(Learning english with Sierra)
English is not my first language either. I come from a small village north of montréal also. English in Québec is learned as a second language. But thanks to Quest for glory, Leisure suit larry (I’m a perv, what can I say?), King’s quest and all of those fantastic games, I learned to write and speak english properly(you be the judge :)).
It may sound like nothing to people born with the english language. But it completely changes the game experience.
Let’s say I want King graham to pick up a bowl. I need to learn what the word for bowl is, and what I want to do with it. So you try a few sentences until you get the rewarding message ‘You have taken the bowl’. You also get a nice little song on the pc speaker. Figuring out what sentence to use was as much a puzzle as using items on others.
There is no other way I can think of that I could have developed such a fascination for the english written langage.
Nowadays when I finish a game, I know my thumbs are a bit more agile and my eyes a little more tired. Sierra games rewarded the player on so many levels. And the high-quality writing, even though sometimes simplistic, made sure that you could trust these games to be well written.
And I have a confession to make, to me Ken williams was the mayor of Cooltown. I mean, he appeared exactly when I finally thought I was going to see some nakedness in leisure suit larry. That sort of quirkyness is rare in games today I think. And it helped shape the dysfunctional buffon that I am 🙂 Thanx Ken and all who showed me the door into the world of possibilities.
!Simon Love!