should be ashamed until the end of their days." ASM also criticized Sex Vixens' plot as "stupid", as well as its 'disappointing' amount of sexual content, stating that "there is too little sex for a computer-porno, not enough processing power for a proper adventure, and too much money for both. Overall, the game's forgettable!" [8]

.info gave the Amiga version of Sex Vixens from Space an overall score of 2.5 stars out of 5, beginning their review by lamenting the game's glitches, expressing that "I wanted to like this game, and I know I would if it worked", but praised the game's adult content, stating that "The adults-only adventure game premise has been tried before, and this one comes very close to succeeding." .info further criticized Sex Vixens' glitches, expressing that "all the effort has gone into the graphics and story rather than the programming", particularly criticizing the game's parser and text input, noting the 'limited' commands and stating that the game has abrupt lag spikes in which both the game and the parser are unresponsive. .info praised Sex Vixens' humor and "quite well done" graphics, but expressed that the game needed to be patched by the developers, concluding that "I hope Free Spirit will do the necessary fixes, because Sex Vixens has all the potential to become a deliciously funny and entertaining game." [9]

Swedish gaming magazine Datormagazin gave the Amiga version of Sex Vixens from Space an overall score of 2 out of 10, bluntly captioning their review by stating that "Sex Vixens from Space is a piece of shit. Apparently it's broken too, and not even so-bad-it's-funny." Datormagazin criticizes the game's plot as "tasteless" and furthermore calls Sex Vixens "a game which is so bad that you wonder why it even exists". Datormagazin praised Sex Vixens' "very well made" graphics, but expressed that they didn't make up for the game's shortcomings, stating that "what good will good graphics do if the rest of the game is pure shit?" Datormagazin criticized the lack of a save feature, expressing that it "characterizes the game's terrible quality well", and noted a glitch where if the player drops an item after picking it up for the first time, it may no longer be picked up. Datormagazin concluded their review by expressing that "[Sex Vixens] can be summarized in a single word: Avoid!" [10]

QuestBusters reviewed the Amiga version of the game in a September 1989 issue, criticizing the game's "inconsistent" interface & inputs, and "far below average" parser. QuestBusters noted Sex Vixens' possible inputs as 'limited', stating that "In most situations, the program won't even let you examine much of the surroundings" and expressed that this limited the game's puzzles, saying that "There aren't a lot of logical puzzles, since the parser won't even let you examine most items, let alone use them. Basically, all you can do is "make love" or "talk" to the women". QuestBusters further criticized the impact of Sex Vixens' limited inputs with regards to puzzles, expressing that "There's only one solution for each puzzle, and with such a limited vocabulary, you can fall into the trap of knowing the answer but get stuck trying to guess what synonym the game wants to hear." QuestBusters praised Sex Vixens futuristic graphics as "slick and colorful", but criticized the 'bad' quality of the art of women in-game, stating that "Not only are the majority of the women ugly, but the actual drawings are drastically inferior to that of the space ships". QuestBusters furthermore criticized Sex Vixens minimal on-screen interaction with NPCs, expressing that "While most of these graphics [are of] professional quality, there are no people in 99% of them. This creates, oddly enough for a sex-oriented game, a sterile environment." QuestBusters criticized Sex Vixens' nudity as 'ugly and unappealing', and further expressed that the game's "limited" erotic text was similarly unattractive. QuestBusters condemned the lack of a save feature as 'unreasonable' for a modern adventure game, and also criticized the lack of music and sound effects. [11]

Italian gaming magazine Game Republic noted Sex Vixens from Space as an oddity in a 2013 retrospective review, praising its "interesting narrative" but noted it as being "undeniably in poor taste" at times. Game Republic praised Sex Vixens from Space's "bizarre" environments and over-the-top presentation, calling it "a space opera as absurd as it is surprising". [24]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Wonder Boy in Monster Land</i> 1987 video game

Wonder Boy in Monster Land, known by its original arcade release as Wonder Boy: Monster Land, is a platform video game developed by Westone Bit Entertainment and released by Sega in Japanese arcades in 1987 and for the Master System in 1988, with a number of other home computer and console ports following. The game is the sequel to the 1986 game Wonder Boy and takes place eleven years after the events in the previous game. After enjoying over a decade of peace on Wonder Land following the defeat of the evil King by Tom-Tom, later bestowed the title "Wonder Boy", a fire-breathing dragon called the MEKA dragon appeared; he and his minions conquered Wonder Land, turning it into "Monster Land". The people, helpless due to their lack of fighting skill, call for Wonder Boy, now a teenager, to destroy the monsters and defeat the MEKA dragon. Players control Wonder Boy through twelve linear levels as he makes his way through Monster Land to find and defeat the MEKA dragon. Players earn gold by defeating enemies and buy weapons, armor, footwear, magic, and other items to help along the way.

