The Hobbit

The Hobbit is an early computer adaptation of Tolkien's famous novel, transforming Bilbo Baggins' journey from comfortable hobbit hole to dangerous adventure into an interactive text-based experience. The player explores Middle-earth, interacts with characters, solves puzzles, and tries to survive encounters with creatures that would make most sensible hobbits turn around immediately. The game is notable for its sophisticated use of text and its attempt to give characters independent behavior, making the world feel more alive than many contemporary adventures. Of course, the interface is firmly rooted in the early 1980s, so players must communicate through typed commands rather than simply clicking on whatever looks interesting. That can be charming, although it also means occasionally arguing with the parser about what “obvious” means. For Tolkien fans and interactive-fiction historians, it remains an important and fascinating experiment.