Don’t Panic! In a special celebration of all things “Hitchhiker’s”, BBC Radio 4 Extra is bringing listeners the brand new 30th Anniversary Edition of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Game online and broadcasting series one and two, ‘The Primary and Secondary Phase”, on the radio. Both will launch on Saturday 8th March 2014, thirty-six years to the day since Hitchhiker’s first ever radio broadcast and thirty years since the invention of the award winning game.
The global multi-media success story that is “Hitchhiker’s” started life as a BBC Radio 4 series in March 1978. The original scripts by the late Douglas Adams went on to spawn a series of novels, a feature film, at least three stage shows, a TV series, a collection of comic books – and various towels.
The game was published as a text adventure in 1984, and was created through a collaboration between the book’s author Douglas Adams and Infocom’s Steve Meretzky. It was the best selling game of its time, and used the same game engine as Zork and the original Colossal Caves adventure. The 20th anniversary edition of the game launched on Radio 4’s website in 2004. A reillustrated second version was released in 2005. Both are still online, and both are free to play.
The 30th Anniversary specially updated version of the game will allow users to share their achievements with friends over social media via the official twitter feed @h2g2game. The new version of the game is graphically based, with new illustrations and graphics. It’s a web-based game and will be accessible via Radio 4 Extra’s website. Players can take the game on the move as it will be compatible with tablets and other internet enabled devices. As with its predecessors, it will be free to play.
To coincide with the release of the 30th anniversary version of the game, BBC Radio 4 Extra will also be broadcasting the first two series of the original Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy radio program. It has been over 10 years since these shows were last heard on BBC Radio and they perfectly accompany the game. Actions within the game follow the plot of the radio series and some puzzles are only solvable by players with knowledge of the radio shows and and the story line.
Caroline Raphael, Commissioning Editor for Radio 4 Extra, says: “Douglas was a true visionary and in his own glorious way foresaw all the technology we now take for granted. Radio 4 Extra is delighted to host this game alongside the first two series. Hitchhiker’s fans will be rewarded for their loyalty over the years and newer fans have a real, but fiendish, treat in store. March 8th is a special day for the Galaxy so help us celebrate it in the unique way that only BBC Radio 4 Extra can.”
Links
- BBC Radio 4 Hitchhiker’s Page
- Play Edition One
- Play Edition Two
- Introduction – How to Play the Game
- Game Hints Index
- Picture Competition
- The History of the Game
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