The Hobbit (1982 video game): Difference between revisions

From Tolkien Gateway
mNo edit summary
No edit summary
(21 intermediate revisions by 8 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{expansion}}{{disambig-more|The Hobbit|[[The Hobbit (disambiguation)]]}}
{{expansion}}{{disambig-more|The Hobbit|[[The Hobbit (disambiguation)]]}}
{{video game infobox
{{video game infobox
| image=[[Image:Hobbit videogame 1982-1-.jpg]]
| image=[[File:The Hobbit (1982 video game) - cover.jpg]]
| name=The Hobbit
| name=The Hobbit<br/>The Hobbit Software Adventure
| developer=[[Melbourne House|Beam Software]]
| developer=[[Melbourne House|Beam Software]]
| publisher=[[Melbourne House]], [[Tansoft]] (The Hobbit) and [[Addison-Wesley]] (The Hobbit Software Adventure)
| publisher='''The Hobbit'''<br/>[[Melbourne House]]<br/>[[Tansoft]]<br/>Sinclair Research Ltd. (re-release)<ref name="world spectrum">{{webcite|author=|articleurl=http://www.worldofspectrum.org/infoseekid.cgi?id=0006440|articlename=The Hobbit|dated=|website=[[wikipedia:World of Spectrum|World of Spectrum]]|accessed=30 december 2014}}</ref><br/>
| platform=''The Hobbit'': [[wikipedia:Amiga|Amiga]] (never released), [[wikipedia:Amstrad CPC|Amstrad CPC]], [[wikipedia:BBC B|BBC B]], [[wikipedia:Commodore 64|Commodore 64]], [[wikipedia:Dragon 32/64|Dragon 32]], [[wikipedia:MSX|MSX]], [[wikipedia:Oric-1|Oric-1]], [[wikipedia:ZX-Spectrum|ZX-Spectrum]]<ref name="Tolkien Games">[http://www.lysator.liu.se/tolkien-games/entry/hobbit.html Tolkien Games] (retrieved 16 August 2010)</ref><br/>''The Hobbit Software Adventure'': [[wikipedia:Apple II|Apple II]], [[wikipedia:Commodore 64|Commodore 64]], [[wikipedia:Macintosh|Macintosh]], [[wikipedia:MS-DOS|MS-DOS]]<ref name="Tolkien Games"/><ref name="FAQ">[http://www.faqs.org/faqs/tolkien/games/ FAQS, Tolkien Games] (retrieved 16 August 2010)</ref>
'''The Hobbit Software Adventure'''<br/>[[Addison-Wesley]]
| platform='''The Hobbit'''<br/>[[wikipedia:Amstrad CPC|Amstrad CPC]]<br/>[[wikipedia:BBC B|BBC B]]<br/>[[wikipedia:Commodore 64|Commodore 64]]<br/>[[wikipedia:Dragon 32/64|Dragon 32]]<br/>[[wikipedia:MSX|MSX]]<br/>[[wikipedia:Oric-1|Oric-1]]<br/>[[wikipedia:ZX-Spectrum|ZX-Spectrum]]<ref name="Tolkien Games">[http://www.lysator.liu.se/tolkien-games/entry/hobbit.html Tolkien Games] (retrieved 16 August 2010)</ref><br/><br/>'''The Hobbit Software Adventure'''<br/>[[wikipedia:Apple II|Apple II]]<br/>[[wikipedia:Commodore 64|Commodore 64]]<br/>[[wikipedia:Macintosh|Macintosh]]<br/>[[wikipedia:MS-DOS|MS-DOS]]<ref name="Tolkien Games"/>
| releasedate=[[1982]]
| releasedate=[[1982]]
| genre=Illustrated text-adventure
| genre=Illustrated [[wikipedia:Interactive fiction|text-adventure]]
|}}'''''The Hobbit''''' (also known as '''The Hobbit Software Adventure''' in North America and [[Australia]]) was the first licensed video game based on Tolkien's work, being the first part of ''[[The Tolkien Trilogy]]'' (also known as ''[[The Tolkien Software Adventure Series]]''). The game was designed by [[Philip Mitchell]] and [[Veronika Megler]],<ref name="WoS">[http://www.worldofspectrum.org/infoseekid.cgi?id=0006440 World of Spectrum] (retrieved at 14 August 2010)</ref> and every game included a copy of ''[[The Hobbit]]'' and an instruction book.<ref name="Newspaper">[http://www.worldofspectrum.org/showmag.cgi?mag=ZXComputing/Issue8304/Pages/ZXComputing830400076.jpg ''ZX Computing'', iss. 8304, p. 76] reproduced at [http://www.worldofspectrum.org/archive.html World of Spectrum - Archive] (retrieved at 14 August 2010)</ref> There are 80 locations in the game of which 30 were illustrated by [[Kent Rees]].<ref name="Newspaper"/>
|}}


