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The Tierra / AGDI group always said they were remaking the Sierra classics so they could learn more about game design and ultimately do their own games. Apparently that’s still the direction they’re headed – recently, under the name Himalaya Studios, they announced the development of their first original game, Al Emmo and the Lost Dutchman’s Mine. http://www.himalayastudios.com/wq.htm
I’m pretty excited to see what they come up with. 🙂
-emily
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“… (by Matthew Wanner) The Link no longer works. I would really like to know your thoughts on Tierra as well. I’ve downloaded their remakes and was very impressed.
…”Both Roberta and I played portions of the Tierra games. We liked them, and felt complimented, but also a little sad. They reflect a huge amount of effort and talent, that perhaps could have been put to better use.
One sin, of which I am certainly guilty, is an over-focus on financial common sense. There is no market for the Tierra games. Sierra owns all rights to them, and is unlikely to grant permission to Tierra to sell the games.
My hope for Tierra is that they use all of their technology and talent, and do something awesome with it – that moves the industry forward, rather than re-issuing old products. It’s like when I see one of the black/white movies that have been converted to a color movie. No matter what you do, it still looks old, and will never be a mainstream hit. It’s a cool trick, but, the world needs new movies.
-Ken W
The Link no longer works. I would really like to know your thoughts on Tierra as well. I’ve downloaded their remakes and was very impressed.
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“… (by theinventory@yahoo.com ) …We would be honored if Ken and Roberta Williams attended our party too, so that our fans can have the chance to talk with them……”
We’ll be travelling on the 29th and 30th, and in hotel rooms. I’m not sure what internet connectivity we’ll have. I’ll try to sign in, but can’t guarantee it.
-Ken W
The monthly PDF magazine for adventure games, The Inventory, becomes 2 years old this November. To celebrate this, we are throwing an online forum party at our new website http://www.theinventory.org. The party will take place on the 29th and the 30th of November. We have invited a lot of developers (both legends from the past and new ones)to come and discuss with our fans. Each developer will have their own forum section. We would be honored if Ken and Roberta Williams attended our party too, so that our fans can have the chance to talk with them.
For more information on the party you can read the following thread:
http://www.theinventory.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=42 We are looking forward to your reply.
Most versions of KQ7 were Windows games only. Version 2 of the game will run on XP with few problems. For earlier versions you have to use SIERRAW.EXE on the CD, not SIERRAWS.EXE, which is what the setup copies to the installed folder. Copy SIERRAW.EXE to your installed folder and right click on the shortcut in your Start Menu and choose “Properties” and change SIERRAWS.EXE to SIERRAW.EXE in the target box. Go to the “Compatibility” tab and set the game to run in 256 colors (and 640×480 Screen resolution, if you wish) and click OK. The game will now run in XP.
I have the DOSbox…and followed the given instructions that came with it. But I have NO idea how to get the game to work in the dosbox. I have Kings Quest VII and I have XP…help!
The optimal CPU cycles is going to be dependent on the speed of host system. What is ideal for one computer may be way too fast for another system. Additionally, some games are more demanding than others. About the only thing that you can do is to experiment to find the right settings for your computer and the game that you are trying to run. CPU cycles and frame skip can be adjusted on the fly by pressing Ctl+F12 to increase and Ctl+F11 to decrease cycles. Likewise, frame skip can be adjusted with Ctl+F8 and Ctl+F7.
The best thing to do is to find a good median point for YOUR computer and set that in your dosbox.conf file. From this starting place you can adjust it for the game that you are trying to play. Once you have found the ideal settings for a specific game, you can make a DOSBox shortcut, pointing to another config file just for that game.
Thanks Ken! We forget sometimes that you are retired. 🙂
I definitely agree that the look and feel of the website could be integrated a little.
Suggestion: A little graphical border from your main website design can be added to the BBS layout; add that same border effect to the menu or the page background to tie it in more (I think it’s a blue border with 3 white lines for your main design, with a little shadow towards the edge.)
Everything works great. You are almost reaching 32000 message records which is a good milestone!
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“… (by qfgs ) Hi Ken. I wanted to ask if you’re going to change the colors & mix this beta-“bbs” section into the website design (as seen on the first home page) ? those colors & seperate design really rejects me
…”I’m not sure I understand what you mean. The BBS is no longer beta. It’s now “shipping” (for better or worse). If you see anything in it you would like done differently, email me, or post a message, and I’ll add it to the list. Unfortunately, it’s just me coding, and the list is looonnnngggg – so, don’t expect rapid change. This is a hobby, not a job, and I’ve been playing too much golf lately.
