In terms of excitement, these games can’t really hold a candle to the arcade adrenaline rush that was in vogue back in the ’80s. You may have noticed a heavy emphasis on referring to these titles as software, which is probably wise considering it’s a text adventure. Meanwhile, here in 2019, a simple manual with your game is like finding a golden ticket in your chocolate bar. The Hobbit was followed by another 3 titles by Beam Software: The Fellowship of the Ring, Shadows of Mordor(No, not THAT game), and The Crack of Doom. Each title also included its accompanying paperback novel as an added bonus, which was a fantastic way to introduce new fans of the time to the franchise.
The best modern-day example of this is the Black Mirror episode “Bandersnatch,” which features a similar text adventure, albeit with more psychological trauma. If you’re unfamiliar with the text adventure genre, the player is essentially given a description of the scenario that they’re in, which then requires an appropriate command to be typed in response. As you might expect, fancy visuals and audio have no power here, with the player’s imagination and ability to read being the key parts of the experience. The Hobbitby Beam Software was the first of four titles to be released on microcomputers of the time, with each game covering part of the LOTR saga.
Microcomputers such as the Commodore 64 are where it all began for digital Middle-earth, with the release of The Hobbit Sofware Adventure in 1982. While trying to explain text adventures and microcomputers to a modern-day gamer might be a bit like showing a spaniel a card trick, it’s important to look at the humble beginnings of franchise-based video games.
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