In [[1984]] [[David Elkan]] published a book, ''[[A Guide to Playing The Hobbit]]'', to help players complete the game.<ref>[[David Elkan]], ''[[A Guide to Playing The Hobbit]]'' ([[1984]]: Melbourne House) ISBN 0-86161-161-6</ref> Beam Software originally planned a sequel, ''[[Where Hobbits Dare]]'', but was cancelled.<ref name="FAQ"/>
'''''The Hobbit''''' (also known as '''The Hobbit Software Adventure''' in North America and [[Australia]]) was the first licensed video game based on Tolkien's work, being the first part of ''[[The Tolkien Trilogy]]'' (also known as ''[[The Tolkien Software Adventure Series]]''). The game was designed by [[Philip Mitchell]] and [[Veronika Megler]],<ref name="world spectrum"/> and illustrated by Kent Rees.<ref name="Review p. 76">{{webcite|author=Phil Garratt|articleurl=http://www.worldofspectrum.org/showmag.cgi?mag=ZXComputing/Issue8304/Pages/ZXComputing830400076.jpg|articlename=Software Review: The Hobbit|website=[[wikipedia:World of Spectrum|World of Spectrum]]|accessed=23-Dec-2011}}</ref> The game was considered large at the time of its release and included  80 locations, of which 30 were illustrated.<ref name="Review p. 76"/> The game was released by [[Melbourne House]] for [[wikipedia:Amstrad CPC|Amstrad CPC]], [[wikipedia:BBC B|BBC B]], [[wikipedia:Commodore 64|Commodore 64]], [[wikipedia:Dragon 32/64|Dragon 32]], [[wikipedia:MSX|MSX]], [[wikipedia:Oric-1|Oric-1]] and [[wikipedia:ZX-Spectrum|ZX-Spectrum]] in most of the world,<ref name="Tolkien Games">{{webcite|author=Fredrik Ekman|articleurl=http://www.lysator.liu.se/tolkien-games/entry/hobbit.html|articlename=The Hobbit / The Hobbit Software Adventure|dated=|website=Games|accessed=30 december 2014}}</ref> whilst [[Addison-Wesley]] released it as ''The Hobbit Software Adventure'' for [[wikipedia:Apple II|Apple II]], [[wikipedia:Commodore 64|Commodore 64]], [[wikipedia:Macintosh|Macintosh]] and [[wikipedia:MS-DOS|MS-DOS]] in North America and Australia.<ref name="Tolkien Games"/> After its initial success, it was re-released by Sinclair Research Ltd.<ref name="world spectrum"/> Beam Software also developed editions for [[wikipedia:Amiga|Amiga]] and [[wikipedia:TRS-80|TRS-80]], <!-- and MVS ?? --> but were never released.<ref name="Tolkien Games"/> Every game also included a copy of ''[[The Hobbit]]'' and an instruction book.<ref name="Review p. 76"/>
 
In [[1984]] [[David Elkan]] published a book, ''[[A Guide to Playing The Hobbit]]'', to help players complete the game.<ref>[[David Elkan]], ''[[A Guide to Playing The Hobbit]]'' ([[1984]]: Melbourne House) ISBN 0-86161-161-6</ref> Beam Software originally planned a sequel, ''[[Where Hobbits Dare]]'', but was cancelled.<ref name="FAQ">{{webcite|author=Fredrik Ekman|articleurl=http://www.faqs.org/faqs/tolkien/games/|articlename=List of computer games and MUDs with a Tolkien theme (long)|dated=|website=[http://www.faqs.org faqs.org]|accessed=16 August 2010}}</ref> Instead, it was succeeded by [[Lord of the Rings: Game One]].
 
