Alice through the VDU
The Hobbit has a new collection of problems
AT last The Hobbit has arrived from Melbourne House for the
BBC Micro. Read the book which is included plus the instructions
and, unlike Bilbo, you are raring to go.
First time in don't bother with a map because you have to get
a feel for the problems you will meet.
The first one is that Gandalf is as thick as a brick because
he can't read the map. The second problem is that the only dwarf
in the game is Thorin, who's as thick as two planks.
Then there's Oakenshield, who was always the most bloody minded
of the mob. However he is cheaper to feed and, once you can arm
him with a sword, he can be quite useful against Smaug,
Of all the creatures you can meet, the obvious target is Gollum
in the Goblin's Cave. Unfortunately you won't be able to stumble
around in the dark, like Bilbo, and just find the ring.
However if you don't get it then Smaug is going to prove rather
more than a bare handful to kill.
On the first, quick pass I went through Rivendell, where Elrond
proved, as expected, more literate than Gandalf.
I picked up the golden key in the mountains, reprovisioned at
Beorn's, had a quick sniff at the Goblin Cave, was captured by
an elf in Mirkwood and got killed trying to escape through the
beer cellar.
Now for a listing and — real problems - the program fills the
machine. I did start to get some Basic on the screen but when
I tried connecting the line printer I couldn't repeat the trick.
Still, who needs it? After all the book tells you what you have
to do and it's quite fun to try things that you know you shouldn't,
like KILL THORIN or, at least, try to — he's as mean and bad tempered
as ever.
I long ago gave up trying to draw a map while playing because
you always wander off the edge or become confused by twisty mazes.
The best way is to recreate the two-dimensional array the authors
used.
The Hobbit has 10 directions - N, S, E and W (all of which you
can input with the arrow keys), NE, SE, SW, NW, U and D. Lay out
a ruled sheet of paper numbered down the left hand side like this:
In this way you can track and backtrack almost any trail and
draw a neat map later on.
Another useful trick is to verify if an object exists somewhere.
For example, try TAKE RING at the very start.
If the program replies I DON'T SEE IT HERE then you can be fairly
sure there is a ring somewhere.
Next try TAKE XXXXXX and if the program responds I DON'T UNDERSTAND
then you can be certain a ring exists.
However these are old tricks and the Hobbit presents some new,
original features and problems.
In this game you must get the help of some characters to solve
some of the problems and sometimes they can refuse to cooperate.
For example, you can SAY TO ELROND "READ MAP" and
he
might refuse, so just hit the @ key to repeat the command and
Elrond et al should do what you want.
Gandalf is the most awkward because he does tend to wander off
and Thorin, who tends to stick rather closer to you, won't carry
him.
One of the game's attractions is that there is no unique solution
because it changes every time you play it.
You first notice this when waiting to get the key off the rolls
at the beginning and, later on, Elrond will read different hints
from the map.
Also it is possible to get the congratulations message at the
end of the game without scoring 100 per cent -rather similar to
that last point in Colossal Cave.
The idea of characters with independence is also not entirely
new. Recall the psychopathic, axe wielding dwarves in Colossal.
But it is now far more subtle because of INGLISH, which allows
you to make quite complicated commands.
This is such an attractive development that the implementation
is frequently disappointing. You are tempted to try things that
are still beyond the program's capabilities - like TIE GANDALF
TO TREE WITH ROPE to stop him wandering off.
To process such complex commands requires a program on a par
with Terry Winograd's Block World Ph.D. project which he did some
10 years ago.
In Winograd's "game" there are (simulated) a number
of coloured blocks, cones and boxes.
You could give commands like PUT THE BLOCK UNDER THE GREEN CONE
IN THE RED BOX.
The program would then check the syntax of the command, then
the semantics and then the feasibility of the command.
It may look simple but it isn't because what do you do if there
are two blocks under green cones and a green cone already in the
box?
The Hobbit has similar problems in that it has to do a lexical
scan (recognise the words in the command), then a syntax check
(roughly which words are verbs, objects, etc), then a semantic
check (roughly, are the objects mentioned available and are the
verbs applicable?) and then a feasibility check (can you put an
elephant into a box? — it all depends).
These problems were very much in the field of Artificial Intelligence
10 years ago and are still only resolved in very limited, special
cases.
The unique feature of the Hobbit is that it is based on the
1937 book by J.R. Tolkien. In fact this is my biggest criticism,
because it really isn't a very good book - the only interesting
characters are Bilbo and Gollum and their meeting is the only
memorable part of the story.
