GOG Brings Back 'Big Box' PC Games, One Printable Template At a Time
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Those who remember PC gaming in the days before Steam may have fond memories of the "big box" packaging that made those games stand out as shelf eye candy and sought-after in-home collectibles. Today, PC gaming platform GOG is hoping to reignite some of the nostalgia for those days by adding downloadable 3D models and printable, foldable…
GOG is reviving nostalgia for PC gaming’s past by offering downloadable 3D models and printable, foldable high-resolution packaging scans for five classic PC games on its platform. The "Printable Big Box" collection, currently featuring Armikrog, Descent, Hitman: Codename 47, Myst, and Star Trek: 25th Anniversary, allows players to download a ZIP file containing an animated 3D box art object and a flat printable template in various formats.
These downloadable items enable users to engage in a papercraft project reminiscent of the era when PC game boxes lined shelves. The initiative is part of GOG's Preservation Program and a collaboration with Benjamin Wimmer's Big Box Collection website, which now houses over 1,000 3D scans of physical PC games. Wimmer acknowledges the artistic appeal of physical boxes but recognizes their evolution into interactive elements on modern digital storefronts, emphasizing the importance of preserving the physicality of gaming while maintaining its accessibility on contemporary PCs.
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