In 2012 the Hobbit environment "Wilderland" was published (see external link below). It runs the original ZX Spectrum game code in an emulator and reveals what is going on in the background of the game.
 
==Plot==
[[File:The Hobbit (1982 video game) - Dale ruins.gif|300px|thumb|The Ruins of [[Dale]].]]The player controls [[Bilbo Baggins]] - the main character - on his quest to [[Lonely Mountain|the Lonely Mountain]], in company with the [[Dwarves|Dwarf]] [[Thorin]]. On their way, they meet characters like [[Gandalf]] and [[Gollum]] and are confronted by [[Trolls]], [[Wargs]] and [[Goblins]]. Eventually Bilbo and Thorin reach the Lonely Mountain and plunder the lair of [[Smaug]].<ref name="Review p. 76"/><ref name="Review p. 78">{{webcite|author=Phil Garratt|articleurl=http://www.worldofspectrum.org/showmag.cgi?mag=ZXComputing/Issue8304/Pages/ZXComputing830400078.jpg.jpg|articlename=Software Review: The Hobbit|website=[http://www.worldofspectrum.org WorldOfSpectrum.com]|accessed=23-Dec-2011}}</ref>
 
[[File:The Hobbit (1982 video game) - trolls' cave.gif|288px|thumb|The [[Trolls|Troll]]s' Cave.]]
 
==Featured Characters==
*[[Bilbo Baggins]]<ref name="Review p. 76"/>
*[[Thorin]]<ref name="Review p. 76"/>
*[[Gandalf]]<ref name="Review p. 76"/>
*[[Gollum]]<ref name="Review p. 78"/>
*[[Smaug]]<ref name="Review p. 76"/>
*[[Bard the Bowman]]
*[[Elrond]]
 
==Featured Locations==
*[[Bard]]
 
*The [[Trolls|Troll]]'s Cave
*[[Misty Mountains]]<ref name="Review p. 76"/>
*[[Mirkwood]]
*[[Dale]]


== Reception ==
== Reception ==
With a retail price of £14.95,<ref>Rusel DeMaria and Johnny L. Wilson, ''High Score!: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games'',  (Berkeley, California:  McGraw-Hill/Osborne,[[2002]]), p. 347, ISBN 0-07-222428-2</ref> ''The Hobbit'', sold over 100,000 copies in the first two years,<ref>Mike Gerrard, "Adventuring into an Unknown World", in ''The Guardian'', [[1984]]-[[August|08]]-[[30 August|30]], section Micro Guardian/Futures, p. 13</ref> and had sold over a million copies by the end of the decade.  
With a retail price of £14.95,<ref>Rusel DeMaria and Johnny L. Wilson, ''High Score!: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games'',  (Berkeley, California:  McGraw-Hill/Osborne,[[2002]]), p. 347, ISBN 0-07-222428-2</ref> ''The Hobbit'', sold over 100,000 copies in the first two years,<ref>Mike Gerrard, "Adventuring into an Unknown World", in ''The Guardian'', [[1984]]-[[August|08]]-[[30 August|30]], section Micro Guardian/Futures, p. 13</ref> and had sold over a million copies by the end of the decade.  


In [[1983]]'s [[wikipedia:Golden Joystick Awards|Golden Joystick Awarda]] it was the winner of the category ''Best Strategy Game'' and came second in the category ''Game of the Year''.<ref name="WoS"/>
In [[1983]]'s [[wikipedia:Golden Joystick Awards|Golden Joystick Awarda]] it was the winner of the category ''Best Strategy Game'' and came second in the category ''Game of the Year''.<ref name="world spectrum"/>
 
