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Hey Ken,
I read that you and Roberta have recently shown renewed interest in getting back into gaming. As far as your meeting with Sierra this April, is there a compelling reason why you would lean away from starting your own company? Obviously, there’s the plus side of the resources in teaming with Sierra again, but at what cost when it comes to restrictions and who can be brought on board?
As you know, Al has shown an interest in working on another Leisure Suit Larry game, but that appears to have gone by the wayside. What about starting a company and getting him involved in some way, shape, or form? I realize the rights to the characters we’re familiar with would be absent, but don’t think for a second that we have forgotten the real names behind those characters.
You and Roberta were doing adventure games back when they were done right. Between Sierra and LucasArts, I spent a lot of time in other worlds living and breathing stories. With the demise of the Sierra of old and with LucasArts pushing the genre into an FPS style of character control (starting with Grim Fandango), there’s very little options for adventure gamers today. Yes, there’s The Longest Journey and just a few others, but by and large the true adventure games are not to be found. I never bought that gamers changed or that the genre died. At best, I would say the genre has fallen into a deep sleep, a hibernation until one of the pioneers comes back and resurrects the true spirit of what adventure gaming was all about. The feel, style, control, immersion, and storytelling are all areas that have not been adequately recaptured since the 90s.
For what it’s worth, let me encourage you and Roberta to be those returning pioneers. Let me encourage you to be the ones to bring back adventure gaming to the gamers who were right there with you to begin with. Let me encourage you to be the ones to bring adventure gaming to a brand new audience that have never known what it’s like to be fully immersed in a game, lost in another world. Let me encourage you to take the gaming industry by storm…again. Who am *I* to encourage this? I am Paul Lilly, I’m an adventure gamer from days past, I’m a hopeful fan that the genre will awaken by those who know what it is, and I am one of many who await the return of one of the pioneers. As this letter comes from but one person, it represents many, many more. -
(re: Take The Plunge…)
Nobody misses anything until it’s gone.
That’s so true for adventure gaming. Though I contend that it’s gone in the old form, I believe it’s alive, but not too well. I wish I could name five per console, but I can’t even do that. I’d have to combine that list, and I already did that.
However, Mr. Lilly is very right about what’s going on. Nobody at the big corps has an idea about gaming, since their first PC was either a Pentium or PowerPC, and their first console was either PS1 or N64. They simple can’t know what they’re supposed to create.
EA does, though. I saw them take a chance with Alice a few years back, and few other games I can’t remember currently, but will go to game store and take a look. Alice is what really stands out, as do The Sims, which plays like a Make Your Own Adventure or Torture You Own Neighbors. Whichever. But, overall, EA would be the company to go to. It’s all high quality and a good price over there, though some games such as Pirates and few others are a little below par.
Sometimes, I wish I had majored in Computer Science, then I’d be a programmer. But that’s the problem with gaming today. Too many programmers making games for programmers. Slugglish sales, blame piracy. Same old at most companies. I think programmers would get more satisfaction from making an artistic masterpiece (Alice, Myst 3), but are, instead, complaining about getting only $65,000 a year with benefits, and working very easy hours compared to my restraunts. No offense to that one guy from Westwood, but, living in Vegas, I knew many past and present Westwood guys more so than Sierra people. Most were as I desribed programmers above thoughout. I find that damn tragic.
If we can get designers in the style of Al Lowe, Roberta, and even Mr. Goofy Scott Murphy, then I think games would be excellent, because the story will be there first, then the game evolve around it. That’s the problem with online games like EverQuest: no story, just fighting. Big whoop. I guess the majority of people who play these must not know what a goal is, and must still live with their parents. I’m guessing, but that was my big impression when I played these games online.
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(re: re: Take The Plunge…) I want to point out that making a new company, with new brands from the sierra developers, would be truely awesome. Of course, having King’s Quest, Quest for Glory, and all the others continue under you would be great for those of us who played those games, but the fact is that new games with the same quality would not only be great, but would sell well to the newbies too, and would breath some life into the adventure game genre.
And know that, either way, gimme about four more years and you’d have a programmer more than willing to help! 😀 -
(re: re: Take The Plunge…)
hah – no worries man. No offense taken. 😉
You are indeed correct – a majority of the people at Westwood were very arrogant in terms of what they did and their contributions to a project. Inter-office politics also went practically un-checked and cost many people promotions and/or raises. I was offered a design position for Earth and Beyond while I was testing it, but couldn’t get the position because the Manager of QA (Brett Sperry) wouldn’t ok the transfer for one reason or the other (I assume it’s because I didn’t do enough sucking up).
But that’s in the past now. I’m currently working on designing my own game while working at a Burger King AND I’m getting ready to go back to college. I’d love to get back into the game industry, but it seems Westwood was the only player in town and with them gone, my hopes of getting another job in the industry is dashed (unless I move and I don’t want to do that right now).