<i>Battle Chess</i> 1988 video game

Battle Chess is a video game version of chess with 2.5D graphics and fighting animations showing the result of one piece moving onto the square of another. It was developed and released by Interplay Entertainment for the Amiga in 1988 and ported to many other systems, including the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, Acorn Archimedes, Amiga CD32, Amiga CDTV, Apple IIGS, Apple II, Atari ST, Commodore 64, MS-DOS, FM Towns, Nintendo Entertainment System, MacOS, PC-98, X68000, and Microsoft Windows. In 1991, Battle Chess Enhanced was released by Interplay for IBM PC compatibles and Macintosh with improved VGA graphics and a symphonic musical score played from the CD-ROM.

<i>Top Banana</i> (video game) 1991 video game

Top Banana is an environmentally-themed platform game produced by Hex and Psycore for the Acorn Archimedes in 1991 and ported to the Amiga and Atari ST in 1992. The chief artist and coder was Miles Visman, with supporting graphics and sound by Karel Dander, and supporting graphics by Sophie Smith, Robert Pepperell and Matt Black. Top Banana was released using recycled cardboard packaging, furthermore being advertised as being the 'first video game with recycled packaging'. Top Banana's plot is about trying to save the environment from pollution using love.

<i>Arthur: The Quest for Excalibur</i> Interactive fiction video game

Arthur: The Quest for Excalibur is an illustrated interactive fiction video game written by Bob Bates and published by Infocom in 1989. It was released for the Apple II, Amiga, Macintosh, and IBM PC compatibles. Atypically for an Infocom product, it shows illustrations of locations, characters and objects within the game. It is Infocom's thirty-fourth game and is the second of two Infocom games developed by Challenge using Infocom's development tools.

<i>The Pawn</i> 1985 video game

The Pawn is an interactive fiction game for the Sinclair QL written by Rob Steggles of Magnetic Scrolls and published by Sinclair Research in 1985. In 1986, graphics were added and the game was released for additional home computers by Rainbird.

<i>Star Goose</i> 1988 video game

Star Goose is a vertically scrolling shooter that was published for the Amiga, Atari ST, and MS-DOS by Logotron in 1988. The player controls Scouser-Gitt, who pilots the eponymous Star Goose, a vessel that has been commissioned to scour the planet Nom and collect 48 crystals. Players must collect all six crystals in each of the game's eight levels to advance, while at the same time avoiding or destroying enemies and maintaining their shield, ammunition, and fuel levels. The game's surfaces are contoured, which affects the way that bullets travel, and contain tunnels that switch modes to a three-dimensional perspective where the player can replenish their resources.

<i>Kings Quest IV</i> 1988 video game

King's Quest IV: The Perils of Rosella is a graphic adventure game developed and released by Sierra On-Line for the MS-DOS, Amiga, Apple II, Apple IIGS, and Atari ST computers in 1988. The player takes on the role of Princess Rosella, daughter of King Graham of Daventry and the twin sister of Gwydion/Alexander, who must save her father and a good fairy and destroy an evil witch. Critically acclaimed, it was one of the first PC games to support a sound card.

<i>The Immortal</i> (video game) 1990 video game

The Immortal is an isometric action-adventure game originally created by Will Harvey and released by Electronic Arts in 1990 for the Apple IIGS. It was soon ported to the Amiga, Atari ST, DOS, Nintendo Entertainment System, and Genesis. A wizard is attempting to find his mentor in a large and dangerous labyrinth. It has a high degree of graphic violence. In 2020, the NES port was re-released on the Nintendo Switch Online service, while the Genesis port was re-released on the Piko Collection Collection 1 cartridge for the Evercade.

<i>Chessmaster 2000</i> 1986 video game

The Chessmaster 2000 is a computer chess game by The Software Toolworks. It was the first in the Chessmaster series and published in 1986. It was released for Amiga, Apple II, Atari 8-bit family, Atari ST, ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, MSX, Macintosh, and IBM PC compatibles.

