(re: re: re: Ken and Infocom) “… I remember having read somewhere that there was a big rivalry between your two companies: so it was a fair business rivalry, with mutual (I believe mutual) esteem, and this is great….”
I only met Joel Berez (Infocom’s founder/CEO) a few times, but will always remember our first meeting. Sierra was about a year or two old, and Infocom was on top of the world. At one time they had virtually every slot on the best seller charts. We were at an industry conference and Roberta and I stepped into an elevator with him. I was a big fan, and for me, it was a chance to meet my hero.
He, on the other hand, had never heard of Sierra, and didn’t have the vaguest idea who I was. Roberta and I introduced ourselves, and he blew us off. Roberta’s very competitive, as am I. This meeting in an elevator, which meant nothing to Joel, meant a lot to us – and, really kicked us into gear, as we tried to compete with Infocom. It’s funny how something like this can motivate competition.
Anyway, years later, I met Joel again at a computer conference, and this time, he knew who we were. And, as it turned out, he was a VERY nice and charming guy, and had absolutely no idea that years before we had even met.
-Ken W
