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(re: Ken Williams – after Sierra) Nope — I’ve been a total deadbeat. I haven’t played a game, much less worked on one – for almost seven years now.
I called Sierra once (about 3 years ago) to see if I could help – but, they blew me off.
Roberta and I would love to do a game, but neither of us wants to sit still. We travel MOST of the time. Sitting at a desk working on a game for two years doesn’t sound that fun. Well … actually, it does and it doesn’t. A couple of times, like when I called Sierra, I had made the decision to drop back in. Who knows what would have happened if they had taken me up on my offer. Also, recently, I heard a rumor that Vivendi might sell Sierra. I dropped hints that I’d be willing to work with someone who wanted to buy it (perhaps as chairman or some R&D role) – but, fortunately, no one took me up on it.
-Ken W -
(re: Ken Williams – after Sierra) You ought to at least play a game once in awhile…. it’d be enlightening.
Although we’d all love to see you “into gaming” again, we totally understand. After all, the “King and Queen” of the graphic adventure “as we know it today” should have the right to sit back and enjoy “retirement”. Travel and enjoy each other – you’ve worked hard for it!
What about D. J. & Chris? Are they still involved in the industry? -
(re: Ken Williams – after Sierra) Check out {LINK}14356 it will tell you more than you ever wanted to know about my life … including what happened to our kids.
To make a long story short — DJ became a chef, and Chris is “sort of” in the business. He’s a programmer for a cell phone game company called Dwango. Both are REALLY good programmers.
-Ken W -
(re: Ken Williams – after Sierra) But you haven’t been a total deadbeat, have you? 🙂 What about WorldStream Communications and TalkSpot? I really liked the online radio concept. But if I got it right, you changed it into a company selling online broadcast technology (as suggested by a venture capitalist) but had to shut it down in mid-2001. I don’t know the first thing about business, but I’m guessing it was mainly because the whole IT sector crashed.
Was the online radio idea ever really profitable? I think it was an exciting idea to add all sorts of interactivity to the medium, but did you ever get the amount of listeners you wanted (or at least had expected)? -
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(re: Ken Williams – after Sierra) Ken, if Sierra wants to sell you should reaaly consider to get back in and refocus the company.
Key success factor was for sure the vision and coherent pursuing of a craft: adventuring by you and your wife. With nowadays technologies you could do again very well, but please, do avoid too real stuff (like shivers….), as a cartoon style look let’s more imagination run !
Thanks for all the fun,
Giovanni -
(re: Ken Williams – after Sierra) Ken,
All I have to say is that you are living the dream. Seriously, if I started my own business and it went huge, and then I sold it, I’d be set for life. Why would you want to take the risk of doing it again. I mean I know life is boring without challenges but I’m sure there are plenty of challenges out there without having to have the stress of your own computer company. I don’t like to compare but I will. Look at Miyamoto for Nintendo, he basically oversees ALOT of games but he doesn’t own the company and he totally loves his job. Ken, I think you would be amazing in that sort of role where you give projects vision. In todays world of regurgitation we need people like you who is proven to put games back on track. Yeah, I know it’s my selfish dream for your life but hey I thought I would give it a go. -
(re: Ken Williams – after Sierra) I think about it sometimes. I did make a call to see if Sierra could be bought back, but have no idea how I would raise the $500 million or so it might take.
Actually, what I would most like to see occur is for some game company to make me “chairman” of a product committee, where I can spend my life working with the product teams. I don’t ever want the grief again of “trying to make quarterly revenue goals”. But, I do miss the creativity and innovation of building great product.
Sooner or later, Sierra will be managed by someone who thinks I could add value. (I hope…)
-Ken W -
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(re: Ken Williams – after Sierra) Ken,
First off, thank you for doing this site! This is the most exciting thing for me as a Veteran Sierra fan in a while, and it’s all because it has your signature on it!
I became hooked on Sierra products when I was 4, my big brother got an IBM PCjr with 128k RAM, and King’s Quest 1 (in the old grey IBM box) We played Black Cauldron as well in the dark, and thanks to your games I learned to type in the dark by 5! I do play Counterstrike but really, I was very sad when it was obvious you and Roberta departed, the Sierra logo even changed and I wept 🙂 !! I always look at the old Sierra catalogs and look at the Oakhurst building and dream of buying that place and calling everyone back there to continue the games, and I’d sign the company over to you!!! But until then, Thanks for the games, and the wonderful memories!
