The Collection Chamber: THE FACE OF LIFE

A Collection of LIFE Magazine Covers and Classic Images 1936 through 1972

THE BEST THAT LIFE HAS TO OFFER

From 1936 to 1972, the weekly LIFE captured and chronicled the images and events that shaped our world. Now you can relive those moments with this captivating, multimedia CD-ROM. The Face of LIFE™ is 37 years of history like you've never seen, heard or experienced before.

"THE FACE OF LIFE" FEATURES
Over 4,000 of the world's best photographs
Over 2,000 letter-to-the-editor
370 fascinating trivia questions
1,800 LIFE covers
Over 30 minutes of historical film footage
Information on the movies, books, plays and music of each year
Comprehensive listings of world events
The most popular songs from each year
A portfolio of classic ads as they appeared in LIFE
HISTORY IS AT YOUR FINGERTIPS

With the Editor's Desk as your navigating tool, you can:
Tap on a typewriter key as a shortcut to gain instant access to subjects covered in the pages of LIFE.
Hear what Americans jitterbugged, twisted and swooned to over the years by listening to the most popular tunes of the times.
Scan the proofsheets to explore LIFE's greatest essays - from sessions with starlets to famous war coverage.
Take a tour of classic print ads as seen in LIFE.
View over 30 minutes of historical film footage, including the explosion of the mighty Hindenburg.

~ from the back of the box

We may be living through eventful times (to put it mildly) but in the context of history, humanity has had it worse. Even within the past hundred years we've survived unprecedented war, genocide and political turmoil. And, since 1936, Life Magazine has seen it all. The weekly American periodical documents some incredible photographs and world events, and each issue up until the December of 1972 is summarised in The Face of Life, a celebratory multimedia CD-ROM from 1994.

The issues aren't here in full. That would be an impossible undertaking for the technology of the time, but every cover has been scanned and presented in 256-color graphics. From JFK to Neil Armstrong, the war in Europe to the war in Vietnam, every major event is covered. Each issue will come with a summary of headlines and, if the given issue had one, a letter to the editor.

Scour the pages for interesting articles. Here is the birth of the space race. Wonder what happened... (left).

Was it this?! No, this is a video of the 1937 Zeppelin disaster. Brutal (right).

Everything else is dedicated to the year rather than the week but with 33 years represented, that's still a good number. We have some interesting ads, including early ones for Coca Cola and Chevrolet, a run down of the most popular music charts (with a couple of short samples to boot) and a nice bit of archive news footage. Running in full screen, these videos depict some of the most impactful moments of the 20th century be it the Zeppelin disaster or the assassination of JFK. While short and by no means comprehensive, they're all fascinating to watch.

A selected article from each year is also included. The pages have been scanned which give you a good enough view of the images, but the resolution isn't anywhere good enough to make the writing legible in any way. What the developers at Creative Multimedia have done is transcribe the text and have it pop up in a window when clicked on. A good enough workaround, but I still found myself curious enough to hunt the full issue on the Internet Archive and read it that way.

The trivia quiz. An emulation error makes the text is a little hard to read for some reason (left).
Tuning the radio for a short clip of one of the best song of the year (right).

But Life Magazine wasn't really about the text. There are no long-winded essays with each article written over only a half-dozen paragraphs. What really shines is the photography, and while it's only presented here in 256 colours, it's more than enough to showcase the talent and the incredible subjects they represent. This all coalesces into the software's only game; trivia. These multiple choice questions are seemingly endless, and often ask you to recall some very obscure facts that have long since left the zeitgeist. Would anyone still know that the first colour footage broadcast on US televisions was tennis?

There is a treasure trove of historical facts within the screens of The Face of Life. Each one presented in an easy to consume and entertaining package. My only issue is its lack of completeness only briefly touching upon the articles of each issue. Thankfully, The Internet Archive is a great resource. After peaking my interest browsing the CD-ROM, I often headed there to dive into the real thing. At the very least, The Face of Life serves as a robust index.

To download the game, follow the link below. This custom installer exclusive to The Collection Chamber uses the vNext fork of PCem running Windows '95. Press Ctrl-Alt-PgDown to toggle fullscreen. Press Ctrl-End or middle mouse button to release the mouse. Read the ChamberNotes.txt for more detailed information. Tested on Windows 10.

IMPORTANT - Remember to shut down the emulated version of Windows before exiting PCem. This could potentially result in errors, lost saves and corrupt data. The program will automatically shut down when you exit the game. Close the program only when it is safe to do so.

File Size: 632 Mb. Install Size: 909 Mb. Need help? Consult the Collection Chamber FAQ

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