I just changed the default message board color to blue. Anyone (who is registered) can change their display colors at any time. Just click on the words “Adjust Colors”.
The new message board system isn’t well integrated with the rest of the system. It will be, but I’m moving slower than I’d like. Oh well…. those that have been on this site for a while have noticed that things DO change, it just takes a while.
-Ken W
Hi Ken. I wanted to ask if you’re going to change the colors & mix this beta-“bbs” section into the website design (as seen on the first home page) ? those colors & seperate design really rejects me
In view of recent events…It would be wonderful if Al Lowe would make LSL4 on his own and release it with another company in a near future. Maybe teaming up with Josh Mandel & Ken on this…He can make up an excuse like “If George Lucas did it with Star Wars, why not him with Larry?” Even make it the old fashioned way! No point and click, diskettes instead of CD, etc.
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“… (by Mark Kimmet) Ken,How did you learn to manage Sierra, from startup to conglomerate? Are you a natural leader, did you attend b-school, or did you read any books or attend any training that you felt made a huge impact on your leadership and management style?
Thanks for creating this site. The opportunity to communicate with you and other people that grew up with Sierra is fantastic.
Mark…”
I attended about two years of college, as a physics major, but that’s it. I would have to honestly admit that when Sierra started I was not a great anything, except perhaps computer programmer. I was 25 years old, with about about seven years of solid software engineering experience. During my first 10 years with Sierra, I made a LOT of mistakes. Had the industry not been growing at an incredible pace, Sierra wouldn’t have survived. Read the book Hackers. It chronicles my “coming of age.” I was a smart 25 year old, but, 25 is 25 — and, I had a lot of growing up to do.
My last 10 years with Sierra was a more positive experience. I lacked an MBA, but I had some very serious on-the-job training, and some basic common sense — and, most importantly, a healthy dose of willingness to do whatever it took to succeed. It also helped that Sierra’s reputation was such that good people wanted to work there. If you take anyone, and surround them with 1,000 brilliant, hard working people, they WILL succeed. We had an amazing group of employees. Sierra was perceived as “the place” to work, and we could select the best of the best.
It was an amazing time. Over my nearly 20 years, I grew from being horribly weak as a manager, to being someone who capable of competing in a very tough marketplace. And, had fun doing so!
-Ken W
PS – This really is me who answered .. I was signed in as Patrick helping him figure out why his computer is refusing to sign in to the website, and forgot to sign back in as myself.
I spoke with a non-profit group here in Texas, and they have lots of V.C. (money) available specifically for Technology-related businesses. They help individuals or company who go from Zero-To-$10Million with a cutting edge invention or product. They are working with me to get my non-game project off the ground.
I also asked them about my hobby, creating online games. That would be different, they said, because I do not have a game product, and most of the game development happens in Austin (I live in San Antonio).
But, if I had a game that was HOT, they would reconsider their position, for then I would have a product. They also mentioned partnering with someone already in the game industry — someone with experience and capital. Perhaps, Ken Williams?
When all is said and done, it’s clear that anybody could have done what Sierra did, but only Ken and Roberta actually worked at it and made it happen!
If anyone else is as determined to break into the game industry, let me know. For now, my work is concentrated on databases; it gets the bills paid until my hobby is complete: An Original Online Murder Mystery.
Magic’s Quest II: The Dream
and
Astro Quest: Unlicensed Surgery
for you Symbian Series 60 phones get released!
Go visit http://www.magixoft.com!Yeah, I definitely have to agree. I feel many of the same sentiments about Sierra that the author of the blog does, but what’s done is done. The game industry changed during the 90’s, yes, but the story is bigger than that it was taken over by corporate greed. Historically, games have always pushed the envelope of what hardware could do. I think adventure gaming died because there was nowhere left for them go to after they had high resolution VGA graphics, full digital sound, and a fully developed story. I think King’s Quest VI represented the pinnacle of what adventure gaming could accomplish (other than that it could have been in higher resolution, but the cinematic intro was the clincher for me) In any case, computers were ever increasing in power and developers who wanted to harness this power had to think of something completely new – the 3D game – Wolfenstein 3D, Tomb Raider, Doom, Quake, et al. Coporate money taking over game development was inevitable. These days developing a top of the line game requires millions of dollars, dozens of talented staffers, and years to make. There are not that many people who can make a venture like that out of their own pocket, and that means corporate dollars have to get involved. Contrast this to back in the early days where one guy could make an awesome game, ala Price of Persia/Jordan Mechner. It’s not like one person can’t make a good game today, but there’s no way it’s going to get the attention that the big ticket games do. In my opinion, however, that doesn’t matter. Such people write games primarily for fun and not money. Some are good, some are not, but most of them are available to everyone as a free download. There are dozens of sites that are dedicated to independent game development. This homebrew industry gives me hope that the spirit of Sierra lives on.
