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> do not start with infocom games Generally yes, however Hitchhiker is the one huge exception to that. Its very accessible, well written and the BBC released a

> do not start with infocom games Generally yes, however Hitchhiker is the one huge exception to that. Its very accessible, well written and the BBC released a version for the web: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/1g84m0sXpnNCv84GpN2PLZG/the-game-30th-anniversary-edition https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/1g84m0sXpnNCv84GpN...

kqr 1y ago
This must be a different version than the original, then. The original was exceedingly cruel, as Douglas Adams wanted to play practical jokes riffing on genre conventions.
- lyu07282 1y ago
  I always liked it for the same reason you disliked it, but having read the book and the added room visuals in the BBC version might make it easier too. Liking Douglas Adams humor is also a big factor I imagine, I thought it was very funny.
  - andrepd 1y ago
    It is very funny! That's why I felt no shame in looking up hints/walkthrough: I'm there for the writing and the exploration, not the puzzle which requires you to pick up a random item 1h before it's apparent you need it... :p
- jfultz 1y ago
  I remembered a comic panel that I'd seen in the New Zork Times back in the day, and I just found it...page 7 of this: https://infodoc.plover.net/nzt/NZT4.4.pdf https://infodoc.plover.net/nzt/NZT4.4.pdf The comic pokes fun at the ridiculously cruel babelfish puzzle. Which, I'm proud to say, I solved back in the day without assistance, after a full day's worth of effort, and requiring at one point to completely restart the game because of an apparently useless item I didn't pick up at the very beginning of the game (if you've solved it, you'll know the item I'm referring to). But...while that was a nice achievement, I still got stuck later in the game, trying to fix the Nutrimatic.
  - qmr 1y ago
    I solved it as well. ... but I'm pretty sure my game copy had "Invisiclues" or whatever installed. I'm curious why some of the games in the 90s re-releases had this and some did not.
    - ghaff 1y ago
      I'm not aware of Invisiclues ever having been "installed." I'm only familiar with them as booklets with "invisible" ink. And, at least initially, they were created at least quasi-independently of Infocom by someone who later joined Infocom.
      - qmr 1y ago
        Oh yea! There was something in the manual, or in the installed hints about that invisible ink thing. Before my time. The re releases I played they were under "hint" or "hints" or "help" or something. There was an are you sure / really sure admonishment, then breadcrumb bit by bit hints towards solution.
        ghaff 1y ago
        May have been re-releases. I had a lot of the original games with feelies and (effectively) anti-pirating code wheels and the like. I think I have one of the CD re-releases and I play for a bit now and then with a Z interpreter.
        qmr 1y ago
        Yes rereleases as I stated above. ( or meant to ) I recall my father being quite excited when he saw them. Not sure what games he played first on the Commodore, if any. They amused me for a time at 9-10, then later at maybe 14-15 or so I got into them again playing on a Palm VIIx with a folding Stowaway keyboard. I also read through HHGTTG on that same device. https://archive.org/details/sci-fi-collection-the-usa/ https://archive.org/details/sci-fi-collection-the-usa/ and the like.

kqr 1y ago

This must be a different version than the original, then. The original was exceedingly cruel, as Douglas Adams wanted to play practical jokes riffing on genre conventions.

lyu07282 1y ago
I always liked it for the same reason you disliked it, but having read the book and the added room visuals in the BBC version might make it easier too. Liking Douglas Adams humor is also a big factor I imagine, I thought it was very funny.
- andrepd 1y ago
  It is very funny! That's why I felt no shame in looking up hints/walkthrough: I'm there for the writing and the exploration, not the puzzle which requires you to pick up a random item 1h before it's apparent you need it... :p
jfultz 1y ago
I remembered a comic panel that I'd seen in the New Zork Times back in the day, and I just found it...page 7 of this: https://infodoc.plover.net/nzt/NZT4.4.pdf https://infodoc.plover.net/nzt/NZT4.4.pdf The comic pokes fun at the ridiculously cruel babelfish puzzle. Which, I'm proud to say, I solved back in the day without assistance, after a full day's worth of effort, and requiring at one point to completely restart the game because of an apparently useless item I didn't pick up at the very beginning of the game (if you've solved it, you'll know the item I'm referring to). But...while that was a nice achievement, I still got stuck later in the game, trying to fix the Nutrimatic.
- qmr 1y ago
  I solved it as well. ... but I'm pretty sure my game copy had "Invisiclues" or whatever installed. I'm curious why some of the games in the 90s re-releases had this and some did not.
  - ghaff 1y ago
    I'm not aware of Invisiclues ever having been "installed." I'm only familiar with them as booklets with "invisible" ink. And, at least initially, they were created at least quasi-independently of Infocom by someone who later joined Infocom.
    - qmr 1y ago
      Oh yea! There was something in the manual, or in the installed hints about that invisible ink thing. Before my time. The re releases I played they were under "hint" or "hints" or "help" or something. There was an are you sure / really sure admonishment, then breadcrumb bit by bit hints towards solution.
      - ghaff 1y ago
        May have been re-releases. I had a lot of the original games with feelies and (effectively) anti-pirating code wheels and the like. I think I have one of the CD re-releases and I play for a bit now and then with a Z interpreter.
        qmr 1y ago
        Yes rereleases as I stated above. ( or meant to ) I recall my father being quite excited when he saw them. Not sure what games he played first on the Commodore, if any. They amused me for a time at 9-10, then later at maybe 14-15 or so I got into them again playing on a Palm VIIx with a folding Stowaway keyboard. I also read through HHGTTG on that same device. https://archive.org/details/sci-fi-collection-the-usa/ https://archive.org/details/sci-fi-collection-the-usa/ and the like.