The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Developer(s)	Infocom
Publisher(s)	Infocom
Designer(s)	Douglas Adams and Steve Meretzky
Engine	ZIL
Release date(s)	1984
Genre(s)	Interactive fiction
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	n/a
Platform(s)	Amiga, Apple II, Atari 8-bit, Atari ST, Commodore 64, MS-DOS, TRS-80, TI-99/4A, Macintosh
Media	3½" or 5¼" disk
System requirements	No special requirements
Input	Keyboard

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is an interactive fiction computer game based on the seminal comic science fiction series of the same name. It was designed by series creator Douglas Adams and Infocom's Steve Meretzky, and was first released in 1984 for the Apple II, Commodore 64, Atari, and the IBM PC. The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (computer game) box art. ... A video game developer is a software developer (a business or an individual) that creates computer or video games. ... Zork universe Zork games Zork Anthology Zork trilogy Zork I   Zork II   Zork III Beyond Zork   Zork Zero   Planetfall Enchanter trilogy Enchanter   Sorcerer   Spellbreaker Other games Wishbringer   Return to Zork Zork: Nemesis   Zork Grand Inquisitor Zork: The Undiscovered Underground Topics in Zork Encyclopedia Frobozzica Characters   Kings   Creatures Timeline   Magic   Calendar... Video game publishers are companies that publish video games that they have either developed internally or have had developed by a video game developer. ... A game designer is a person who designs games. ... Douglas Noël Adams in an undated publicity photograph by Jill Furmanovsky. ... Steve Eric Meretzky (born May 1, 1957) was raised in Yonkers, New York and attended MIT to pursue a career in architecture. ... A game engine is the core software component of a video game. ... The Z machine at Sandia National Laboratory. ... 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This is a listing of computer and video game genres with brief descriptions and examples from each genre. ... Zork, an early work of interactive fiction, running on a modern interpreter Interactive fiction, often abbreviated IF, describes software containing simulated environments in which players use text commands to control characters. ... In computer games and video games, single-player refers to the variant of a particular game where input from only one player is expected throughout the course of the gaming session. ... This article is about computer and video games. ... The original Amiga (1985) The Amiga is a family of home/personal computers originally developed by Amiga Corporation as an advanced game console. ... The 1977 Apple II, complete with integrated keyboard, color high-resolution graphics, sound, a plastic case, and eight expansion slots. ... An Atari 800XL, one of the most popular machines in the series. ... The Atari 520ST Atari 1040STF with SC1224 color monitor The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was commercially popular from 1985 to the early 1990s. ... For the hip hop group, see Commodore 64 (band). ... Microsofts disk operating system, MS-DOS, was Microsofts implementation of DOS, which was the first popular operating system for the IBM PC, and until recently, was widely used on the PC compatible platform. ... TRS-80 Model I. TRS-80 (also affectionately or derisively known as the Trash-80) was the designation for several lines of desktop microcomputer systems produced by the Tandy Corporation and sold through its RadioShack stores in the late-1970s and 1980s. ... The Texas Instruments TI-99/4A was an early home computer, released in June 1981, originally at a price of $525. ... The first Macintosh computer, introduced in 1984, upgraded to a 512K Fat Mac. The Macintosh, or Mac, line of personal computers is designed, developed, manufactured, and marketed by Apple Computer. ... A floppy disk is a data storage device that is composed of a ring of thin, flexible (i. ... A floppy disk is a data storage device that is composed of a ring of thin, flexible (i. ... A computer keyboard is a peripheral modeled after the typewriter keyboard. ... Zork, an early work of interactive fiction, running on a modern interpreter Interactive fiction, often abbreviated IF, describes software containing simulated environments in which players use text commands to control characters. ... A computer game is a game composed of a computer-controlled virtual universe that players interact with in order to achieve a defined goal or set of goals. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... The cover of the first novel in the Hitchhikers series, from a late 1990s printing. ... Douglas Noël Adams in an undated publicity photograph by Jill Furmanovsky. ... Zork universe Zork games Zork Anthology Zork trilogy Zork I   Zork II   Zork III Beyond Zork   Zork Zero   Planetfall Enchanter trilogy Enchanter   Sorcerer   Spellbreaker Other games Wishbringer   Return to Zork Zork: Nemesis   Zork Grand Inquisitor Zork: The Undiscovered Underground Topics in Zork Encyclopedia Frobozzica Characters   Kings   Creatures Timeline   Magic   Calendar... Steve Eric Meretzky (born May 1, 1957) was raised in Yonkers, New York and attended MIT to pursue a career in architecture. ... 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Apple II was one of the most popular personal computers of the 1980s. ... For the hip hop group, see Commodore 64 (band). ... For the concept Atari (当たり) in the board game of Go, see Atari (go term). ... IBM PC (IBM 5150) with keyboard and green screen monochrome monitor (IBM 5151), running MS-DOS 5. ...

