(re: re: re: re: Sierra 25-year anniversary – next year?) [NOTE: After writing this, I realized that it might not be a great idea to post it in the Ken Williams Q&A section, as it is a bit lengthy and I am not, as a matter of fact, Ken Williams. But the mealymouthed quote from Vivendi referenced in the message above rather set me off, and I now see that there’s no other place to put this; this is the context for it.]
Vivendi is very much the heart of the New Sierra. Excellent metaphor. Keeps the blood (or income, if you prefer) flowing, continually, repetitively, mindlessly acting to keep the body alive.
Unfortunately, they decided to jettison their brains some time ago. Brains don’t sell, and it does take quite a bit of blood to keep the brain functioning, doesn’t it?
How about this: nobody celebrates Sierra’s 25th birthday, because that would be vaguely morbid. It would be like lovingly draping confetti over a patient in a permanent coma, then slipping the little party hat onto his head. The thoughtfulness is there, I’m sure, but it would be better to celebrate the things the patient accomplished when alive and well.
Instead, we can celebrate the 25th anniversary of the release of Mystery House. When the 25th anniversary of KQI’s release comes, we can celebrate that, too. We can celebrate the anniversaries of our own favorite Sierra games, too, by replaying them – they’re as alive as they ever were if you’re playing them..
Does this sound a bit too much like one of those sententious speeches where mourners are told, generally by somebody who hasn’t actually lost a loved one, to “be happy with all the good times you had?” I hope not, because we also have a future. Good times to come.
We can celebrate the prospects of Sierra fan projects. We can celebrate the efforts towards a series of Quest for Glory novels, and buy copies of them when they’re good and ready. We can celebrate that people still keep discovering the classic games even today.
About a month ago, I showed a friend of mine an adventure game, and she was enthralled by the idea of games where you DIDN’T shoot everything in sight, but didn’t wander through a sterile, characterless environment either. Games that told a story.
In one sense, Sierra’s 25th anniversary is coming up. However, for one of my peers, Sierra was just born a few months ago.
Celebrate that.
John W. Wells