<i>Cloud Kingdoms</i> 1990 video game

Cloud Kingdoms is a puzzle game published by Millennium Interactive for the Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, and MS-DOS in 1990. The player controls Terry, a green bouncing sphere, on a quest to recover his magic crystals that have been stolen by Baron von Bonsai. To do so, he must travel through the eponymous Cloud Kingdoms, avoiding enemies and hazards while collecting all of the crystals within the game's time limit. The game was developed by Dene Carter at Logotron, with sounds and music composed by David Whittaker.

<i>Jack Nicklaus Greatest 18 Holes of Major Championship Golf</i> 1988 video game

Jack Nicklaus' Greatest 18 Holes of Major Championship Golf is a golf-simulation video game developed by Sculptured Software, and published by Accolade beginning in 1988. It was released for the Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Apple IIGS, Atari ST, Commodore 64 (C64), MS-DOS, Macintosh, MSX, Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), PC-88, Sharp X68000, and Game Boy.

<i>P-47: The Phantom Fighter</i> 1988 video game

P-47: The Phantom Fighter is a 1988 horizontally scrolling shooter arcade video game originally developed by NMK and published by Jaleco. Set during World War II, players control a Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighter aircraft to face against the Nazis, who are occupying multiple countries around the world. Its gameplay involves destroying waves of enemies, picking up power-ups and new weapons, and destroying bosses. It ran on the Mega System 1 hardware.

<i>Pink Panther</i> (video game) 1988 video game

Pink Panther is a 1988 video game based on the character of the same name. It was developed by German company Magic Bytes and published by Gremlin Graphics. It was released in Europe for Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum. Pink Panther was criticized for its control and difficulty, although the Amiga and Atari ST versions received praise for their graphics.

<i>Red Heat</i> (video game) 1989 video game

Red Heat is a beat 'em up video game based on the 1988 film of the same name. It was developed by British studio Special FX and published by Ocean Software. It was released in Europe in 1989, for Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64 (C64), and ZX Spectrum.

<i>Sex Olympics</i> 1991 erotic point-and-click adventure game by Free Spirit Software

Sex Olympics, alternatively titled Brad Stallion in Sex Olympics is an erotic point-and-click adventure game developed and self-published by Free Spirit Software, and released for DOS, Atari ST, and Amiga. The Amiga version of Sex Olympics was released in Europe in April 1991. Sex Olympics is the finale of the Brad Stallion series, and is preceded by Sex Vixens from Space (1988), Planet of Lust (1989), and Bride of the Robot (1989). Sex Olympics was panned by reviewers.

<i>Planet of Lust</i> 1989 erotic text adventure game by Free Spirit Software

Planet of Lust is a 1989 erotic text adventure game developed and self-published by Free Spirit Software, and released for Commodore 64, DOS, Atari ST, and Amiga. The Amiga version of Planet of Lust was released in Europe in April 1989. Planet of Lust is the second game in the Brad Stallion series; it is preceded by Sex Vixens from Space (1988), and succeeded by Bride of the Robot (1989) and Sex Olympics (1991).

<i>Bride of the Robot</i> 1989 erotic text adventure game by Free Spirit Software

Bride of the Robot is a 1989 erotic text adventure game developed and self-published by Free Spirit Software and released for the Amiga and Atari ST. The Amiga version of Bride of the Robot was published in Europe in June 1989 by CSJ Computersoft. Bride of the Robot is the third entry in the Brad Stallion series, and is preceded by Sex Vixens from Space (1989) and Planet of Lust (1989), and succeeded by Sex Olympics (1991).

<i>Centerfold Squares</i> 1988 erotic video game

Centerfold Squares, retitled Centrefold Squares in Europe, is an erotic puzzle game originally developed and self-published by Artworx and released in 1988 for the Amiga, Atari ST and DOS. The game is a variation of Reversi where rectangular sections of an image of a nude model are revealed as the player earns points. Centrefold Squares was published by CDS Software in Europe, and published by Proein S.A under the original American title in Spain.

<i>Cover Girl Strip Poker</i> 1991 erotic video game

Cover Girl Strip Poker, alternately titled Cover Girl Poker, is a 1991 erotic video game based upon five-card strip poker and originally developed and self-published by Emotional Pictures; it was released for the Amiga, DOS, Commodore 64, CDTV, and CD32. Cover Girl Strip Poker is the original Danish title; it was retitled Cover Girl Poker outside of Denmark in the rest of Europe, and the title was subsequently reverted to Cover Girl Strip Poker for the European CDTV and CD-ROM DOS releases. Emotional Pictures was a subsidiary of Danish company InterActive Vision A/S.

