History
There was a time when
computer games didn't have graphics. Or at least they couldn't have graphics
and sound at the same time. They certainly couldn't have graphics, sound
and enough content to keep even a human being amused for more than a few
minutes. So they had text. This was radical - a computer game you could
control by typing in commands. The game would then respond to your commands
with a breathtakingly prescient understanding of your intent. Or not.
Usually not - the early text parsers (circa 1977) weren't that bright.
But, as long as you limited yourself to what the game understood and the
game designers wrote creatively enough to misunderstand you in a humorous
and entertaining fashion, it all worked
So it proved - the Hitchhiker's Guide adventure
game was one of the best-selling games of its era, selling some 350,000
copies. In 1984.
