The Games of Sierra Online, My First Video Game Obsession
Like most gamers my age, my first experience with playing video games at home was the Atari 2600. While I enjoyed playing games on that system, I never really got too into them. Perhaps it was the simplistic nature of those early video games, the fact that most of them had no appreciable story, had unidentifiable graphics, or were just plain awful (I'm looking at you E.T.). Whatever it was, video games just didn't resonate all that much with me. That changed in the summer of 1987, when my dad purchased the family a DOS computer. We had a few games to start with, but early on I found the games little more stimulating than those on the Atari. It wasn't until a friend from school loaned me a game that changed my outlook on video games forever.
That game was Kings Quest III: To Heir is Human made by Sierra Online and it frickin blew my 11-year old mind. It was like nothing I'd ever seen before. I got to take control of the young orphan Gwydion, trying to escape the clutches of the evil wizard Mannanan and discover who I really was. Up until that point, I had never played a game with any sort of coherent story, and I was hooked. I spent God knows how many hours playing that game and I remember feeling immense satisfaction when I finally beat it (partly because I didn't even know it was possible to "beat" games back then). That wasn't enough though, I wanted more and when I realized that the game was part of a series (because the part III bit never tipped me off...duh), I went nuts. From there on out every time my parents took me to the mall, I would insist on stopping by the Radio Shack to look at their selection games, specifically the Sierra ones.
That moment started me on a life-long love affair with all things Sierra and adventure games in general. Thanks to a few other friends and some persistent and effective nagging at my parents (can I get a game, dad; can I get a game, dad...etc) I was able to experience the likes of Space Quest, Space Quest II, Police Quest, the rest of the King's Quest series and many others. Now, I know in certain retro gaming circles, Sierra games are often viewed as how NOT to make an adventure game, with most enthusiasts preferring Lucas Arts' stable of adventure games, but I loved them. Coming back and playing them years (or even decades) later, I can certainly see their respective warts. The puzzles were often random and obtuse, death was frequent (and often hilarious) and the games were prone to dead ends and no-win situations. So what was it, then, that held my attention so much during my youth (and honestly still does today)?
First off, the games had a twisted sense of humor to them, even the ones that weren't supposed to be funny. Even though you were constantly dying in those games, the deaths always involved some manner of specialized animation and often included amusing commentary. It wasn't enough that you died, the game had to mock you for doing so. I found all of this friggin hilarious and I'm sure it helped mold me into the twisted individual I am today. There was a variety to the games as well from fairy tale/fantasy, to science fiction, to cops & robbers and even adult comedy. That meant that no matter what kind of mood I was in, there was always something to occupy my mind. I think the main thing with Sierra games that kept drawing me in, though, was the stories. I love a good story, I always have and I especially like stories where I have a hand in the telling. Sierra games provided me with that. They reminded me of those old Choose Your Own Adventure or Fighting Fantasy books that I used to read.
Anyway, thanks for taking this stroll down memory lane with me. If you've never played any of Sierra's old adventure games, I highly recommend them, especially if you're into retro games. Most of them are available pretty cheap on Good Old Games.
That game was Kings Quest III: To Heir is Human made by Sierra Online and it frickin blew my 11-year old mind. It was like nothing I'd ever seen before. I got to take control of the young orphan Gwydion, trying to escape the clutches of the evil wizard Mannanan and discover who I really was. Up until that point, I had never played a game with any sort of coherent story, and I was hooked. I spent God knows how many hours playing that game and I remember feeling immense satisfaction when I finally beat it (partly because I didn't even know it was possible to "beat" games back then). That wasn't enough though, I wanted more and when I realized that the game was part of a series (because the part III bit never tipped me off...duh), I went nuts. From there on out every time my parents took me to the mall, I would insist on stopping by the Radio Shack to look at their selection games, specifically the Sierra ones.
That moment started me on a life-long love affair with all things Sierra and adventure games in general. Thanks to a few other friends and some persistent and effective nagging at my parents (can I get a game, dad; can I get a game, dad...etc) I was able to experience the likes of Space Quest, Space Quest II, Police Quest, the rest of the King's Quest series and many others. Now, I know in certain retro gaming circles, Sierra games are often viewed as how NOT to make an adventure game, with most enthusiasts preferring Lucas Arts' stable of adventure games, but I loved them. Coming back and playing them years (or even decades) later, I can certainly see their respective warts. The puzzles were often random and obtuse, death was frequent (and often hilarious) and the games were prone to dead ends and no-win situations. So what was it, then, that held my attention so much during my youth (and honestly still does today)?
First off, the games had a twisted sense of humor to them, even the ones that weren't supposed to be funny. Even though you were constantly dying in those games, the deaths always involved some manner of specialized animation and often included amusing commentary. It wasn't enough that you died, the game had to mock you for doing so. I found all of this friggin hilarious and I'm sure it helped mold me into the twisted individual I am today. There was a variety to the games as well from fairy tale/fantasy, to science fiction, to cops & robbers and even adult comedy. That meant that no matter what kind of mood I was in, there was always something to occupy my mind. I think the main thing with Sierra games that kept drawing me in, though, was the stories. I love a good story, I always have and I especially like stories where I have a hand in the telling. Sierra games provided me with that. They reminded me of those old Choose Your Own Adventure or Fighting Fantasy books that I used to read.
Anyway, thanks for taking this stroll down memory lane with me. If you've never played any of Sierra's old adventure games, I highly recommend them, especially if you're into retro games. Most of them are available pretty cheap on Good Old Games.
For me the first "game changer" on the computer was Arena so many characters and stories and quests and monsters from lore. I do remember Sierra games fondly as well, specifically their sports game Front page sports baseball and before that Gabriel Knight and conquest of the Longbow
ReplyDeleteMy second eye opener was my SNES - Two games really caught my attention. A link to the past and Street fighter II. Both of those I played obsessively. Street fighter in particular I played and practiced and perfected to the point where I could beat people playing with my toes or with my eyes closed.