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(re: re: re: re: Take The Plunge…)
I’m still in good ole Vegas. I sent ya quick email per your request. 😉
-David Reese
lordcorenair@netscape.net -
(re: Take The Plunge…) My comments are embedded within your message…
-Ken W
Hey Ken,
I read that you and Roberta have recently shown renewed interest in getting back into gaming. As far as your meeting with Sierra this April, is there a compelling reason why you would lean away from starting your own company? Obviously, there’s the plus side of the resources in teaming with Sierra again, but at what cost when it comes to restrictions and who can be brought on board?
Roberta and I have different motivations.
Roberta is clearly interested in doing a game again, and is just now starting the long process towards making a game. She’s at least six months to a year from knowing what the game will be, so she considers it premature to be thinking about how it would be published or developed.
I would like to get involved with Sierra, because it bothers me that they aren’t #1, and it bothers me that the industry seems to be caught in a rut. I believe I can make more of a difference, on behalf of both the industry and Sierra, by working with the senior management at VU Games (the parent of Sierra) rather than by working on any one game.
As you know, Al has shown an interest in working on another Leisure Suit Larry game, but that appears to have gone by the wayside. What about starting a company and getting him involved in some way, shape, or form? I realize the rights to the characters we’re familiar with would be absent, but don’t think for a second that we have forgotten the real names behind those characters.
If I ever do anything again, I would definitely hope to get Al involved! I’m constantly giving Al ideas (whether he wants them or not) on how he can get going on a game again.
You and Roberta were doing adventure games back when they were done right. Between Sierra and LucasArts, I spent a lot of time in other worlds living and breathing stories. With the demise of the Sierra of old and with LucasArts pushing the genre into an FPS style of character control (starting with Grim Fandango), there’s very little options for adventure gamers today. Yes, there’s The Longest Journey and just a few others, but by and large the true adventure games are not to be found. I never bought that gamers changed or that the genre died. At best, I would say the genre has fallen into a deep sleep, a hibernation until one of the pioneers comes back and resurrects the true spirit of what adventure gaming was all about. The feel, style, control, immersion, and storytelling are all areas that have not been adequately recaptured since the 90s.
I’m not too fond of nostalgia. We did great things not because the things we did were great, but because they were great at the time. Sierra’s games don’t look as good today, as they looked when they were released. We were pioneering new kinds of games, new kinds of content, new technologies, new user interfaces, etc. If I were to do something today, I would want to do the same. Certainly, the big picture would be “give the player a way to role play in an alternate universe, and give them 30 to ??? hours of intense entertainment” but I would layer onto this the concept of “do it in a way that surprises the player – give the player something they have NEVER seen before”. This is somewhat inconsistent with saying “how do I bring back the adventure games of the 80’s?”
For what it’s worth, let me encourage you and Roberta to be those returning pioneers. Let me encourage you to be the ones to bring back adventure gaming to the gamers who were right there with you to begin with. Let me encourage you to be the ones to bring adventure gaming to a brand new audience that have never known what it’s like to be fully immersed in a game, lost in another world. Let me encourage you to take the gaming industry by storm…again. Who am *I* to encourage this? I am Paul Lilly, I’m an adventure gamer from days past, I’m a hopeful fan that the genre will awaken by those who know what it is, and I am one of many who await the return of one of the pioneers. As this letter comes from but one person, it represents many, many more.Roberta is working hard on another game. Although, I don’t want to mislead anyone. She’d only do a game if she can think of something innovative to do. That means she will be spending the next six months doing intensive research, and if she thinks of something that she thinks can be great, she will go the next step. If not, she won’t.
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(re: re: Take The Plunge…)
This is just opinion of course, but,
Ken,
I think nostalgia drives gaming more than you might give it credit for. What Sierra gamers want is not rehashes or replicas of the Sierra games from the 80’s, but as you said, pioneering new kinds of games. But people remember who made those games, who the characters were in those games, and where those games took place.
Think of the Final Fantasy games. They are working on #12 now. They are hugely successful worldwide, and they keep evolving with the technology. Just like REAL Sierra games did. I remember when our family bought a “Multimedia” PC, just so we could play King’s Quest V on CD… That was a $1500+ investment just to play 1 game! Such as I bought a new video card so I could play Final Fantasy XI on my computer. But I wouldn’t say wanting a new Final Fantasy game because I loved the older ones (I played since #1) is nostalgia. Final Fantasy is just a name, but people know they are in for a treat when they play one.
That’s the way the games Sierra used to make made me feel. I would buy whatever RAM, Disk Drive, whatever I needed to play KING’S QUEST. And boy it usually needed it!
