Back in time, to a 1982 game I played on 1983, on my first computer, a 48K ZX Spectrum: The Hobbit.
This game… well, it has a story. A personal one. I guess I could say that this game changed my life – as much as anything can change one’s life.
So you’ll have to bear with me – or, of course, skip this post. Because this one is as much about “why I’m the way I am” as it is about the game – perhaps more. And it’s a long one. 
The Hobbit is a text adventure, with some graphics, but quite limited ones – the computer it was originally written on, the Spectrum, had existed only for months, and, besides, Melbourne House (the software house) would never be known for good graphics. The only good one is the loading screen. But, at the time, they were impressive – most text adventures, for “bigger” computers, were really text-only. Also, the parser was quite advanced for the time: while other games only supported 2-word commands in the form “verb noun” (e.g. “get sword” or “kill troll”), The Hobbit supported commands such “take the short sword then viciously attack the troll with it”. You could also give instructions to NPCs, and they also had personalities of their own, they would get into fights, move around independently of you, and so on. That made the game much more unpredictable than most “standard” adventures, which could have solutions printed in magazines – not in The Hobbit, as one never knew what would really happen – “solutions” could, at most, tell you how to solve some specific puzzles.
And now, for the personal part. You see, that game was one of the half dozen or so my father got with the Spectrum, in 1983, and the only one that wasn’t a simple action game. Now, as a 9 year old Portuguese kid, I knew virtually no English at the time. Not enough to read a book in English, not enough even to read a kids’ book, and certainly not enough to play a text adventure game in English.
Nor did I have the slightest idea of who Tolkien was, what Middle Earth was… I had never read a fantasy book in my life.
So, naturally, I put the game away – “boring text stuff”, I thought. And I played the other ones to death. But, soon, I got bored with them… yet I was still fascinated with the Spectrum, and that “strange text game” continued to intrigue me. So, I tried to find something more about it. I found some translated instructions, which at least told me how I was supposed to play the game – but that didn’t teach me English, of course. I read newspaper reviews (it wouldn’t be until 3 years later that I bought my first Speccy magazine, the 3rd issue of “Your Sinclair”), which said great things about the game, and, from them, I discovered some small things. Namely, that it was based upon a book, also called “The Hobbit”.
Which, being a curious kid, I asked my father to buy. A couple of weeks later, I had a nice Portuguese edition of the book. Which I read. At nine. (I only read Lord of the Rings at 11, but that’s not a children’s book at all.)
Next year, I got English for the first time at school, and I began to learn. And I always came back to the game, and a couple other text adventure games I later got. I also became more and more curious about fantasy, Middle Earth, and Tolkien.
So, this single game made the following changes in my life:
- it got me interested in reading “bigger” books (I had only read kids’ books until then)
- it make me discover that I really loved reading
- it got me interested in fantasy (which is still my favorite genre today)
- it got me interested in Tolkien and Middle Earth (LotR is still my favorite book, along with The Silmarillion)
- it inspired me to learn English
- it got me interested in more “complex” computer games (when everyone else only enjoyed the simpler, reflex-based ones – even today, many people still think of computer / video games as “dumb, basic kids’ stuff”)
- by “making” me change my mind from my initial impression of the game, it made me shake off some common prejudices, such as “if I don’t understand it instantly, then it can’t be good” – something most people continue to believe, even as adults
- related to the above, it made me discover that there are some fascinating things out there that most people don’t know about, because of pre-conceptions and intellectual laziness – but which, with a bit of initial effort and thought, can be wonderful experiences
- it made me discover the exhilarating feeling of solving a problem, or a puzzle, by thinking – a discovery which, incidentally, would be quite useful to me, decades later, as a sysadmin
I could shorten most of the above in one way: I’m a geek mainly because of that game. It was the turning point in my life – maybe if it wasn’t for it, I would have ended up being “normal”, “average” – enjoying radio music, being obsessed with soccer (watching, not playing, of course ), TV, cars and dumb women… and not caring about fantasy, thinking, or even simply reading.
I would be just like everyone else. What a terrible, horrifying thought. Thanks, Melbourne House.
