31–40 of 96 posts
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Unlikely to be the source as TIFF was first released 1986 and HHGTTG initial "release" was 1978. Although I'm not sure "the answer" was mentioned in the original radio show.
Right, the TIFF creators were obviously inspired by the Hitchhikers Guide.
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Also off-topic, TIFF files use 42 as a magic number in bytes 2 and 3 of the file header: "The number 42 was chosen for its deep philosophical significance."
Unlikely to be the source as TIFF was first released 1986 and HHGTTG initial "release" was 1978. Although I'm not sure "the answer" was mentioned in the original radio show.
There's a certain sense of loss I feel at playing a game that cannot be cheated. In the mid-80's playing interactive fiction there was no way to get help unless you could convince your parents to buy you invisiclues. You had to solve these games the hard way: on your own. Sure, there are games like that today but they require hand-eye coordination or grinding, not involved word-puzzle solving and thinking in many dif…
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Until my most recent workstation build, my two computers were Deepthought (the higher-end desktop) and Marvin (smaller and more finicky laptop). Never did think of an appropriate name for the new desktop though. edit: thanks for all of the suggestions!
Earth2.0
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Yes! I love the story with video games - it’s the main draw for me, especially as I get older. It often feels like the plot is held up by having to go do six mundane tasks. I’d be happy having a game where you just walk around and talk to people. Have it almost be like a book, but with the added extras of art and music. Maybe there’s a genre for this, and I just don’t know how to look for it properly.
It's the "interactive fiction" genre.
"Hitchhiker’s is hard to summarize, but one of its overarching themes is that technology, in the hands of big business and bloated bureaucracies, does not make life better: in fact it makes it far, far worse." Seems Adams was ahead of his time, I wonder what he would have thought if he were alive today given the antics of Google, Facebook et al. Incidentally, my printer is called Marvin for obvious reasons (Adams alm…
Given how heavily Adams struggled with procrastination, I wonder how he'd have fared in today's distractopia... he might not've gotten around to writing much. But what I wouldn't give to have him still around even just for the occasional quip.
I can certainly see him both being delighted by Twitter and also becoming incredibly bored with Twitter, over not too long a time period...
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Earth2.0
You're doing a Microsoft and skipping one version? Why not just "Earth"? Deepthought wasn't Earth.
"Hitchhiker’s is hard to summarize, but one of its overarching themes is that technology, in the hands of big business and bloated bureaucracies, does not make life better: in fact it makes it far, far worse." Seems Adams was ahead of his time, I wonder what he would have thought if he were alive today given the antics of Google, Facebook et al. Incidentally, my printer is called Marvin for obvious reasons (Adams alm…
Until my most recent workstation build, my two computers were Deepthought (the higher-end desktop) and Marvin (smaller and more finicky laptop). Never did think of an appropriate name for the new desktop though. edit: thanks for all of the suggestions!
I tried the unnoficial Spanish translation and it's really bad. I may try the original English version, but I think it will be very difficult to grasp some words without WordNet.
For example, there are 10 objects scattered in the game that you have to collect for a puzzle at the end. They are never mentioned when you look around the room. At the end of the game Marvin will ask you for one of those objects. You might be thinking "ok, so if I miss one I still have a 90% chance of completing the game right.", but the game checks and if you're missing one he will always ask for that one object. You have to collect them all.
There's a bit in the article where the author talks about the clues for the Babel fish puzzle, but even he has to admit that the last part is basically just completely random based on what you happen to have in the inventory. Also, he doesn't mention that the puzzle is timed. If you don't complete it in a set number of moves you die. It is a game that is relentlessly unfair to the player.
I know this is a lot of words about an old game, but the Hitchhikers Guide series was one of my favorite books growing up and I was so excited when my parents bought this for the Commodore 64. I played it many many times, had the Babel Fish puzzle and others down pat, but still only made it maybe 1/3 of the way through the game before getting completely stuck.
I tried the unnoficial Spanish translation and it's really bad. I may try the original English version, but I think it will be very difficult to grasp some words without WordNet.