The Weird PC Game Boxes of Hock Wah Yeo

Flipping through the 2021 book "The Boxes of Hock Wah Yeo" and checking out my collection of said boxes. These are some of my absolute favorite items in my PC game collection and I really need no excuse to talk about them, but here we are.

Here's where I bought the book:

Here's that Obscuritory article:

[hockyeo]

I am delighted that you have my book and even more talking about it. Thank you. The book is published by Colpa Press, San Francisco. The first edition was only 100 copies. There seems to be a paper shortage. The publisher informed me that they were going to print more hopefully next month. BTW my name is pronounced "YO" like you would yell out to a friend across the street.

[crescentfreshsongs]

I had no idea that one guy designed all of those boxes, I figured it was just a minor fad. That's awesome.

[returnofbeaux]

Imitation is the highest form of flattery. The Marathon boxes were gorgeous.

[BirdmanDeuce]

Clint literally has a tactile library of 90's software package design history here; and in light of nearly all software being something we download off the internet these days, it's a history that we'll likely never see again beyond the odd limited release

[scaper]

Honestly, even though the _Prince of Persia 2_ box is just _1_ upside down, and it was probably just to save money, it's actually kind of brilliant. They're visually distinct and eye-catching while clearly being thematically linked.

[JohnKelly]

I remember walking into Best Buy and seeing all the funky boxes from across the store. They were always on the top shelf, since that's where they had the most free space. It was the best advertising.

[CantankerousDave]

I worked in a software sales warehouse in the mid 90s when these things were common. When somebody groaned, we knew he’d just been handed an order pick sheet with one or more of those dang boxes on it.

[jilmarit]

Just would have thought those odd boxes had been a ”thing” back in the days. Then there is a BOOK?!

[BuckeyeStormsProductions]

I graduated HS in the mid 90's, and in HS we could take drafting classes for our art credit requirement. I took four years of drafting and design class, and one semester we did our own packaging designs inspired by this designer.

[johannamegido]

The internal conflict of really appreciating the graphic design work of all of these, vs. how happy I am that we no longer waste this much damn paper and plastic making game boxes any more.

[Ganiscol]

Unorthodox boxes always caught my eye and sparked interest - if they made the effort to give the game a special box, it likely is a special game. Or so my young self thought. 🤭

[Theodoreof]

I love this vibe of real artiste, high-concept type people just getting free reign on commercial products. You see really out there, but lovingly crafted stuff like these boxes.

[aserta]

I did a side course on box design back in high school and he was mentioned the course subjects. He also does conventional art, but it's neat to see where creative mind sends you, outside norms (with boxes) when allowed. With the loss of physical releases, we're also losing this and any potential to expand upon something that's genuinely cool, neat, and all the words usually heard on excited LGR videos. A shame.

[davel]

I was working at Babbage's when these packages were all the rage. They made shelf stock an absolute nightmare.

[mzaite]

I remember getting Jetfighter II and the box just kept unfolding, it was wild!

[Ernoburger]

I love videos like this. Should be on the main channel. Also would love to see an updated video walk-through of your entire big box PC software collection at this point. Must have grown quite a bit since you did it last. Good stuff. The careful archiving and filming of all these boxes and designs is always a treat!

[sheldoncoles]

As a graphic designer for almost 30 years, this tickles my funny bone. Thanks Clint!

[jasepoag]

As a graphic designer that occasionally does box designs, these had to have been an absolute pain in the dick to design, especially back then with the hardware and software of the time.

[IdahoBookworm]

Spectre "Challenger" (Demo) came on my family's Macintosh Performa 400, and we played it to death. It was challenging enough that I had no idea it was a demo. The game felt impossibly futuristic and surreal. The box would have really underlined that — but, since we had only the demo, I never got to see the box!

My older brother still greets me with a flat, "Hello, Man, " which is what the enemy tanks say when they spawn in if you take too long to collect the flags.

I recently restored a 1998 original iMac for my kids to use as a non-internet computer, and Spectre is once again filling the house with gunshots and chuckle-dings and "Hello, Man."

[thesteelrodent]

5:44 fun fact: once paper is foamed up to make egg trays, and stuff like this, it cannot be recycled again. The process breaks down the fibres too much so it no longer has the strength to be normal paper again, so any paper like this is only good for fuel in the incinerator.

But it's really cool someone actually made a book about all these weird boxes, and that you have so many of them. Also made me wish I'd been able to buy a lot of these games, instead of only getting them as "copy from friends". Although I do wonder if we ever had those boxes here since I don't recall ever seeing any unusual box, and I went through the games store every day on my way home from school