== See Also ==
== See Also ==


* [[:Category:Images from The Hobbit (1982 video game)|Images from ''The Hobbit'' (1982 video game)]]
* ''[[The Boggit]]'', a parody video game of ''The Hobbit''
* ''[[The Boggit]]'', a parody video game of ''The Hobbit''
* ''[[The Hobbit]]'', the book by [[J.R.R. Tolkien]]
* ''[[The Hobbit]]'', the book by [[J.R.R. Tolkien]]
* ''[[The Hobbit (2003 video game)|The Hobbit]]'', a [[2003]] video game published by [[Vivendi Universal]]


== External Links ==
== External Links ==


* [http://www.giantbomb.com/the-hobbit/61-9936/ The Hobbit at Giantbomb]
* [http://www.giantbomb.com/the-hobbit/61-9936/ The Hobbit] at [http://www.giantbomb.com GiantBomb]
* [http://www.mobygames.com/game/hobbit The Hobbit at MobyGames]
* [http://www.mobygames.com/game/hobbit The Hobbit] at [http://www.mobygames.com MobyGames]
* [http://www.lysator.liu.se/tolkien-games/entry/hobbit.html The Hobbit at Tolkien Games]
* [http://www.lysator.liu.se/tolkien-games/entry/hobbit.html The Hobbit] at [http://www.lysator.liu.se/ Tolkien Games]
* {{WP|The Hobbit (1982 video game)}}
* {{WP|The Hobbit (1982 video game)}}
* [http://members.aon.at/~ehesch1/wl/wl.htm Wilderland] emulator, which shows what is going on in the background of the game


{{references}}
{{references}}
{{Videogames}}
{{title|italics}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hobbit (1982 video game)}}
[[Category:Amstrad CPC games]]
[[Category:Amstrad CPC games]]
[[Category:Aplle II games]]
[[Category:Apple Macintosh games]]
[[Category:Apple Macintosh games]]
[[Category:BBC B games]]
[[Category:Commodore 64 games]]
[[Category:Commodore 64 games]]
[[Category:DOS games]]
[[Category:DOS games]]
[[Category:Dragon 32 games]]
[[Category:Melbourne House games]]
[[Category:Melbourne House games]]
[[Category:MS-DOS games]]
[[Category:MSX games]]
[[Category:Oric-1 games]]
[[Category:Text-Adventure video games]]
[[Category:Text-Adventure video games]]
[[Category:ZX Spectrum games]]
[[Category:ZX Spectrum games]]

Revision as of 14:26, 6 March 2016

"...It is a long tale..." — Aragorn
This article or section needs expansion and/or modification. Please help the wiki by expanding it.
The name The Hobbit refers to more than one character, item or concept. For a list of other meanings, see The Hobbit (disambiguation).
The Hobbit (1982 video game) - cover.jpg
The Hobbit
The Hobbit Software Adventure
Video game
DeveloperBeam Software
PublisherThe Hobbit
Melbourne House
Tansoft
Sinclair Research Ltd. (re-release)[1]
The Hobbit Software Adventure
Addison-Wesley
PlatformThe Hobbit
Amstrad CPC
BBC B
Commodore 64
Dragon 32
MSX
Oric-1
ZX-Spectrum[2]

The Hobbit Software Adventure
Apple II
Commodore 64
Macintosh
MS-DOS[2]
Release date1982
GenreIllustrated text-adventure

The Hobbit (also known as The Hobbit Software Adventure in North America and Australia) was the first licensed video game based on Tolkien's work, being the first part of The Tolkien Trilogy (also known as The Tolkien Software Adventure Series). The game was designed by Philip Mitchell and Veronika Megler,[1] and illustrated by Kent Rees.[3] The game was considered large at the time of its release and included 80 locations, of which 30 were illustrated.[3] The game was released by Melbourne House for Amstrad CPC, BBC B, Commodore 64, Dragon 32, MSX, Oric-1 and ZX-Spectrum in most of the world,[2] whilst Addison-Wesley released it as The Hobbit Software Adventure for Apple II, Commodore 64, Macintosh and MS-DOS in North America and Australia.[2] After its initial success, it was re-released by Sinclair Research Ltd.[1] Beam Software also developed editions for Amiga and TRS-80, but were never released.[2] Every game also included a copy of The Hobbit and an instruction book.[3]

In 1984 David Elkan published a book, A Guide to Playing The Hobbit, to help players complete the game.[4] Beam Software originally planned a sequel, Where Hobbits Dare, but was cancelled.[5] Instead, it was succeeded by Lord of the Rings: Game One.

