<s>
Starship	B-Application
Titanic	I-Application
is	O
an	O
adventure	O
game	O
developed	O
by	O
The	O
Digital	O
Village	O
and	O
published	O
by	O
Simon	O
&	O
Schuster	O
Interactive	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
released	O
in	O
April	O
1998	O
for	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
and	O
in	O
March	O
1999	O
for	O
Apple	B-Device
Macintosh	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
features	O
a	O
text	B-Application
parser	I-Application
similar	O
to	O
those	O
of	O
text	O
adventure	O
games	O
with	O
which	O
the	O
player	O
can	O
talk	O
with	O
characters	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Written	O
and	O
designed	O
by	O
The	B-Application
Hitchhiker	I-Application
's	I-Application
Guide	I-Application
to	I-Application
the	I-Application
Galaxy	I-Application
creator	O
Douglas	O
Adams	O
,	O
Starship	B-Application
Titanic	I-Application
began	O
development	O
in	O
1996	O
and	O
took	O
two	O
years	O
to	O
develop	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
order	O
to	O
achieve	O
Adams	O
's	O
goal	O
of	O
being	O
able	O
to	O
converse	O
with	O
characters	O
in	O
the	O
game	O
,	O
his	O
company	O
developed	O
a	O
language	B-Language
processor	I-Language
to	O
interpret	O
player	O
's	O
input	O
and	O
give	O
an	O
appropriate	O
response	O
and	O
recorded	O
over	O
16	O
hours	O
of	O
character	O
dialogue	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
tie-in	O
novel	O
titled	O
Douglas	O
Adams	O
's	O
Starship	B-Application
Titanic	I-Application
:	O
A	O
Novel	O
was	O
written	O
by	O
Jones	O
and	O
released	O
in	O
October	O
1997	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Starship	B-Application
Titanic	I-Application
was	O
released	O
to	O
mixed	O
reviews	O
and	O
was	O
a	O
financial	O
disappointment	O
,	O
although	O
it	O
was	O
nominated	O
for	O
three	O
industry	O
awards	O
and	O
won	O
a	O
Codie	O
award	O
in	O
1999	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Starship	B-Application
Titanic	I-Application
is	O
a	O
graphic	O
adventure	O
game	O
played	O
from	O
a	O
first-person	O
perspective	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PET	O
has	O
five	O
modes	O
:	O
Chat-O-Mat	O
,	O
a	O
text	B-Application
parser	I-Application
through	O
which	O
the	O
player	O
can	O
talk	O
with	O
characters	O
by	O
inputting	O
text	O
;	O
Personal	O
Baggage	O
,	O
the	O
inventory	O
in	O
which	O
the	O
player	O
can	O
add	O
or	O
withdraw	O
items	O
;	O
Remote	O
Thingummy	O
,	O
a	O
set	O
of	O
functions	O
to	O
interact	O
with	O
objects	O
and	O
locations	O
;	O
Designer	O
Room	O
Numbers	O
,	O
which	O
indicates	O
the	O
player	O
's	O
current	O
location	O
;	O
and	O
Real	O
Life	O
,	O
an	O
options	O
menu	O
with	O
settings	O
and	O
a	O
game	O
save/load	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Starship	B-Application
Titanic	I-Application
begins	O
in	O
the	O
player	O
character	O
's	O
house	O
on	O
Earth	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
partially	O
destroyed	O
when	O
the	O
eponymous	O
cruise	O
ship	O
crash-lands	O
through	O
the	O
roof	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Douglas	O
Adams	O
first	O
imagined	O
the	O
Starship	B-Application
Titanic	I-Application
in	O
Life	O
,	O
the	O
Universe	O
and	O
Everything	O
,	O
the	O
third	O
entry	O
in	O
The	B-Application
Hitchhiker	I-Application
's	I-Application
Guide	I-Application
to	I-Application
the	I-Application
Galaxy	I-Application
series	O
,	O
where	O