Have you ever considered using a new name other than Sierra and getting the rights back to the series themselves??? Hey you could use On-Line Systems again !!!! : ) How would we make Sierra a non-public company again????? Ahhhh dreams I suppose !!
I hope one day you and Roberta get back into games, I’ll be right there ready to buy every game, something I was unable to do, I relied on my parents and brother to buy the games (I was a kid!!) Now I use ebay and have collected almost every single Sierra game, they are timeless!!
Thanks again for this awesome site! -
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(re: Ken Williams – after Sierra) Everyone:
I am convinced that Roberta and I will do something again, sooner or later. I can’t tell you what, or when – but, I am absolutely, positively, with no reservations, convinced that I’m almost certain that we might, someday, maybe, possibly, do something, I think. However, I’m not sure what it will be, or when it will be.
Sorry — that comment was meant somewhat in jest — but, it more accurately summarizes the situation than anything else I might say.
Here’s the exact status: we would love to do something. Both Roberta and I are eager to do something, and have tons of ideas. Unfortunately, we also like retirement. We spent 20 years of our lives doing games. To be honest, it doesn’t matter what one does – 20 years is a long time to do it. Try to imagine your favorite meal, and then imagine eating it for 20 years straight. I love Disneyland, but if someone invited me to live there for 20 years – I might not take them up on it.
To be fair: there ARE some things for which 20 years isn’t that long a time. For instance, we’ve been married THIRTY years, and we’re really just getting started – so I don’t mean to imply that there aren’t some things that last forever. Certainly our love of making games hasn’t diminished, but the desire to “sit still” for the 2-3 years it takes to ship a hit product has. Perhaps after a couple more years of retirement we’ll be ready to “drop back in”. I don’t know. Lately, we’ve talked a lot about going to film school, or, Roberta writing a book. It would be nice to find some new way to express our creativity. Both Roberta and I would like to find something that combines all that is good about creating games, with doing something that we haven’t done before. If we did it exactly perfectly, the goal would be to do something that no one has done before. I’m into innovation, not just doing the “same thing over again with a new plot”.
I apologize for not being able to give you a straight answer. The bottom line is that we haven’t the vaguest idea what the future holds. On a different, but somewhat related, topic: I just read an article today about the Rolling Stones going on tour. Mick Jagger is much older than my dad! I doubt he needs the money. So, why is he still working? It bothers me that Roberta and I don’t have the same willingness (as Mr. Jagger (or, even Mr. Gates!)) to still be working hard after all these years. My guess (and it’s only a guess) is that at some point in Mr. Jagger’s career, he took some time off to clear his head. That might be what we’re doing now, and in a few years we’ll be hard at work making games. Perhaps, no one (except those of you who visit this website) will remember that we slacked off for a bit. Or, better yet (and, this is my preference), we’ll be doing something new that you haven’t seen before – and, that shifts entertainment some cool new direction.
Does that answer your question?
-Ken W -
(re: Ken Williams – after Sierra) It’s very interesting that you mention writing a book or going to film school. As I think about story-telling, I try to think of the best ways to tell that story – and I think of two perfect genres. One is the computer game. It combines images and text and sound, and it has interactivity. My other favorite genre is a good graphic novel – a comic book. It is a real book, which is nice because it doesn’t rely on technology to exist, and it is a wonderful combination of images and words.
That is why I was so excited with the Space Quest comic books, especially that brilliant artist John Shaw. -
(re: Ken Williams – after Sierra) Dear Ken,
Ah your last comments reek of hope!!!
I feel what you are saying about not doing the same thing all over again. I think you could make a new King’s Quest and at the same time redifine gaming again.
Like King’s Quest V. I had grown with the Sierra games, and technology, and nothing hit me as hard as KQV. The speech, graphics, story, music, the whole presentation was to me shockingly awesome. Wow, the first game I think I ever owned on CD.
I think you could even have King Graham in it again, and still be more innovative than any other company around. Look at Squaresoft and the Final Fantasy series. Every game has the same basic elements of gameplay, and yet the games are innovative almost every new chapter. The technological leap from Final Fantasy 6 (SNES) to Final Fantasy 7 (PS2) was insane!!! But nowdays a King’s Quest on say X-Box might not be as strange as it was to put KQV on the old Nintendo.
Hey maybe you could talk Mr. Gates into getting Sierra back for you and Roberta!!! Then just promise to give all publishing or manufacturing to Microsoft!! You and Roberta could develop the “Ressurecting” King’s Quest for PC and X-Box exclusivley.