Plot

The game loosely mirrors a portion of the series' plot, beginning with the impending destruction of Arthur Dent's house and subsequent demolition of the Earth by Vogons. Simon Jones as an upset Arthur Dent, watching his home being demolished in the first episode of the BBC TV series. ... This is a list of races, fauna and flora featured in various incarnations of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. ...

After being rescued from open space by the Heart of Gold and figuring out how to activate the Infinite Improbability Drive, the player is hurled through space and time, assuming the roles of Ford Prefect, Zaphod Beeblebrox and Trillian at various intervals. (The question of the player character's identity at any time can be answered by the innovative WHO AM I? command.) For the majority of the game, Arthur Dent is the main player character. Heart of Gold is a fictional spaceship in The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. ... The Infinite Improbability Drive is the spaceship drive for the starship Heart of Gold in the science fiction story The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. ... David Dixon as Ford Prefect in Episode One of the TV adaptation of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. ... Mark Wing-Davey as Zaphod Beeblebrox, from the TV adaptation. ... Zooey Deschanel as Trillian from the film adaptation. ...

An in-game virtual edition of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy provides a plethora of major and minor characters, locations, and miscellanea from the series that can be referenced, if not directly encountered. Topics ranging from Pan Galactic Gargle Blasters to Galaxia Woonbeam can be looked up with the command CONSULT GUIDE ABOUT <topic>. There are many minor characters in the various versions of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams. ... This is a list of miscellaneous elements in Douglas Adams The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. ... The Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster is a fictional alcoholic drink which is mentioned in Douglas Adams humorous science fiction radio series, novels, computer game, movie, comic book mini-series, and television series The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. ...

The ultimate goal of the game is casually mentioned by Zaphod in an offhanded manner: finding the legendary lost planet of Magrathea. While the other characters relax in the ship's sauna, however, Arthur has to jump through a number of hoops to collect a bizarre array of tools and four types of fluff before the Heart of Gold gets anywhere near the planet. The problem of managing this burgeoning inventory is neatly handled by a humorously ill-defined object called "That thing your aunt gave you which you don't know what it is", which has two important attributes: a nearly limitless capacity for holding other objects, and a penchant for showing up in the player's inventory after seemingly being lost. It has been suggested that Rupert (planet) be merged into this article or section. ... The magic satchel is a term used often used in reference to computer role-playing games. ...

When the characters finally set foot on Magrathea, the game ends with the never-fulfilled promise of a thrilling sequel.

Feelies

Most Infocom games contained "feelies", bonus novelty items included to enhance the immersiveness of the game. The feelies provided with this game included: Feelies is the name Infocom gave extra content they included with the boxed versions of their interactive fiction computer games. ...

• A pin-on button with "Don't Panic!" printed in large, friendly letters (opposite of a "Panic Button")
• A small plastic packet containing "pocket fluff" (a cottonball)
• Order for destruction of Arthur Dent's house
• Order for destruction of Earth written in "Vogon"
• Official Microscopic Space Fleet (an empty plastic bag)
• "Peril Sensitive Sunglasses" (a pair of opaque black cardboard "sunglasses")
• How Many Times Has This Happened to You?, an advertising brochure for the fictional guidebook/encyclopedia The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
• No tea

Some fictional universes feature useful guidebooks which assist the hero and friends through difficult situations. ... Brockhaus Konversations-Lexikon, 1902 An encyclopedia or encyclopaedia, also (rarely) encyclopædia,[1] is a written compendium of knowledge. ...