it	O
is	O
briefly	O
mentioned	O
in	O
the	O
book	O
's	O
10th	O
chapter	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Adams	O
describes	O
the	O
ship	O
—	O
named	O
after	O
the	O
famous	B-Application
ocean	I-Application
liner	I-Application
—	O
as	O
a	O
"	O
majestic	O
and	O
luxurious	O
cruise-liner	O
"	O
that	O
"	O
did	O
not	O
even	O
manage	O
to	O
complete	O
its	O
very	O
first	O
radio	O
message	O
—	O
an	O
SOS	B-Operating_System
—	O
before	O
undergoing	O
a	O
sudden	O
and	O
gratuitous	O
total	O
existence	O
failure	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Before	O
making	O
Starship	B-Application
Titanic	I-Application
,	O
Adams	O
had	O
previously	O
served	O
as	O
a	O
designer	O
for	O
Infocom	O
's	O
1984	O
text-based	O
game	O
The	B-Application
Hitchhiker	I-Application
's	I-Application
Guide	I-Application
to	I-Application
the	I-Application
Galaxy	I-Application
,	O
which	O
was	O
based	O
on	O
his	O
successful	O
science	O
fiction	O
series	O
of	O
the	O
same	O
name	O
,	O
and	O
had	O
been	O
an	O
advocate	O
for	O
"	O
new	O
media	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
turned	O
to	O
game	O
design	O
again	O
after	O
playing	O
Myst	B-Application
,	O
which	O
is	O
when	O
he	O
said	O
"	O
the	O
medium	O
had	O
gotten	O
interesting	O
again	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
he	O
thought	O
Myst	B-Application
was	O
lacking	O
in	O
story	O
and	O
characters	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Commenting	O
on	O
the	O
gameplay	O
of	O
Myst	B-Application
and	O
its	O
sequel	O
Riven	B-Application
,	O
Adams	O
said	O
that	O
"	O
nothing	O
really	O
happens	O
,	O
and	O
nobody	O
is	O
there	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1996	O
Simon	O
&	O
Schuster	O
Interactive	O
reached	O
a	O
deal	O
with	O
the	O
company	O
to	O
finance	O
Starship	B-Application
Titanic	I-Application
,	O
whose	O
budget	O
was	O
estimated	O
at	O
$2	O
million	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Adams	O
aimed	O
to	O
develop	O
a	O
text	O
parser-based	O
dialogue	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
as	O
opposed	O
to	O
the	O
drop-down	O
conversation	O
menus	O
of	O
contemporary	O
adventure	O
games	O
,	O
in	O
which	O
player	O
have	O
limited	O
dialogue	O
options	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
text	B-Application
parser	I-Application
includes	O
over	O
30,000	O
words	O
and	O
16	O
hours	O
of	O
dialogue	O
recorded	O
by	O
voice	O
actors	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
order	O
to	O
make	O
conversations	O
with	O
characters	O
convincing	O
,	O
The	O
Digital	O
Village	O
's	O
Jason	O
Williams	O
and	O
Richard	O
Millican	O
created	O
a	O
language	B-Language
processor	I-Language
called	O
SpookiTalk	B-Application
,	O
which	O
was	O
based	O
on	O
VelociText	O
,	O
a	O
software	O
developed	O
by	O
Linda	O
Watson	O
of	O
Virtus	O
Corporation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Producer	O
Emma	O
Westecott	O
thought	O
the	O
processor	O
was	O
preferable	O
as	O
common	O
text-to-speech	B-Application
programs	O
"	O
made	O
the	O
voices	O
sound	O
cold	O
and	O
distant	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
Westecott	O
,	O
the	O
developers	O
 '	O
intention	O
was	O
"	O
getting	O
into	O
characters	O
"	O
and	O
cited	O
games	O
such	O
as	O
Myst	B-Application
and	O
Mortal	B-Application
Kombat	I-Application
as	O
contemporary	O
games	O
that	O
lacked	O
"	O
proper	O
interaction	O
"	O
with	O
human	O
