T H E S I E R R A O N - L I N E S T O R Y By John R. Barnsley BRIEF HISTORY. In the late 1970's a young couple, Ken and Roberta Williams, were living in Los Angeles. Ken was busy writing accountancy programs for major corporations in the States and Roberta played adventure games in her spare time. All the adventures at this time were entirely text - the graphics versus text argument hadn't been born at this stage! The 'Original' computer adventure had been well played in the Williams' household and Roberta longed to actually 'see' the kingdom she was exploring on screen. Ken had the technical know-how to create this and in May 1980, they decided to develop something more exciting......more as a spare-time hobby but, as we now know, it took on a life of it's own. Their first graphic adventure was Mystery House, with Roberta writing the storylines and Ken committed to the programming. It was a simplistic creation featuring black and white pictures to compliment the text, although the player commands were still limited to one or two words. Nevertheless, Mystery House was so unusual for it's time that they placed a small ad in the American Micro magazine, informing readers that they could obtain a copy of this game to run on the Apple II for just 25 dollars. Obviously, this was still prior to IBM introducing the PC Junior and few people had any idea just how widespread personal computing would become - the Apple and TRS/80 being about the only two personal computers around at this time in the States. Mystery House eventually sold some 10,000 copies, much to everyone's amazement. So, from the small family project, they decided to create a business, although at that time they never envisaged just how large the computer industry was to become. The business now had to move from Roberta's modest kitchen table to the spare bedroom. A few months later they moved home to Coarsegold, California, not far from Yosemite National Park. Sierra On-Line was born! At first they continued to operate from home, but when space again became inadequate, they moved the business to a real office over a printshop in downtown Coarsegold. Later it expanded into several other buildings. Soon, more 'new' adventure games were climbing the best-sellers chart: The Wizard & The Princess, Mission: Asteroid, Time Zone, Cranston Manor, Ulysses & The Golden Fleece, (whatever happened to Jason?!!), and Dark Crystal. All of these games were fairly crude in comparison with today's standards, yet it is necessary to remind ourselves just how fast the home computer game has developed when we realise that it was only about 5 or 6 years ago! KING'S QUEST I, II, III and IV. A major change in Sierra's game developement came about a year before the IBM PC Junior was announced and they asked Sierra to create a game that would show off the new computer's colour graphics capability. IBM supplied Sierra with a prototype PC Junior and Roberta Williams set about designing a new type of adventure game. Eighteen months and a quarter-of-a-million dollars later, she and a team of six programmers had completed the task.........KING'S QUEST!! This was back in 1984. King's Quest was the first three-dimensional animated adventure game. The main character, Sir Graham, in the fictional Kingdom of Daventry, looked and moved on-screen like a cartoon figure. He could walk from scene to scene, disappear behind trees, swim lakes and enter buildings. King's Quest was a phenomenal success, partly because of it's stunning graphics and partly because of it's creative and unusual storyline - Roberta always did have a fondness for fairy tales! King's Quest casts you in the role of a dashing young knight who must find three magical treasures - a chest, mirror and shield - that old King Edward has let slip from his Kingdom.......success makes you King Graham on Edward's death. In true Hollywood tradition, King's Quest II followed in May 1985 - as King Graham, you fall in love with a mysterious maiden named Valanice who is imprisoned in a tower in the land of Kolyma. After overcoming many obstacles, you rescue her and then marry. King's Quest III followed in October 1986 - this time as a young boy named Gwydion who is held captive in Llewdor by a wicked Wizard. You must escape to learn your true identity. When you do, you rescue your twin sister - Rosella - who is in Daventry in the clutches of a dragon. That done, you and Rosella are reunited with your parents, King Graham and Queen Valanice. King's Quest IV is now here and this time you play Rosella on your quest. You are after an enchanted fruit that will restore your father's health after a heart attack, but along the way you must do the bidding of an evil fairy. Well, so much for Roberta Williams' pet project with the King's Quest series. She plans to write a ghost story next, insisting that she has to let the adventuring public know that she can expand her horizons and do something else! There will definately NOT be a King's Quest V in the foreseeable future (see 'Future Plans' near the end of this article). Ms. Williams has left us wondering if the poor Graham family EVER live happily ever after!! Rumour in the States has it that Edgar and Rosella will eventually wed, but we shall have to wait and see! So what of the other 'theme' series, by authors other than the Williams family? Two 'fun' scenarios are the Space Quest series and the Leisure Suit Larry series, while the Police Quest series takes on a more serious outlook - the latter being based on the real-life experiences of a retired U.S. Police Officer. SPACE QUEST I, II and III. When this series was introduced it represented a completely different style from games that Sierra had produced before. According to co-authors Mark Crowe and Scott Murphy: "It's satirical, it's in space, it's funny and we love it!". Reputed to be the wackiest adventure series in the star system, three best selling episodes have been produced so far - The Sarien Encounter, Vohaul's Revenge and The Pirates Of Pestulan, all featuring the infamous Roger Wilco and his zany exploits across the universe. All three games in the series provide arcade interludes to compliment the adventure system. The latter Space Quest (III) is scheduled for release in the U.K. in April/May of this year and it promises to be the best one yet! It was originally scheduled for release in 1988 but was held back by Scott and Mark (the Two Guys from Andromeda as they call themselves!) so they could use Sierra's new technology which, it is claimed, introduces a new line of superior interactive movies, complete with stereo soundtracks, fully- animated cartoon sequences and double the graphics resolution of previous Sierra adventures! Scott Murphy wanted to do a hot soundtrack for