The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

A Python text adventure engine for the classic 1984 Infocom interactive fiction game, built from the original ZIL source code. The long-term goal is an accessible version for blind players via TTS/STT.

Requirements

Python 3.12+
uv

Install & Run

# Clone the repo
git clone https://gitea.smashconsult.be/seppedl/h2g2.git
cd h2g2

# Install dependencies and run
uv run h2g2

Or install it into an environment:

uv pip install -e .
h2g2

You can also run it directly as a module without installing:

uv run python -m h2g2.main

Audio features

Text-to-speech (TTS)

The game can read all output aloud using Piper, a fast offline TTS engine. A British English voice model is included in the repo.

uv run h2g2 --audio

Use --voice /path/to/model.onnx to use a different Piper voice model.

Speech-to-text (STT)

You can play the game hands-free using voice input powered by Vosk, a lightweight offline speech recognition engine. The Vosk model (~50 MB) downloads automatically on first use.

uv run h2g2 --stt

Use --stt-model /path/to/vosk-model/ to use a different Vosk model.

Combine both flags for full voice interaction:

uv run h2g2 --audio --stt

Audio prerequisites

STT requires PortAudio for microphone access. Install the system library for your platform before running with --stt:

Linux (Debian/Ubuntu):

sudo apt install libportaudio2 portaudio19-dev

macOS:

brew install portaudio

Windows:

PyAudio ships with PortAudio bundled on Windows, so no extra system package is needed. If you run into build issues, install a prebuilt wheel:

uv pip install pipwin
pipwin install pyaudio

After installing the system dependency, sync the Python packages:

uv sync

What's playable

The Earth opening sequence: wake up in your bedroom, find your gown and aspirin, make your way downstairs, head to the pub, and meet Ford Prefect.

Project structure

h2g2/
    engine/          # Core game engine (parser, object model, game loop)
    content/         # Game content (rooms, objects, puzzles)
    main.py          # Entry point
*.zil                # Original ZIL source code (Infocom, 1984)
docs/                # Original game manuals, maps, and story file (.z5)

Additional information Infocom Games

Library of all Infocom games https://eblong.com/infocom/

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