Notes

HHGTTG is generally considered to be the first interactive fiction game to intentionally cheat players. Adding to its reputation for deviousness was "The Babel Fish Dispenser", a wickedly complicated puzzle appearing very early in the game. Failure to "solve" the Babel fish puzzle did not kill the player, but rendered the remainder of the game unwinnable. Another fiendish puzzle involved the ten tools scattered throughout the game's locations. One of the final puzzles involved Marvin asking for a particular tool to use in unjamming the ship's hatch. If the player had failed to collect ten, Marvin would invariably ask for one of the missing ones. Likewise, while the opening section of the game closely resembles the opening scenes of the original radio play and book, there are several actions that the player must perform in order to make the game winnable. In spite of all of this, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was rated as "Standard" difficulty. Anatomy of a babel fish as explained in the BBC TV series. ... Zork made unwinnable in 6 turns. ... In the BBC TV series, the marketing division of the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation defines a robot [like Marvin] as Your plastic pal whos fun to be with. Marvin the Paranoid Android is a fictional character in The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy series by Douglas Adams. ...

Curiously, the player is seldom given an actual purpose, apart from the implicit goal stated by the inventory item of "no tea". Much of the game is spent simply reacting to situations, such as the impending deaths variously threatened by bulldozers, matter-transference hangovers, the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal, or nuclear missiles. This lack of direction had little effect in deterring fans of Adams' work. A bulldozer is a powerful crawler (caterpillar tracked tractor) equipped with a blade. ... A hangover is the sum of unpleasant physical effects following heavy consumption of alcohol or the use of other drugs. ... This is a list of races, fauna and flora featured in various incarnations of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. ... A nuclear missile is a type of: missile nuclear weapon It could also refer to a missile with some form of nuclear propulsion, such as the Project Pluto cruise missile. ...

The Infocom version of Hitchhiker's Guide quickly became a fan classic; it was one of five top-selling Infocom games to be produced in Solid Gold versions, with a built-in hint system not included in the originals. The game was rereleased by Activision in several collection packages before rights reverted to Adams. It was later rereleased online as a Java applet on Douglas Adams' website, and was then again as a Flash version on September 21, 2004, coinciding with the initial radio broadcast of the Tertiary Phase. The Flash version of the game is illustrated by Rod Lord, who also produced the animations for the popular TV series. On March 2, 2005, this version won the Interactive BAFTA Award for Best Online Entertainment[1]. Activision, Inc. ... A Java applet is an applet written in the Java programming language. ... Macromedia Flash, or simply Flash, refers to both the Macromedia Flash Player and to a multimedia authoring program used to create content for it as well as games or movies created using the program. ... September 21 is the 264th day of the year (265th in leap years). ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The cover of the first novel in the Hitchhikers series, from a late 1990s printing. ... March 2 is the 61st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (62nd in leap years). ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The game appeared in an exhibition called "Game On", which has toured museums worldwide since 2002, representing the text-based genre of computer games. The National Gallery in London, a famous museum. ... For the Cusco album, see 2002 (album). ...

External links

• MobyGames entry on the game
• BBC Radio 4 website illustrated version
• The Java version of the game on Douglas Adams website
• Walkthrough solution from IGN.com
• Pictures and scans of the package, feelies and documentation
• The Infocom Bugs List entry on the game

	The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy By Douglas Adams
Books:	The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy | The Restaurant at the End of the Universe | Life, the Universe and Everything | So Long, and Thanks For All the Fish | Mostly Harmless | Young Zaphod Plays it Safe | The Original Radio Scripts
Media:	Radio series (Phases 1 & 2, Phases 3, 4 & 5) | TV series | Movie | Computer game
Characters:	Arthur Dent | Ford Prefect | Zaphod Beeblebrox | Marvin | Trillian | Minor characters
Miscellanea:	Races and Species | Places | The Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything | Babel fish | Bistromathic drive | Cultural references | Heart of Gold | Infinidim Enterprises | Infinite Improbability Drive | International Phenomenon | Notable phrases | Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster | Point-of-view gun | Somebody Else's Problem field | Sirius Cybernetics Corporation | Starship Titanic | Total Perspective Vortex | Vogon poetry | Wikkit Gate | Other miscellanea