Douglas Adams is a man of vision.

Of course, those who reportedly have watched the author walk blithely into a lamppost with his eyes wide open might argue with that statement.

However you define vision, the question remains: how did a hitchhiker who was a former chicken shed cleaner, bodyguard for an Arab royal family, and a left-handed guitarist who once played with Pink Floyd become the darling of science fiction fans around the world?

Douglas has always been a multimedia switch-hitter. He started out in radio, TV and on stage. He enjoyed working with people, experimenting with equipment and ideas. Then, as he puts it, "I accidentally wrote a best-selling novel." The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy started out as a radio series; but when Douglas put it on paper, his unusual blending of comedy and science fiction reached an even larger audience and caught on like wildfire, becoming an international smash hit.

Suddenly there was no time for fiddling and discovery. There was a monster to be fed, and it was gobbling up Hitchhiker books faster than he could write them. Attempting to reconcile this demand with his own desire to work in multiple media, Douglas transformed Hitchhiker into a TV series, a stage play, record albums, a computer game, a series of novels, and, as his official bio states, "a bath towel".

Trying to find different outlets for his restless creative energies, Douglas wrote the popular Dirk Gentry detective novels, and discovered a thirst for adventure while writing a book about endangered species called Last Chance to See. But voracious Hitchhiker fans clamored for more books. Douglas felt chained by his success: "I became a little crazed at the thought of spending an entire working life sitting in a room by myself typing." For a man of no small ideas, who knew that there was more to life than the number 42, it might as well have been a death sentence.

It would take his vision to rescue him from his talent. In 1992 he took charge, founding The Digital Village (TDV) and finally discovering his true calling: Chief Fantasist. "Being part of The Digital Village lets me get back to where I once belonged," he says. "My main role at the Village is to create new projects, to move from one medium to another, to think strategically about new media and to fiddle with bits of equipment." In 1997 the CD-ROM game Starship Titanic debuted under the TDV banner. Soon it would be translated into an audiocassette and a novel. Unlike many other established entities, Douglas and TDV are ambidextrous, originating works in whatever medium works best for the story, never hesitating to mix and match media at will. He thinks this versatility will set TDV apart as a new media pioneer for the next millennium. And lest you think the Hitchhiker saga is over, rest assured: one day, Hitchhiker The Movie will appear at a theater near you.

So the next time you see someone walk into a lamppost with his eyes wide open, don't steer him towards the nearest optometrist. Chances are there's nothing wrong with his vision. And besides, he hasn't got the time. He's got a movie to finish.