<i>Firezone</i> 1988 video game

Firezone is a 1988 computer wargame developed by Arcadia and published by Personal Software Services (PSS) for the Amstrad CPC. It is part of PSS' Wargamers series. Ports for Commodore 64, Amiga, Atari ST, and MS-DOS were released later.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Sex Vixens from Space". Your Sinclair. No. 38. Dennis Publishing. February 1989. p. 8.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Reuterswärd, Andreas (September 1988). "Dirty-games". Datormagazin (in Swedish). Vol. 3, no. 12. Egmont Publishing. p. 3.{{cite magazine}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  3. 1 2 3 Sex Vixens from Space (1988). Amiga. Free Spirit Software. Free Spirit Software. Scene: Introduction.
  4. 1 2 3 "Free Spirit Software Games: Sex And Violence Vol. 1 Compilation Advertisement". Ahoy!. No. 57. Ion International. September 1988. p. 35.
  5. "Sex Vixens from Space Amiga & DOS Advertisement". .info. No. 23. Info Publications Ltd. November 1988. p. 25.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Think big, big games: Free Spirit". Amiga Magazine (in Italian). No. 13. Gruppo Editoriale Jackson. June 1990. p. 57-58.
  7. 1 2 Staff (November 1996). "150 Best (and 50 Worst) Games of All Time". Computer Gaming World . No. 148. Ziff Davis. p. 94.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Zimmermann, Bernd (December 1988). "Weder sexy noch sonst was!" [Neither sexy nor anything else!]. Aktueller Software Markt (in German). Tronic Verlag. p. 88.
  9. 1 2 3 Malcolm, Tom (November 1988). "Sex Vixens from Space Amiga Review". .info. No. 23. Info Publications Ltd. p. 48.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 Reuterswärd, Andreas (February 1989). "Sex Vixens from Space". Datormagazin (in Swedish). Vol. 4, no. 3. Egmont Publishing. p. 16.{{cite magazine}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  11. 1 2 3 4 Addams, Shay (September 1989). "Sex Vixens in Space". QuestBusters. Vol. 6, no. 9. p. 6, 14.
  12. 1 2 "Stop Sex in England!". Amiga Byte (in Italian). No. 10. Elettronica 2000. March 1989. p. 17.
  13. 1 2 3 "Dangerous". .info. No. 24. Info Publications Ltd. January 1989. p. 30.
  14. 1 2 3 "Sex Vixens from Space - banned in Britain!". The Australian Commodore and Amiga Review. Vol. 6, no. 2. Saturday Magazine. February 1989. p. 9.
  15. "Sex Vixens from Space Back Cover".{{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)(1988). Free Spirit Software. Free Spirit Software.
  16. 1 2 Sex And Violence Vol. 1 (1988). Commodore 64. Free Spirit Software. Free Spirit Software. Scene: Sex Vixens from Space.
  17. 1 2 3 "Sex Vixens from Space Amiga Manual" (PDF).{{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)(1988). Free Spirit Software. Free Spirit Software.
  18. 1 2 Sex Vixens from Space (1988). Amiga. Free Spirit Software. Free Spirit Software. Scene: Credits.
  19. "Sex Vixens from Space Atari ST Manual" (PDF).{{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)(1989). Free Spirit Software. Free Spirit Software.
  20. Hybner, Tomas (January 1989). "Mr. Hybner's Corner". Datormagazin (in Swedish). Vol. 4, no. 1. Egmont Publishing. p. 9.
  21. "Alla mässnyheter från A till W - Free Spirit Software" [All trade news from A to W - Free Spirit Software]. Datormagazin (in Swedish). Vol. 4, no. 1. Egmont Publishing. January 1989. p. 5.
  22. Addams, Shay (October 1989). "Just for Fun: To Live and Die in L.A." COMPUTE!. Vol. 1, no. 4. ABC Publishing. p. 16-17.
  23. Johnson, Amy H. (June 1990). "Who's Buying Now?". STart. No. 34. Antic Publishing. p. 36-37.
  24. "Weirdogames Inc.: Sex Vixens from Space". Game Republic (in Italian). No. 149. Play Lifestyle Media. June 2013. p. 93.