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Instead the main part of the game is all the references to several movies and other stuff that has often been featured in xkcd as well as many of the other comics. Apart from the date of release and the text about the book, the game does not seem to have any direct relation to the book there are, however, several scenes in the game that could be seen as references to Thing Explainer. But the release day of the game has been used to promote his new book (as is clear with the text in the start screen of the game), and this explains why it was not released on the Back to the Future date. Given Randall's enjoyment of movies and time travel it is very likely that this game is also a tribute to the Back to the Future movies. Randall is known to have had electric skateboards, which is also thematically related, although another type of hoverboard would be mentioned just five weeks later in 1623: 2016 Conversation Guide. Hoverboards are just one of many things predicted in Back to the Future Part II that have come to pass before reaching the date from the movie, but are more uncommon in our world, along with other inventions like flying cars and musical clothing. Marty McFly traveled to the future in this second installment, more precisely to, and this comic was released just over one month later.

XKCD CLICK AND DRAG FULL MAP MOVIE

The title refers to a hoverboard (which resembles a hovering skateboard without wheels) which has been most prominently featured in the movie Back to the Future Part II. The xkcd Header text also changed that day to shout out that the book was released on that day. The comic thus appeared on a Tuesday, replacing that week's normal Wednesday release to coincide with the release day.

The 'comic' is actually a browser game made to celebrate the release of Randall's new book, Thing Explainer, which was released on the same day as this comic: Tuesday, November 24, 2015. To experience the interactivity of this game, visit the original comic.

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