- This topic has 9 replies, 1 voice, and was last updated 19 years, 3 months ago by
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Hi Roberta, hi Ken,
I know you read a lot of times Posts, in which people are telling you, how big sierra is for than and how they loved what you’re done (sierra, making great games..). Most of this peoples has loved your games all the time.
And now I write you also an email like this.
I know the first computer-game I have played was Alpiner (on a TI99a). Also a lot of other games. Then a friend get a XT (yeah, I think it was a XT). His first game was LSL1. We played it all the time. It was wonderful.
Time goes by and I get an Amiga. I played all KQ, Larry, PQ and SQ Games (also Gold Rush for example). All Quest-games are also wonderful. After this I get an PC and I loved to play your games. I played also old games again and again. i know the day I own about 25 original games. I made a photo of all games, and fax it with a few rows to you. I can told you many stories, but I think you have other things to do, than read them ;).
From 1988 to 1992 I create some small computer-games for Amstrad CPC and also XTs. It was a great time. I tried to made so good games, like sierra games, but I didn’t reach them (I can’t reach them).
Now, about 11 years later, I am 29 years young and owner of a game-developer-company. I found it at 1998, and now we are about 5 to 6 years at work and released some titles. We are not big, but the work makes fun. We try to made a new advanture-games, not in 3D. It’s hart for us to do this, because no many publishers want to publish it…
I look very often on your site. Also on the sierra-site. I did not love sierra even more. Perhaps, since you leaf sierra (also like Al), the games wasn’t so good (I know that many people say this 😉 ).
I will always say thank you. Thank you Roberta and thank you Ken. You do a very, very good job. It’s a very good time, when I think back, and tears are standing in my eyes, when I think about it. You mean so much for me. 90% of great games I even play was your games.
I am think now about since the start of this site to write you this post, now I have done it.
Thank you.
I hope, sometimes, you’ll do a new game.
Thank you again 😉
Marco (from Germany) -
(re: Good old Sierra-Times, Thanx to Ken & Roberta!) Marco:
Thank you for the comments!
If you want, try posting a screenshot from some of your games – I’m curious to see what kind of games you are making.
I understand your comment about only 3-d games selling. You may want to experiment with producing an adventure game in 3d, using one of the game engines that is already on the market. My guess is that lots of different 3d engines are available to pick from. Check out
Link: http://www.garagegames.com(http://www.garagegames.com)
– this is one of the Sierra developers (Jeff Tunnell from Dynamix) who has developed a 3d engine and is selling it cheap (around $100) for people who want to build 3d games. To be honest, I don’t have any idea if Jeff’s is the best engine or not. I haven’t really looked to see what is in the market. But, I do know that Jeff is a good guy, so I’d be surprised if his engine wasn’t pretty good.
Actually .. my sense of the market is that the real money these days is in games for the video game machines (playstation, etc). My guess would be that the PC software (entertainment) market is smaller today than when I left the industry six years ago.
Here’s my current thinking as to what I would do, if I were to do something: (or, at least what I’ve been thinking lately)
I’m thinking that my next project will be a server base game that has a simple text based interface, but is open to independent developers writing front ends to. In other words, start with a game that is server based, and fun to play – but, ugly – and, then let the hundreds of independent entrpreneurs/developers around the web write sleek looking clients/graphical interfaces for different parts of the product. The idea would be that a whole market would revolve around developing pieces to the game.
I’m explaining this poorly. Imagine if you will (and, this isn’t really what I’m thinking about) – that I were to build a server-based simulation of a battlefield. The battlefield might recognize that soldiers could be in it, that they could be in vehicles (some of which drive and some of which fly). Soldiers or vehicles, etc might have weapons. On the server side I would resolve where everyone is, what they have, and the result of conflicts — but, all the graphics are on the client side. If I do the server right, then lots of different graphic interfaces could be written to display the battlefield. Code could be written to represent (and display) different kinds of tanks, airplanes, weapons, etc.
Anyway…. that’s what I’m thinking. I’m a little different than most developers in that I need to do something that I can do myself. I’ve done my time of running a company. It was an awesome experience, but “been there, done that”. I like travelling now, and always have my laptop along. I’m not an artist (as this site proves beyond a doubt), but do know how to code (although my coding skills are very rusty after 20 years as a bureaucrat).
Good luck with your games!
-Ken W -
(re: re: Good old Sierra-Times, Thanx to Ken & Roberta!) Hi Ken,
thanx for the answers. It’s a pleasure, that you answer to me.
At this time, I think that no companies do develope new adventure games. The most companies say that there were no people who will buy it. Sierra for example do the same. Have you take a look of the new Larry-Trailer ? It will be an action-adventure in 3D. That isn’t another Larry-Game! It’s a new (other) Larry game! The companies say, that no one will buy a new adventure game, which will be made like old adventure games (in 2D-view). But I (and also some other companies) didn’t think so. Best example is the game called “RunAway”. Ok it is a bit in 3D, but the view looks like an old adventure (in 2D). And the game has a lot of success. So the developer is stil creating the second title. And I think that other games like this example will have also a lot of success.