The adverts : “The Rebirth of Adventure Gaming”
But I will stop badgering you Ken, it sounds like you would love to do something along those lines, and that will help me have sweet Sierra dreams again.
Even if that never happens, I plan on going back through every Sierra game ON THE BIG SCREEN!!! I plan on having a 11ft wide theater screen and digital projector, and man that will give new life to those old games!!!
I do think “Adventure” gaming is in need of deep change, and that can only be found at it’s roots. Who better than you and Roberta!! What better game to bring it all around than KQ???
Thanks for reading!
I’ll stop harrasing you now!!! 🙂
-King Rygar -
(re: Ken Williams – after Sierra, Meditation?) Dear Ken,
You say:
‘If we did it exactly perfectly, the goal would be to do something that no one has done before. I’m into innovation, not just doing the “same thing over again with a new plot”‘
The point here is indeed to do something no one has done before — but something that has even more meaning and relevance than your previous games. Only then is innovation good, only then technology would assist spiritual development — I’m sure you know what I mean.
Indeed — take a few years off, enjoy yourselves, clear your heads, look within yourselves — and I’m sure you’ll be ready for new, far greater adventures. Roberta could write a book based on your new discoveries, and then you could turn the book into a game — how about that? A good game has a good plot. A game based on a good book would be an outstanding game.
May I suggest practicing meditation as a starter? It has been a life-saver for me, and a real mind and eye opener. By meditation I mean clearing one’s mind and listening to the silence between thoughts. For 1-2 hours a day. Many people confuse various forms of concentration for meditation i.e. some complex visualisation, etc., but believe me, if you take on simple, real meditation as a starter, it would greatly help your creativity and physical condition, too!
Feel free to ask me questions at
Link:vpeev@ewa-bg.com (mailto:vpeev@ewa-bg.com)Warmest regards,
Vesselin Peev (Vesko) -
(re: re: Ken Williams – after Sierra) I know how you feel, trust me, I know. I know the feeling that you have about Sierra and its best creations.
Ken has already explained that:
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“I think about it sometimes. I did make a call to see if Sierra could be bought back, but have no idea how I would raise the $500 million or so it might take.
Actually, what I would most like to see occur is for some game company to make me “chairman” of a product committee, where I can spend my life working with the product teams. I don’t ever want the grief again of “trying to make quarterly revenue goals”. But, I do miss the creativity and innovation of building great product.
Sooner or later, Sierra will be managed by someone who thinks I could add value. (I hope…)”
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The problem is, I can’t see the point of buying back Sierra. The only thing you would archive this way is to be able to mark a product with the Sierra name. But why do you need that? It will be nothing but a waste of money.
For example, I could have produced a game that incorporates the best of Sierra in it, but of course it couldn’t carry Sierra’s name.
Would you buy my game if it indeed was of an outstanding quality, or you’d say, no, I don’t buy crap because it is not produced by a company named Sierra?
HTH,
Vesko -
(re: re: re: Ken Williams – after Sierra)
The point of buying Sierra is that you are buying the greatest game artwork of all time. It’s like buying Disney’s original films. If someone offered you the first 25 years of Disney’s films, full rights, wouldn’t you take it?
$500 million is a little pricey. If we can get it down to $100 million or so, we could get a deal.
Dave
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(re: re: Ken Williams – after Sierra) what a wonderful mechanism for sharing ideas with a legend. if i had tried to contact you through “normal channels” during your years at Sierra…GOD only knows the difficulty.
why keep waiting for someone to buy Sierra so that you can jump back into an “R&D role” or “chairman role”? You and Roberta have a big enough name in the industry to start another “thread” of a game company without the need for Sierra. people are(were) loyal to sierra, but not because it’s Sierra, but because of what Sierra created. you WERE that creation! wouldn’t your vision again be bound and restricted by some higher authority if you were to return to Sierra? you mention that the popularity of internet sales is on the rise. this would help your cause. i am willing to bet that if you put together a great game..the perfect game…and sold it on this site alone that the rewards would be reaped many times over. at the very least, the game would be 100% you and your ideas. from what i read about you, this would probably be the most gratifying aspect.
of course, you would need some programming resources to help create this masterpiece…that’s where I would come in! 🙂 a young, intense, passionate developer willing to live off of scraps with the thought of the possibility of joining forces with a game legend and producing a great product could come in extremely handy.
am i misguided?
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