~3 minute readREVIEWS: GAME REVIEWS
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Published by: Infocom Inc., 1984
For: IBM PC, Apple II, TRS-80, Commodore 64, ATARI and most MS-DOS systems
Based upon Douglas Adams' book by the same name.
Infocom Inc. has been making quite a name for itself lately with a rather unique line of interactive fiction software. Previous titles, Planetfall and Sorcerer, have sold well and been well received. The latest entry into the marketplace, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, is almost sure to become a bestseller. The reasons are quite simple. By merging its proven interactive fiction system with the stories created by Douglas Adams, Infocom has created a product that allows the user to romp through one of the most popular science fiction/fantasy storylines of the last decade.
For those of you not familiar with the story told in the Hitchhiker's Guide trilogy, the story concerns the adventures of a confused earthling by the name of Arthur Dent. Arthur is the sole survivor of the demolition of the planet Earth. It may be of some worth to know that in this story, Earth is accidentally demolished to make way for a hyperspace freeway bypass. With such total disregard for reality and the Laws of Physics, it is easy to see why poor Arthur is so confused. With the help of his alien friend, Ford Prefect, he merrily hitchhikes his way from one odd adventure to another.
The game format for Hitchhiker's Guide is really quite simple. The program provides the user with guidance in the form of situational text. The user then inputs the required action to the program and a resolution is generated. The unique nature of this program is that all communication between the program and user is done in basic, friendly English. The supporting documentation claims the Hitchhiker's Guide has a usable vocabulary of over 800 words. Within the limits of the available words, a great many things can be done by the player.
An example of a "chapter" of play in the Hitchhiker's Guide might include the characters) regaining consciousness, examining the environment, discovering any problems and opportunities (if any), and attempting to move on to the next action (or maybe just survive). The user controls Arthur and all that he carries, does, and says. While this makes for a lot of action and excitement, it does tend to limit the user options if Arthur is injured or passes out. In several examples, I had to go through 15-25 play cycles to finally arrive at the proper response to get Arthur back on his feet.
A truly unique feature of Hitchhiker's Guide is the Guide itself. By "consulting the guide" the user is able to access any number of useful pieces of information. In fact, Arthur's survival will depend upon proper use of guide information.
The one major problem with the game is that the supporting documentation, while slick and attractive, is not very helpful as a player aid. The most extreme weakness is the lack of a list of the entire 800 + word vocabulary that the program utilizes. This would have provided a great deal more satisfaction than the assortment of Hitchhiker's Guide paraphernalia supplied in the package. In addition, most of the examples of play are not from this, but a previous Infocom interactive fiction game. While Infocom claims that learning the game should be viewed as a puzzle, the only puzzle to me is why a company with the reputation of Infocom would skimp on a product as good as Hitchhiker's Guide.
In spite of this, Hitchhiker's Guide is an excellent game with a great deal going for it. In addition to an outstanding subject, the execution from the original book trilogy to an interactive software package is nothing short of super. This package should not only appeal to the many die-hard fans of the original Hitchhiker's Guide book series, but even to those who have no concept of who or what Zaphod Beeblebrox is. Four and a half stars for this one.
This article appeared in
MicroTimes
Feb 1985
These historical, out-of-print articles and literary works have been GNUSTOed onto InvisiClues.org for academic and research purposes.