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“… (by Jeff Huffine) How did Sierra copy all of the 5.25 and 3.5 disks that came with all of the games? Seems like it would take ten years to make a thousand copies…
…”We did all the copying ourselves, using high-speed duplication machines. It WAS a slow time-consuming process. We bought CDs from outside companies – we didn’t duplicate those.
-Ken W
Hello all… I’m new here, but I’ve been maintaining an interactive fiction website based upon King’s Quest IV, or rather events taking place AFTER the game 😉 I hope some of you will check it out, enjoy it, and let me know what you think. Thanks!!! 🙂
oh yeah! here’s the link…
It is nice to look back on what has occurred, because I feel like perhaps I am seeing a slightly more accurate picture of what happened than would be portrayed as a public face during the actual events themselves.
I “worked” with Origin systems (Ultima Online) for a while in a volunteer type position, a Seer, who coordinated plot development on a massive player-wide scale throughout part of their online game. During that time, I was able to get something of an inside look into how things were structured behind-the-scenes and how shifts in management and changes in approaches affected change everywhere else. I also followed an online game Horizons for four years as it went from “birth” to release- and the original creator/lead of it was removed for someone else. Their vision was to create a game that was based on creating a solid game fitting what players wanted- not just what would reap immediate money, because in the end if you met the needs the money would follow. Of course, that vision held somewhat to the release point, but I think it was lost as management changed. It is so easy to get pessimistic and think “Is it really possible, now, for people to make good games and still make the ‘big money’ they want?”.
I’ve watched movies, and it seems to be some of the shift with that industry is now happening to gaming. They make hits, and make huge money- and instead of continuing to try new things to reach groups, they want to keep making more money. The push for “hits” and “success” puts the wrong people in charge and the wrong motives behind it. The people who have the creativity to make the hits are pushed too hard, or aren’t allowed the room for even minor failures that have to happen for a big success. This “watered down blockbuster” approach goes on until finally, the whole thing collapses as people get tired of it and someone else- someone daring- comes out with something new, something truly good, and then all the other biggies try to copy it or “own it”.My question is- is there anybody left who has what it takes to revive the adventure games in this new “blockbuster era of gaming”? The trick is finding someone who can tap the market, make revenue, and balance “profit” with “quality” without ever sacrificing true quality. I think that the director of the Incredibles said it well when he talked about his experience with the Simpsons: he would rather have used poorer quality animation from overseas (which is what the Simpsons started as) with an excellent plot, than stick with great animation and the generic poor plots infusing everyone. And in the end, the good stuff won out- the Simpsons became a big hit. Why? Was it great graphics and huge clout? No… not really.
-Patrick
I think it’s because Sierra at that time was like one big, happy family! If you look at Sierra games from the late eigthies and early nineties you’ll often find them referencing each other. Even Police Quest had a comic moment where Sonny Bonds (the hero of Jim Walls’s PQs) puts on a white suit and some text pops up referring to him as Leisure Suit Sonny. And of course Space Quest had you crashing into Daventry Castle’s moat if you pushed the wrong button in the escape pod. Not to mention the Sierra factory, filled with Sierra characters, Larry enters when he dies in LSL1. Great gaming moments, all of them!
I think it’s because Sierra at that time was like one big, happy family! If you look at Sierra games from the late eigthies and early nineties you’ll often find them referencing each other. Even Police Quest had a comic moment where Sonny Bonds (the hero of Jim Walls’s PQs) puts on a white suit and some text pops up referring to him as Leisure Suit Sonny. And of course Space Quest had you crashing into Daventry Castle’s moat if you pushed the wrong button in the escape pod. Not to mention the Sierra factory, filled with Sierra characters, Larry enters when he dies in LSL1. Great gaming moments, all of them!