the game - they enlisted the help of Bob Seibenberg of Supertramp to do the music - and dazzling special effects that are expected from space games. We are promised that Scott and Mark even make a cameo appearance in their own game! And the future? After Mark's recent work on a B Grade horror movie, he's naturally considering starting work on a horror adventure game. He's not saying much except that it will be "one hell of a lot scarier than The Uninvited!" If all goes well, we can expect the results some time towards the end of 1990. LEISURE SUIT LARRY I and II. Written by Al Lowe with Mark Crowe (again!), these two 'adult' adventures follow the exploits of one Larry Laffer, firstly as a loveable nerd rated as the original blind date's nightmare and would-be swinger and secondly, as a more mature Larry (still a nerd!), on a lucky streak and looking for love. They are both basically comedy adventure games and, although the first one is a little crude in some respects - based on the original Soft Porn Adventure - the second in the series is much more fun, taking you from the back streets of Lost Wages to a remote island and the eventual fulfillment of your dreams! Larry lives on in the forthcoming Leisure Suit Larry's Party Games. It will not be an adventure game as such, but it WILL be a 3-D project and VERY animated - better check it out before bringing it home!! POLICE QUEST I and II. Written by Jim Walls, a retired U.S. Highway Patrolman, these comparatively serious adventures were designed to give computer players an insight into what it is like to be a Police Officer in the States. Jim hoped it would give an idea of what the Patrolman feels and goes through as he carries out his duties. They are the only Sierra games so far, based upon real life situations. The 'games' not only deal with the seedier side of Police life but also it's daily routines. Full (and heavy!) documentation is provided with each quest to acquaint the player with U.S. law and Police procedures....these are essential reading for us 'foreign' players! Again, no immediate plans are in hand for a third game in the series, but Jim is currently trying his hand at undercover work in Operation Code Name:Ice Man, a new spy thriller about hi-tech weapons and crime. This is Jim's first adventure game that isn't biographical (Jim has never been a spy!), although he IS getting 'expert' help with the design! This should reach us here in the U.K. some time next summer (1990). NEW CONCEPTS. MANHUNTER: NEW YORK. Written and produced by Dave, Dee Dee (where's Mick & Tich?!!) and Barry Murray, this is a totally new area for Sierra. The game is the result of the Murray's desire to design a horror game which also includes elements of science fiction, together with a good dose of humour to balance out the horror content. Basically, Manhunter is about a guy's first day on a new job, stepping out into the dark with everything new to him. He's just part of the crowd like everyone else......until the day the aliens contact him and say: "Hey! You're gonna be a Manhunter!". The game is a first-person perspective of life in New York City in the year 2004, shortly after an alien invasion and subsequent world takeover. The alien Orb Alliance has taken over all humans, implanted them with tracking devices and ordered them to wear brown robes, forbidding them to speak to other humans under pain of death. What really sets this apart from other Sierra adventures is the ability to switch from first to third person perspective as you survey accurate maps of New York and have the power to zoom in on a particular situation. The game system is, however, more complex than we have come to expect from Sierra and may take some time to come to terms with. A sequel to the New York scenario is planned, this being provisionally entitled Manhunter: San Francisco. Not much is known at this stage as to the actual content of the new game, but the famous Golden Gate Bridge has been mentioned as one of the main links from San Francisco to the rest of the world. GOLD RUSH! This is the very latest 'new' offering from Sierra. As the company has made it's home in the gold country of California, intensive research and much hard work went into making Gold Rush! as exciting and historically accurate as the actual events of that era. Written by Ken and Douglas McNeill, the game recreates the great gold rush of 1849, immersing the players in the trials and tribulations of American pioneers that crossed the continental United States in search of wealth and fortune. Gold Rush! is designed as an entertainment product, yet in the process of playing the game, one can't help but get a history lesson! It will be a full 5-disk simulation with THREE completely different voyages to the gold country, each with unique obstacles and perils!! FUTURE PLANS (Rumoured or otherwise!). Sierra's first true Fantasy Role Playing game since Ultima - provisionally entitled Hero's Quest - promises to be what 3-D Animated Adventure was to Interactive Fiction. It is being designed by accomplished dungeonmaster Lori Ann Cole and is expected to produce a RPG as you've never seen it before! The second 'snippet' regards a new co-managed production between Roberta Williams and U.S.T.V. screenwriter Jackie Austin, which carries the working title of Murder On The Southern Quarter. Reputed to be a 'period piece' set in the age of illegal booze, we are promised that the graphics will have the true 'look' of that period in order to really set the tone of the game (there's a pun in there somewhere!!). CURRENT AVAILABILITY OF SIERRA ON-LINE PRODUCTS. (Some games may have to be ordered direct from the States!) KING'S QUEST I KING'S QUEST II KING'S QUEST III KING'S QUEST IV (new!) SPACE QUEST I SPACE QUEST II SPACE QUEST III (new!) POLICE QUEST I POLICE QUEST II (new!) LEISURE SUIT LARRY I LEISURE SUIT LARRY II (new!) MANHUNTER:NEW YORK (new!) GOLD RUSH! (new) BLACK CAULDRON MIXED-UP MOTHER GOOSE (The latter two being produced by Roberta Williams and aimed at the younger player). HINT BOOK AVAILABILITY. (Similar in content to the Infocom type - map + graded hints/answers to be coloured in with a special marker) - they are available either from Sierra direct or Computer Adventure World in Birkenhead, Merseyside: 051-666-1132 for details. Bear in mind that hint books are generally NOT available to the public until about six months after the game has been released. BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR THIS ARTICLE. "Compute!'s Guide To Adventure Games" (Compute! Books) "The Official Book Of King's Quest" (Compute! Books) "F.A.S.T.E.R." (Articles from now obsolete Canadian disk-based magazine) "Sierra Products Catalog" (Sierra 1988/89) Various Sierra Newsletters.