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From the Game: Infocom’s Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (for the Apple II)

They really don't make games like this anymore. Back in "the day" (in this case, the mid-80's), Infocom made text-based adventures. You see, back before 3D graphics, bump maps, particle effects, and dedicated video cards, computer game graphics had two settings: ugly and nonexistent. Infocom embraced nonexistent graphics and made a name for itself programming games that used nothing but text. You typed what you did and read what you saw. It was a simpler time, more reliant on the mind's eye than a graphics accelerator.

What Infocom lacked in graphics, they made up for in creativity, dedication, and tons of ridiculously awesome things they stuffed in the box with their games. Infocom invented "feelies," little physical replicas of things from their video games, and one of the driving forces of From the Game. Nearly every Infocom title came with a few doo-dads and knick-knacks straight from the games themselves.

Of all of Infocom's games, The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy is one of the most beloved. It embraced the spirit of the book wholeheartedly, with insane humor and truly brain-wracking puzzles. It also came with some truly awesome feelies.

First, there were two "Orders for Destruction," one for Arthur Dent's house by the Cottingshire Domicile Demolition Department, and one for Earth by the Vogons. The English order is printed on thin yellow paper, like the kind you'd see taped to your door or shoved under your windshield wiper. The Vogon order is printed on thicker, metallic paper, and feels much more alien. For more detail, click on the picture for a high-res photo of the orders.

Next, there are the feely-er feelies. There's a "microscopic space fleet" in a tiny plastic bag (it's an empty bag), a bit of pocket fluff, and a pair of peril-sensitive sunglasses (just black cardboard shaped like sunglasses, because the universe is always dangerous. All three items are actually used to solve puzzles in the game itself. Finally, there's a button that says "DON'T PANIC!," the motto of the Hitchhiker's Guide.

The awesome from-the-gameness doesn't end with the feelies, though. The first few pages of the game's instruction manual are a full-color ad brochure for the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Instead of squinting, check out the full-size photos of the pages here: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

Finally, this is a 5 1/4" floppy disk. It holds less than half a megabyte of data. An entire game is on this disc. This is what technology was like 26 years ago. If you were curious, this game was for the Apple II. It was the computer Apple made before they even invented Macs.

These days, if you want feelies, you either have to shell out an extra $20-40 for a collector's edition or pay for retail merchandise. It makes me pine for the days of Infocom and its amazing legacy. The games might have been smaller and simpler, but the game boxes were filled with so much more.