I think that’s why so many people want SIERRA to come back. Not so we can have games using the SCI engine, but NEW games, using NEW technology, but still…SIERRA games. Not “VU Games, powered by Ken Williams” (no offense, sir)
We want a NEW King’s Quest, made by Roberta and you, and NEW Space Quest, made by Scott and Mark… A NEW Quest for Glory by Lori and Corey. But not games that just repeat history… Like you said, they have to be pioneering! But that can work and still wear the King’s Quest and Sierra brand. I’ll buy a faster computer to play it! But I wouldn’t buy a faster computer to play “Grand Racer 5000” or “Football 2000” (joke names 🙂
It always just felt like the old Sierra became some old dog that was taken out back and shot… I never got a “Farewell” from King Graham, or a “Goodbye” from Roger Wilco. Just ……. nothing. Then Sierra became just a logo, and now, it can’t do much good at that.
Games like Metroid, Final Fantasy, etc, are all games that one could be “nostalgic” about, simply because many have played the old games. But they want the new ones so they can see the characters and the world they started grow both in story and in graphics. It would seem for King’s Quest and all the other games your company started, that they just died. No endings. Just a void.
It is good to hear that you are somewhat interested in the industry again, but I find it very very hard to get excited about you working for VU games. Sierra was yours! You sold it and they killed it! It just doesn’t sound right.
Please do not take me as trying to tell you what’s right or wrong or how you should order your life Ken. These are just my opinions and should be taken lightly as always.
Please don’t blame me for wanting what many want, not out of nostalgic thought’s, but out of sadness for what we once had, that suffered such a horrible fate.
I of course wish you and Roberta good luck and good wishes on whatever you may attempt!
Yours,
RyanI’m with Paul Lilly on this one 🙂
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(re: re: re: Take The Plunge…) Responding to both Ken and Ryan here…
Ryan, well said. I understand exactly where Ken is coming from and his desire to put Sierra back on top. With the history there, who could blame him for that? As I said, my only concern there would be what kind of limitations would get in the way of what we all know Ken is capable of accomplishing? VU should have had the foresight to get Al involved in Magna Cum Laude from the beginning, but they didn’t. This leaves me with great concerns as to the decision making process taking place and the failure to recognize what made Sierra as great as it was. On a positive note, they are interested in meeting with Ken, so far be it for me to completely dismiss them.
With regards to nostalgia (and this is more directed toward Ken now), I understand. My point is not to bring back either the games of the 80s (though I’m no way against sequels to the popular titles), neither is it to return graphic adventures to the 80-90’s style. My point is the direction they’ve taken dating back to the fall of Sierra is not an overall positive one. I’m speaking in general of course, but controls are clumsy, stories are not immersive, and they are not up to par with the demands of gamers who want to live a story, not just play it and watch. Nostaligia comes into play not to relive the past, but that we recognize who were the ones that were responsible for the games we loved. Ken, you were one of those folks that pioneered the way back then and that’s something that’s sadly missing today. Who are today’s pioneers? Who has the vision to resurrect adventure games out of rut that you speak of? Most importantly, who has both the experience and motivation? There are but a few. So, when you mention even the remote possibility of a comeback in some way, shape, or form you inevitably send shockwaves of excitement and anticipation through the gaming community, not to mention hope. Dramatic? Perhaps so, but we’re thirsty after close to two decades of drought with few exceptions here and there.
We gamers will support you and Robert regardless of the vehicle (your own company, working with Sierra, etc). We will do so not out of nostalgia, but because your efforts are worthwhile and productive and that has been proven. Should you or Robert complete another game we will be ready. Should you decide to get involved with Sierra, we will trust your judgement and we will be ready. Naturally, we’d love to see you with your own company for the reasons I mentioned the first time around, but if you feel you can help Sierra make a comeback, we have no reason not to believe your judgement.
In closing, we understand that you’re making no promises, but the community of thirsty gamers will continue to anticipate and remain hopeful for what tomorrow may bring.
Sincerely,
Paul Lilly -
(re: re: Take The Plunge…)
Right on, as much as I would like to see more King’s Quest or Gabriel Knight games, I’d also like to see new universes being created. Like you said before, Sierra was always ahead of the competition in terms of graphics, sounds, and gameplay. Instead of being restricted to a series you already created, I’d love to see something original and innovative. Back when you owned Sierra, I could be sure that everything was quality stuff, so I’m sure whatever is created now would be just as good as anything you made before. Nostalgia can and does sell, but I’d like to see something new.
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(re: re: re: Take The Plunge…) “Roberta is clearly interested in doing a game again, and is just now starting the long process towards making a game. She’s at least six months to a year from knowing what the game will be, so she considers it premature to be thinking about how it would be published or developed.”
This is seriously the best news I have had in a long time. It doesn’t matter that there is a chance that it wont be published, developed, or even if she decided not to do it at all. The fact that we are getting movement is excellent. Even idle consideration is better than nothing at all. -
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