I have download the engine of Jeff and will have a look on it in the next time. 100 $ is a very low price. (Oh, when I think at Jeff and Dynamix I think also to the great Game-Row “The incredible Machine”… 😉 ). Is GarageGames the company of Jeff?
I understand what you doing right now. You were a successful company-owner and you have reached many many things (all?). If I were at your positions, I will do the same. But I am not at your position ;). My company is very small at this time, and we work hard each month – each day – each hour ;).
I will put two shots of two games from us. There will be much more games, but this shots are from the newest games. The first screenshot is a shot of Legend of Zord, the other a shot of our actually strategy-game called “Game Tycoon”, which was released two month ago. Have fun with it.
Many greetings to you and Roberta.
Regards, MarcoA shot of the game called Legend of Zord.
A shot of Game Tycoon, our actually game! -
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(re: re: Good old Sierra-Times, Thanx to Ken & Roberta!) Marco:
I did look at the screenshots. They look great, but I couldn’t get much of a sense of the game from the pictures. No characters are shown. Also, I can’t see the interface. Is it the same simulated 3d as Sierra’s old games? Do the characters speak? Is it a point and click interface, or a text parser? Actually, the most important question is: how well did they sell?
-Ken W
PS You are correct; Jeff Tunnell of Garage Games is the same person who did The Incredible Machine – – an INCREDIBLE product. -
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(re: re: re: Good old Sierra-Times, Thanx to Ken & Roberta!)
Hi Ken, hi Jeff,
sorry for delaying asnwers.
@Jeff: The Website link is: http://www.enjoy-e.de (sorry, only in german).
@Ken: Legend of Zord is a 3D-action-adventure. A game like Prince of Persia.
Game Tycoon is a strategic-game, where you can build your own game-developement-company. You must create own games, make advertising, win auctions, find publishers, create new engines and so on… The shot shows the developer-office. All shots are as this. You can click several points in the screen (at this screen for example the plan-board, the clock, the coffeemaschine, the cyber-chicken on the monitor (cyber-chicken was another game of us 😉 )…Legend of Zord sells not so good, but with Game Tycoon we have a lot of success. The main-reason for this maybe, that the germans loves games like this 😉 and it is funny.
We are searching for now for publishers all over the world.I attach another shot of Game Tycoon, where you can see the interface to controll the game. The shot shows also the gameshop, where you get infos about the top-tens, can buy games…
In 2000, we also made a small season-greeting-programm. I think it was good. I have seen all old sierra season-cards and at 2000, I want to have an own and so we develope one for the xmas! Sorry, this version is only in german 😉 I can’t find the english-version.
Now I can only say to all: Have a very Xmas and special to Roberta and Ken: Thanx again to you. I think there are not many days, I didn’t think to the old times and the great games of Sierra -> of you! Also for you a very Xmas and if we didn’t see us on this great website till new year, also a happy New Year.
Regards, Marco
GameShop) -
(Thanks from the other side of the world.)
Writing from Australia,
I was just a kid when I got my first adventure game KQ 1. Sierra games were always a great escape and alot of fun to play.
Sierra’s games had something about them that is just lacking in todays games. Sure there is alot more eye candy but no games made today will ever have the impact the classics did KQ, PQ, LSL, QFG, SQ.
Even Sierra itself, it isnt sierra to me anymore. It just another company pushing out the same crap with no imagination. Sierra died when you and Roberta left.I came across this site when I found Al Lowes, and it delighted me to find such a group of Sierra enthusiasts and found myself scouring ebay for classic sierra merchandise/software. No other game set in history would make me purchase it again so long past their prime.
It sometimes is a shame to think that all good things must come to an end… But unfortunatley they do.
Ken, You & Roberta founded a great company
When I play sierra titles it brings back so many great memories.Thank you.
Gavin
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(At the risk of sounding ‘uncool’…) I just stumbled upon your site, and I am now extremely happy. I’ve been wondering for a while what happened to the developers of my favorite childhood games, and now that I have found out…
But I’m getting ahead of myself. My name is Blair Smith, I’m seventeen years old, and I am a devout Sierra game player, even now. Among my earliest and fondest memories are my dad and I trying to get Rosella out of the whale. I couldn’t type (I couldn’t even read at that point), so my dad did all the actual playing, but we worked at it and at it… until we resolved to buy a hint book.
I’m not quite sure about this, but according to my parents, I actually learned how to read off Kings Quest IV, Mixed up Fairy Tales, and Gold Rush. “You loved those three games, but your dad couldn’t play them for you all the time, so you eventually figured out how to read off them,” is what my mom says. Sounds a little too smart for something I could do, but I do know that I did love those games.
Since then, I moved on to play beat five out of eight kings quest games (I only found king’s quest one, three, and eight recently, still working on them) and gobble up every other sierra game I could find.
I am starting to ramble on at this point, so I’ll bring this to a close. Ken & Roberta Williams, you two, along with so many people who work at Sierra, have brought me so much as a child, and as a teenager, and as an almost-adult. At the risk of sounding ‘uncool’, I’ll say this: You two, along with the other developers of old sierra, are gods in my pantheon. Take that as you will, but that is as much gratitude I can give in one post.
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