characters	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Williams	O
and	O
Millican	O
modified	O
VelociText	O
into	O
SpookiTalk	B-Application
in	O
order	O
to	O
improve	O
recognition	O
of	O
complicated	O
sentence	O
forms	O
from	O
players	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
reducing	O
repeated	O
responses	O
,	O
and	O
retaining	O
a	O
character	O
's	O
memory	O
of	O
an	O
object	O
or	O
topic	O
as	O
a	O
conversation	O
progresses	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Adams	O
described	O
the	O
ship	O
's	O
interior	O
design	O
as	O
a	O
mixture	O
of	O
the	O
Ritz	O
Hotel	O
,	O
the	O
Chrysler	O
Building	O
,	O
Tutankhamun	O
's	O
tomb	O
and	O
Venice	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Modeling	O
and	O
animation	O
for	O
the	O
30	O
environments	O
and	O
10	O
characters	O
was	O
done	O
on	O
Softimage	B-Device
3D	I-Device
,	O
version	O
3.5	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Rendering	O
was	O
done	O
on	O
Mental	B-Application
Ray	I-Application
;	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
complete	O
the	O
rendering	O
in	O
time	O
,	O
the	O
team	O
's	O
systems	O
administrator	O
wrote	O
a	O
Perl-based	O
software	O
to	O
control	O
all	O
rendering	O
jobs	O
for	O
up	O
to	O
20	O
processors	O
working	O
24	O
hours	O
a	O
day	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
also	O
scanned	O
photos	O
of	O
macaw	O
features	O
and	O
used	O
Photoshop	B-Operating_System
to	O
incorporate	O
those	O
in	O
the	O
parrot	O
's	O
textures	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
keep	O
within	O
a	O
data	O
budget	O
of	O
1.8	O
gigabytes	O
,	O
the	O
team	O
used	O
the	O
MPEG-3	B-Algorithm
sound	O
format	O
to	O
compress	O
the	O
16	O
hours	O
of	O
speech	O
and	O
dialogue	O
,	O
and	O
compressed	O
movies	O
and	O
cutscenes	O
with	O
Indeo	B-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
<s>
Whitehall	O
and	O
Adams	O
had	O
previously	O
collaborated	O
in	O
the	O
radio	O
version	O
of	O
Hitchhiker	B-Application
's	I-Application
Guide	I-Application
to	I-Application
the	I-Application
Galaxy	I-Application
for	O
the	O
BBC	O
,	O
where	O
Whitehall	O
was	O
a	O
studio	O
manager	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
May	O
1996	O
,	O
Simon	O
&	O
Schuster	O
Interactive	O
announced	O
a	O
deal	O
to	O
co-publish	O
Starship	B-Application
Titanic	I-Application
with	O
The	O
Digital	O
Village	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Apple	O
,	O
Inc	O
.	O
announced	O
on	O
8	O
July	O
1998	O
that	O
Starship	B-Application
Titanic	I-Application
,	O
along	O
with	O
many	O
other	O
games	O
,	O
would	O
be	O
released	O
for	O
Macintosh	B-Device
computers	O
in	O
the	O
future	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
Douglas	O
Adams	O
biographer	O
Nick	O
Webb	O
,	O
The	O
Digital	O
Village	O
CEO	O
Robbie	O
Stamp	O
sold	O
the	O
rights	O
of	O
Starship	B-Application
Titanic	I-Application
and	O
all	O
associated	O
intellectual	O
property	O
to	O
Thomas	O
Hoegh	O
's	O
Arts	O
Alliance	O
in	O
September	O
1998	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Starship	B-Application
Titanic	I-Application
received	O
generally	O
mixed	O
reviews	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Charles	O
Ardai	O
of	O
Computer	O
Gaming	O
World	O
gave	O
the	O
game	O
two	O
and	O
a	O
half	O
stars	O
out	O
of	O
five	O
,	O
praising	O
the	O
graphics	O
and	O
visuals	O
as	O
"	O
gorgeous	O
"	O
,	O
but	O
criticizing	O
the	O
playability	O
