The Hobbit (1982 video game)

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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
Video game
DeveloperBeam Software
PublisherMelbourne House, Tansoft (The Hobbit) and Addison-Wesley (The Hobbit Software Adventure)
PlatformThe Hobbit: Amiga (never released), Amstrad CPC, BBC B, Commodore 64, Dragon 32, MSX, Oric-1, ZX-Spectrum[1]
The Hobbit Software Adventure: Apple II, Commodore 64, Macintosh, MS-DOS[1][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,[3] and every game included a copy of The Hobbit and an instruction book.[4] There are 80 locations in the game of which 30 were illustrated by Kent Rees.[4]

In 1984 David Elkan published a book, A Guide to Playing The Hobbit, to help players complete the game.[5] Beam Software originally planned a sequel, Where Hobbits Dare, but was cancelled.[2]

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.[4][6]

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.[3]

See Also

External Links

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Tolkien Games (retrieved 16 August 2010)
  2. 2.0 2.1 FAQS, Tolkien Games (retrieved 16 August 2010)
  3. 3.0 3.1 World of Spectrum (retrieved at 14 August 2010)
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 Phil Garratt, "Software Review: The Hobbit", WorldOfSpectrum.com (accessed 23 December 2011)
  5. David Elkan, A Guide to Playing The Hobbit (1984: Melbourne House) ISBN 0-86161-161-6
  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