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I’ve been gaming since I was 7 and I am still addicted today. I own all three systems, plus some old ones. I am hooked. Could play for hours. Love the site
I learned english by watching cartoons via satellite ^^
And both watching and playing soccer/football is fun
In MY time, there was no such thing as “satellite TV”. We went to school in the snow, and we ENJOYED it… uh… never mind.
Playing soccer can be fun. Watching it can be fun, too. Being a fanatic, however, is dumb. Besides, that was just a part of my description of a “normal guy” – the cars, dumb women and commercial, shallow music are a requirement, too.
I used to have that same game on the Commodore 64! I think we still have it in the shed even!
Bah. I rated the C64 above all the old 386 and 486 computers!
[...] 1- I love all things zombie. Since I discovered George A. Romero’s movies, I’ve turned into a zombie nut, and have bought a lot of DVDs, video games, books, comics, etc. with zombies (including variants such as the 28 Days Later infected). It’s hard to say why the genre appeals to me so much; maybe it’s because zombies force us to look at ourselves with brutal honesty, sometimes for the first time. Plus, I love “what if” scenarios such as a world-wide zombie apocalypse: what would I do? Probably not survive long, but I’d sure try. 2- I love unintentional humor, that is, things that weren’t intended to be funny, but somehow are. For instance, bad translations (such as in many video games), or the crude anti-communism in 60s Marvel comics (”We have no choice! Our communist overlords will slay us if we fail in our mission!”), or some “odd” titles (”Giant-Size Man-Thing”)). 3- I’m usually shy in person (much more than on the Internet), especially with people I’ve just met. Except after a few drinks; then it’s hard to shut me up. I don’t become “dumb” or violent, though, like some people do when they drink. 4- I love learning and solving problems, but after everything is working perfectly and there’s no more room for improvement, I usually get bored with my own solution, and start looking for something new to challenge me — even if it involves replacing my “perfect” solution with something else in need of improvement. Similarly, once I exchanged an 8-bit computer for an inferior one, simply because it was completely different, and new to me. 5- I’ve loved computer and video games since I was 6 (I’m 32). Before then, I remember that I was usually bored, as a kid; most things I did became boring after a while, and I didn’t have any real friends back then. Computer games were my “salvation”, because there’s always something new — they’re “a world that never ends”, to quote Machinae Supremacy. My interests are more varied these days, but I don’t know how I’d have survived the otherwise complete and insanity-inducing boredom of my childhood and early adolescence without computer games. 6- I dream of one day earning enough money to live comfortably from my blogs and sites, without a day job. Yet, contradictorily, I blog about things that interest me, such as philosophy, atheism, blogging, and personal stuff (which earns me virtually nothing — after all, there are no related products for advertisers to sell), and for serious money-making I should be writing about gadgets, phones, personal development and similar stuff. I guess I’m too honest not to write about what I want. 7- I have a curious mix of confidence and lack of it. I know I am capable of just about anything if I put my mind to it, but I’m always afraid of not putting my mind to it, either due to laziness or fear of failure. In other words, I usually succeed if I try… and I know it… yet quite often I don’t try. This is something I should do something about. 8- I get a little bored with Italian and Mexican food (both very popular here in Portugal), but I love Portuguese, Chinese, Israelite and especially Japanese cuisines. 9- I can trace my loves of reading, fantasy, Tolkien, and the English language to one 1982 computer game, The Hobbit. More on that story here. [...]
That was very interesting, learning English that way. By the way, I love LOTR also and video games.
I used to play soccer in my high school days. I was a bad player. Really bad. lol. I have 2 ankle injuries due to playing soccer. So i would advice you guys to take precaution of your safety. Trust me, it’s frustrating. Good luck =)
I enjoyed reading this…I can relate to you, but for me, I discovered Sierra games, and THEN went back to the text-adventures. Take care!
[...] lo digo por que hace muchos años jugué a otra versión que era así de chula. Me parece recordar que en esa época ya hacía unos 3 ó 4 años que le daba a los videojuegos. [...]
my dad used to put elrond in a sack and carry him round in this game
I am so addicted to this classic game I play it hours on end its very hard.
[...] This blogger also remembers ‘The Hobbit’ game fondly: http://www.thegamesofmylife.com/2005/10/20/the-hobbit-zx-spectrum-c…; [...]