,	O
the	O
bots	O
 '	O
responses	O
in	O
the	O
text	B-Application
parser	I-Application
,	O
and	O
ultimately	O
thought	O
that	O
the	O
game	O
is	O
"	O
just	O
not	O
very	O
funny	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Writing	O
for	O
PC	O
Gamer	O
US	O
,	O
Stephen	O
Poole	O
called	O
Starship	B-Application
Titanic	I-Application
"	O
an	O
uninspiring	O
and	O
ultimately	O
tedious	O
adventure.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
CNN	B-Architecture
's	O
Brad	O
Morris	O
praised	O
the	O
game	O
overall	O
,	O
but	O
compared	O
its	O
graphics	O
unfavorably	O
to	O
contemporary	O
games	O
such	O
as	O
Riven	B-Application
and	O
Zork	B-Application
Nemesis	I-Application
,	O
and	O
said	O
that	O
"	O
it	O
is	O
not	O
a	O
revolution	O
in	O
this	O
genre	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Stuart	O
Clarke	O
of	O
The	O
Sydney	O
Morning	O
Herald	O
praised	O
the	O
graphics	O
and	O
the	O
game	O
overall	O
,	O
but	O
said	O
players	O
will	O
"	O
do	O
much	O
scratching	O
of	O
the	O
head	O
and	O
aimless	O
wandering	O
in	O
circles	O
before	O
the	O
mysteries	O
of	O
the	O
Titanic	B-Application
are	O
solved	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
GameSpot	O
's	O
Ron	O
Dulin	O
gave	O
the	O
game	O
a	O
7.1	O
score	O
,	O
criticizing	O
the	O
lack	O
of	O
a	O
story	O
but	O
praising	O
the	O
humor	O
,	O
graphics	O
and	O
the	O
presence	O
of	O
a	O
text	B-Application
parser	I-Application
as	O
"	O
a	O
nice	O
nod	O
to	O
the	O
days	O
of	O
old	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Next	O
Generation	O
praised	O
the	O
text	B-Application
parser	I-Application
and	O
wrote	O
that	O
as	O
the	O
game	O
progresses	O
,	O
"	O
it	O
's	O
impossible	O
to	O
get	O
anywhere	O
"	O
without	O
asking	O
the	O
bots	O
questions	O
,	O
adding	O
that	O
"	O
the	O
humor	O
of	O
the	O
answers	O
alone	O
makes	O
it	O
worth	O
asking	O
questions	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
New	O
York	O
Daily	O
News	O
reviewer	O
Kenneth	O
Li	O
gave	O
the	O
game	O
three	O
and	O
a	O
half	O
stars	O
out	O
of	O
four	O
,	O
calling	O
it	O
"	O
breathtaking	O
"	O
and	O
praising	O
the	O
storyline	O
;	O
however	O
,	O
he	O
offered	O
minor	O
criticism	O
towards	O
repetitive	O
replies	O
in	O
the	O
text	B-Application
parser	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Likewise	O
,	O
the	O
editors	O
of	O
The	O
Electric	O
Playground	O
nominated	O
Starship	B-Application
Titanic	I-Application
for	O
their	O
1998	O
"	O
Best	O
Adventure	O
Game	O
"	O
award	O
,	O
which	O
ultimately	O
went	O
to	O
Grim	B-Application
Fandango	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
a	O
2015	O
article	O
,	O
Kotaku	O
contributor	O
Lewis	O
Packwood	O
wrote	O
that	O
"	O
perhaps	O
the	O
Starship	B-Application
Titanic	I-Application
's	O
most	O
enduring	O
legacy	O
"	O
is	O
a	O
forum	O
in	O
the	O
older	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
official	O
website	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
developed	O
by	O
The	O
Digital	O
Village	O
's	O
web	O
developer	O
Yoz	O
Grahame	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Shortly	O
after	O
Starship	B-Application
Titanic	I-Application
,	O
The	O
Digital	O
Village	O
(	O
which	O
was	O
renamed	O
to	O
h2g2	O
)	O
developed	O
an	O
online	O
guide	O
based	O
on	O
Hitchhiker	O
's	O
Guide	O
to	O
the	O
Galaxy''	O
called	O
h2g2	O
,	O
which	O
became	O
a	O
BBC	O
domain	O
after	O
the	O
company	O
shut	O
down	O
in	O
2001	O
.	O
</s>