Obviously the game is aimed - and very successfully - at children.
It has already sold about 100,000 copies. But note that the next
product from Melbourne House will be a Sherlock Holmes puzzle
where you, the great detective, with the aid of a bumbling Dr
Watson, will have to convince Inspector Lestrade - who will be
even dimmer than Gandalf - who the murderer is and then catch
the villain.
This sounds a lot more interesting to the more mature among
us. But the idea of basing an adventure on characters in books
has only just begun to be exploited.
I would like to see a black magic adventure requiring rather
more know-how than hammering stakes into vampires.
The best book in this genre is "The Devil Rides Out"
by Dennis Wheatley, recently shown on television in a film version
that missed out most of the interesting details.
The book is concerned with finding the Talisman of Set, an extremely
potent object whose origin is not to be explained in front of
the children.
The plot includes some very detailed journeys and a great deal
of specific manipulation and incantation.
The hero would have to be the Due de Richelieu but woe betide
him - and you - if he doesn't know the last two lines of the Sussamma
Ritual.
The appeal to me is that these lines are not given in the book
because they can only be said when "the very soul is in peril".
One of the biggest problems of trying to implement book plots
is what to do when the characters cannot, or do not, behave as
they did in the original fixed story.
It is in this area that I found The Hobbit the most intersting.
Every time you try an alternative to the book you are obviously
taking a risk which will almost certainly (to make things easy)
get you) killed - try going through Mirkwood to the south of Beorn's
house.
Nevertheless, with a bit of luck your demise is not always certain
- there are two ways into Goblins Cave - and the story can take
on a new dimension depending on the adventure writer's imagination.
Unfortunately, and probably because The Hobbit promises so many
new, pioneering features, I found the game and implemention rather
disappointing.
The characters are wooden, the commands still restrictive and
the options still limited. Good ideas, but very difficult to implement
satisfactorily.
One way of overcoming some of the problems is the MUD (Multi
User Dungeons) concept which is only available, so far, in places
which have a number of terminals linked to a large mainframe computer.
In this adventure system the people you meet are real but still
as likely to mug and kill you.
An excellent account was published recently by Richard Bartle
of Essex University. He describes a number of new features like
extra rooms which can be added "on the run", so theoretically
you can step from one adventure into another without realising
it.
One of the interesting problems posed by this facility is the
preservation of objects and characteristics you possess. At the
moment all you can transfer is your knowledge of "magic"
words.
This, although restricting, is totally impossible on micros
until a master-slave operating system is available, but the concept
should be a winner in micro computer clubs in a few years' time.
What you will be then able to do is really give vent to your
murderous and/or amorous instincts. Computer dating should blossom
as you, the frog, really do get to meet the sympathetic princess
after the game.
The character that you develop in MUD is rather smililar to
the D&D games - you can be weakened by hunger, fighting or
have had too little sleep, but the longer you last then the more
you know and the more powerful you become.
One of the ploys, according to Bartle, is to reach Wizard status
and then pretend, you are weak and ignorant.
When a novice attacks you, just blast him with a magic word.
American hustlers will enjoy the practice.
Like Super User in UNIX - who can look at everyone's files,
change them and even logout users - the Wizards can snoop on the
other players, give them rubbish to carry, drop them into swamps
and generally play havoc with the tinys.
It reminds me of the Magic Mode in Colossal Cave (not available
in the micro version) when I could break their Ming vases, turn
off the lamp and dump them in the Pirate's Maze.
After a hard day looking after the users it should be good therapy
for responsible systems programmers.
Another possibility, which can now be exploited on a micro,
is to build up a character through one adventure which can be
saved, together with certain objects, strength, knowledge, etc,
to attempt the next adventure in a series.
So far only the passwords - which are too easy to extract -
have been used to go onto another adventure. But there are endless
ways for the creators of these games to boldy entice you to buy
the next episode.
Also this year you should be seeing the new generation of laser
disc games where the (currently) crude graphics will be replaced
by animated film clips.
However back to the present and The Hobbit. Full marks for ideas.
It is full of Eastern promise and great for the kids, but if you
are over 15 I suggest that you wait for Sherlock Holmes and mug
up on Professor Moriarty.
Incidentally Holmes never did say, "Elementary, my dear
Watson". But I'm sure the next program will understand.
Alice