In 2012 the Hobbit environment "Wilderland" was published (see external link below). It runs the original ZX Spectrum game code in an emulator and reveals what is going on in the background of the game.

Plot

The Ruins of Dale.

The player controls Bilbo Baggins - the main character - on his quest to the Lonely Mountain, in company with the Dwarf Thorin. On their way, they meet characters like Gandalf and Gollum and are confronted by Trolls, Wargs and Goblins. Eventually Bilbo and Thorin reach the Lonely Mountain and plunder the lair of Smaug.[3][6]

The Trolls' Cave.

Featured Characters

Featured Locations

Reception

With a retail price of £14.95,[7] The Hobbit, sold over 100,000 copies in the first two years,[8] and had sold over a million copies by the end of the decade.

In 1983's Golden Joystick Awarda it was the winner of the category Best Strategy Game and came second in the category Game of the Year.[1]

See Also

External Links

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "The Hobbit", World of Spectrum (accessed 30 December 2014)
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Tolkien Games (retrieved 16 August 2010) Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "Tolkien Games" defined multiple times with different content
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 Phil Garratt, "Software Review: The Hobbit", World of Spectrum (accessed 23 December 2011)
  4. David Elkan, A Guide to Playing The Hobbit (1984: Melbourne House) ISBN 0-86161-161-6
  5. Fredrik Ekman, "List of computer games and MUDs with a Tolkien theme (long)", faqs.org (accessed 16 August 2010)
  6. 6.0 6.1 Phil Garratt, "Software Review: The Hobbit", WorldOfSpectrum.com (accessed 23 December 2011)
  7. Rusel DeMaria and Johnny L. Wilson, High Score!: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games, (Berkeley, California: McGraw-Hill/Osborne,2002), p. 347, ISBN 0-07-222428-2
  8. Mike Gerrard, "Adventuring into an Unknown World", in The Guardian, 1984-08-30, section Micro Guardian/Futures, p. 13
Licensed video games set in Middle-earth
 Melbourne House: The Hobbit (1982) · Lord of the Rings: Game One (1985) · Shadows of Mordor (1988) · War in Middle Earth (1988) · Crack of Doom Software Adventure (1989) · Riders of Rohan (1990)
 Interplay Productions: The Lord of the Rings, Vol. I (PC) (1990) · The Lord of the Rings, Vol. II: The Two Towers (1993) · The Lord of the Rings, Vol. I (SNES) (1994)
 Vivendi Universal: The Fellowship of the Ring (2002) · The Hobbit (2003) · War of the Ring (2003)
 Electronic Arts: The Two Towers (2002) · The Return of the King (2003) · The Third Age (2004) · The Battle for Middle-earth (2004) · Tactics (2005) · The Battle for Middle-earth II (2006) (The Rise of the Witch-king (2006)) · Conquest (2009) · Heroes of Middle-earth (2023)
 Turbine/Standing Stone Games: The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar (2007-) (Mines of Moria (2008) · Siege of Mirkwood (2009) · Rise of Isengard (2011) · Riders of Rohan (2012) · Helm's Deep (2013) · Mordor (2017) · Minas Morgul (2019)) · War of Three Peaks (2020) · Fate of Gundabad (2021) · Before the Shadow (2022)
 Warner Bros: Aragorn's Quest (2010) · War in the North (2011) · Guardians of Middle-earth (2012) · Kingdoms of Middle-earth (2012Armies of The Third Age (2013) · Shadow of Mordor (2014) · Shadow of War (2017) · Rise to War (2021)
 Glu Games: Middle-Earth Defense (2010)
 Traveller's Tales: Lego The Lord of the Rings: The Video Game (2012) · Lego The Hobbit (2014)
 Daedalic Entertainment: The Lord of the Rings: Gollum (2023)
 North Beach Games: The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria (2023)