Discworld is a comic fantasy book series written by the English author Terry Pratchett (1948–2015), set on the fictional Discworld, a flat disc balanced on the backs of four elephants which in turn stand on the back of a giant turtle, Great A'Tuin. The books frequently parody or take inspiration from J. R. R. Tolkien, Robert E. Howard, H. P. Lovecraft, Charles Dickens, and William Shakespeare, as well as mythology, folklore and fairy tales, often using them for satirical parallels with current cultural, political and scientific issues. The series is popular, with more than 80 million books sold in 37 languages.

Forty one Discworld novels have been published. Pratchett, who suffered from Alzheimer's disease, said that he would be happy for his daughter Rhianna to continue the series when he is no longer able to do so. However, Rhianna has stated she will only be involved in spin-offs, adaptations and tie-ins, and that there will be no more novels. The original British editions of the first 26 novels, up to Thief of Time (2001), had distinctive cover art by Josh Kirby. The American editions, published by Harper Collins, used their own cover art. Since Kirby's death in October 2001, the covers have been designed by Paul Kidby. Companion publications include eleven short stories (some only loosely related to the Discworld), four popular science books, and a number of supplementary books and reference guides. In addition, the series has been adapted for graphic novels, for the theatre, as computer and board games, as music inspired by the series, and repeatedly for television.

Discworld is a point-and-click adventure game developed by Teeny Weeny Games and Perfect 10 Productions in mid-1995. It stars Rincewind the Wizard (voiced by Eric Idle) and is set on Terry Pratchett's Discworld. The game's plot is based roughly on the events in the book Guards! Guards!, but with Rincewind substituted for Sam Vimes. The game contains elements of Moving Pictures.Discworld has been praised for its humour, voice-acting and graphics, though some criticized its gameplay and puzzles. Discworld has also been noted as being extremely challenging.

There are four other Discworld games: a direct sequel to Discworld, titled Discworld II: Missing Presumed...!?, Discworld Noir (a stand-alone story starring an original character), a text adventure called The Colour of Magic which strictly adheres to the events of the first Discworld novel and another game based on The Colour of Magic released on mobile phones titled Discworld: The Colour of Magic.

Gameplay

Discworld is a third-person point-and-click graphic adventure game. The PlayStation version is compatible with the PlayStation Mouse, as well as the normal PlayStation controls. However, the Saturn version is not compatible with the Saturn Mouse. Rincewind, the player character, moves through a scrolling background, with an overhead map that appears when leaving a city that allows the player to go straight to a location. Items can either be examined or used, and can either be stored in Rincewind's pockets or in the Luggage. In order to progress in the game, Rincewind must collect items, talk to people and solve puzzles.

The Discworld is the fictional setting for all of Terry Pratchett's Discworld fantasy novels. It consists of a large disc (complete with edge-of-the-world drop-off and consequent waterfall) resting on the backs of four huge elephants which are in turn standing on the back of an enormous turtle, named Great A'Tuin (similar to Chukwa or Akupara from Hindu mythology) as it slowly swims through space. The Disc has been shown to be heavily influenced by magic and, while Pratchett has given it certain similarities to planet Earth, he has also created his own system of physics for it.

Pratchett first explored the idea of a disc-shaped world in the novel Strata (1981).

Exogeology

Great A'Tuin

Great A'Tuin is the Giant Star Turtle (of the fictional species Chelys galactica) who travels through the Discworld universe's space, carrying four giant elephants (named Berilia, Tubul, Great T'Phon, and Jerakeen) who in turn carry the Discworld. The narration has described A'Tuin as "the only turtle ever to feature on the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram."