The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Game is Available Online

Most people are familiar with the work of Douglas Adams, primarily with The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Some know the book, others know the movie. But not as many knew about the Infocom game from the 1980s. To celebrate over 30 years of the game's existence, BBC has uploaded a web-based HD version on their website for everyone to enjoy.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy started as a book series, and, in 2005, it was made into a movie starring Martin Freeman, Sam Rockwell, Mos Def, Zooey Deschanel and the voices of Stephen Fry and Alan Rickman. Before any of this happened, it was developed into an interactive fiction video game. It was designed by series creator Douglas Adams and Infocom's Steve Meretzky, and was first released in 1984 for the Apple II, Macintosh, Commodore 64, and more.

Infocom is best known for creating influential PC games like Zork, and the premise of this game was no different. The player uses their keyboard to input basic commands (take item, go south, etc). They were also known for being unforgiving in their difficulty. Often times, singular decisions will lead to death. This led to some of the first instances of the gamer habit of saving frivolously.

Interested in playing for yourself? Visit The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy 30th Anniversary Edition game page.