Infocom's text adventures have a similarly sophisticated text parser and are based on a far more flexible development language (ZIL) and virtual architecture (Z-Machine). The early games have the occasional randomly moving NPC (Example: The thief in Zork I) or time limit, and such elements are more fleshed out in later games, but there is never any potential for truly emergent gameplay as in The Hobbit.

Infocom games' size require disk drives, something rare in personal computers outside the US until the late 1980s. Megler, in Australia, in any case came from the mainframe world and had no exposure to microcomputers and thus microcomputer games other than Adventure. If she had played Infocom games before Melbourne House hired her, The Hobbit's parser would likely be similar but I doubt that the other unique elements would be present. Out of naivite and ignorance came greatness.