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 nostalgia for those days by offering downloadable 3D models and printable, foldable high-res packaging scans for a selection of PC games. The ‘Printable Big Box’ collection currently includes five games: Armikrog, Descent, Hitman: Codename 47, Myst, and Star Trek: 25th Anniversary.
Players browsing these games on the GOG store will now see ‘3D Boxes’ listed among the included ‘Goodies’ before purchase. Owners of these games can download a ZIP file containing a 3D animated model (in GLB format) and a printable template in PDF, SVG, and Adobe Illustrator formats. These downloads allow users to recreate the original packaging as a papercraft project.
The 3D model animates to show the front flap opening. GOG explains that physical media often gets lost or damaged, unlike software, which continues to run on modern PCs. By providing these scans, GOG is preserving the physical artifacts associated with these games, aligning with their mission to keep games accessible on modern systems.
Source: Ars Technica
