Sierra's greats and their fans

[avatar_58]

It really amazes me the devotion that some of the old sierra buffs show towards their old fans.

I first found Ken Williams forum a few years back and posted there reflecting on all the great times I had with sierra's games. No sooner than a day later the man himself replied to me. That really made my day, and just increases my respect for him.

Just yesterday, after I finished Conquest of the Longbow, I decided to check up on Christy Marx. She has her own website, which even gave me info as to what she has been up to lately. Out of the blue I though "What the heck, I'll send her fanmail". I told her how much I enjoyed her two sierra games and how I wish more games were like them today.

Amazingly enough she replied today! :D She thanked me, and said that emails like these always make her day. She also said she wishes more adventure games were around and that lately she is involved with more MMO games.

Theres something about that little company that existed in Oakhurst that made these people so nice and devoted. I only wish I could say the same thing for today's game companies...

[artwking4]

I think the Telltale people are pretty nice. But I'm hoping they never go out of business so we won't be asking "whatever happened to them?"

[fov]

Here's how I feel about Sierra. (http://www.adventuregamers.com/article/id,419) :) (I hate to pimp my own writing, but it's been a while since this article ran and it might be of interest to some who weren't reading the site back then.)

I personally think Telltale's the closest company to the old Sierra around these days. ;) The way they communicate with the fans is very reminiscent.

[artwking4]

God, how I miss the InterAction magazines. :frown:
Yes. Those were like crack for my eyes.

Edit: No, really, she said that! Moments ago, and then changed her mind! Ashamed of her torrid love affair with InterAction magazines... Not I, though. Not I.

[fov]

You're right, I said it. But the memories were so painful I had to take it back. ;)

[avatar_58]

Glad to see I'm not the only love-sick Sierra fan. ;) I also loved Interaction, and I have a few old issues lying around. Its still fun to look through them occasionally for nostalgia.

As for telltale, while they seem nice enough, I can't share the love of them. They unfortunately use very damning DRM methods such as hardware fingerprinting. If someone could prove to me the CD version of Bone does not include any such authentication or protection...then maybe I would sing a different tune. Until then.....CSI will be my judge of their work ;)

[Legolas813]

The only Sierra adventure games I own are Space Quest 6 (CD) and Leisure Suit Larry (don't remember the number, but it's on multiple floppy discs).

Never finished them and haven't played either in years. I'm more of a LucasArts fan (though I recently started BS1 and absolutely love it). I think I'll go play it now. ;)

[fov]

They unfortunately use very damning DRM methods such as hardware fingerprinting.

More damning than copy protection contained inside the game's manual? :P

I don't understand why you're so worked up about hardware fingerprinting. Telltale has said multiple times on their forum that if you want to install the game on another computer, all you have to do is use the same activation code you got when you first bought the game. Same with the CD version, I'm sure. It does require online authorization when you first install, but so do a lot of games these days. (And as someone pointed out on another thread, you had to have an internet connection to order it, so going online for a second to register shouldn't be a problem. :D)

[avatar_58]

I don't understand why you're so worked up about hardware fingerprinting. Telltale has said multiple times on their forum that if you want to install the game on another computer, all you have to do is use the same activation code you got when you first bought the game. Same with the CD version, I'm sure. It does require online authorization when you first install, but so do a lot of games these days. (And as someone pointed out on another thread, you had to have an internet connection to order it, so going online for a second to register shouldn't be a problem. :D)

I can't commit to a game that may not work in a few years time. Should telltale dive then authentication is no longer possible. This is the same boat as steam. I'm sorry, but thats just how I feel. I've seen companies and servers go and I think in long term when I buy games. After all, I can still play my old sierra games...even the one's that are almost 2 decades old. This new form of protection may not let the game last beyond the server's life and their promise "We will release a patch" isn't good enough...:frown:

I'm telling you, DRM will be the end of PC gaming for me. Its sad but true.

[Kurufinwe]

Yeah, Sierra was great. I loved the way the designers would always include a little personal comment on the game in the manual. We didn't get Interaction in Europe, unfortunately (not in France, at least).

And too bad their respect for gamers didn't extend to doing some minimal QA. :(

[Legolas813]

Does Samorost 2 require online activation or whatever? And can you play it on more than one computer?

[scippie]

Like you, I also was a sick superfan of the old sierra adventures.
I don't know if I'm allowed to write this here, but, those sierra adventures were our big examples when we created our adventure game Tears of Betrayal.
You should try it out and let us know what you think of it!
You can find a demo at http://www.tears-of-betrayal.com

[Dasilva]

I think the Telltale people are pretty nice. But I'm hoping they never go out of business so we won't be asking "whatever happened to them?"

Sorry but I just dont see Sierra being compared to Telltale. :P

And Sierra is teh God. I love Sierra so much, I love the SQ & QFG series more than Monkey Island or any other adventure game series out there. Its pretty personal.

And its the most amazing feeling to be able to talk to the people who made these games, I've spoken to many people thaat I've done research on.

Sierra is just one of those companies, and it was the end of the world when they changed management back in 1998 (?). And ever since I hated the people who drived that company to the ground, and I gutted when SQ7 was canned 3 TIMES!!

Ah well, the company is still alive and there is a tinsy bit of hope, everything is possible in this world.

[cardician]

Ah well, the company is still alive and there is a tinsy bit of hope, everything is possible in this world.

Actually, I'm afraid you have your information slightly wrong. Sierra, as the company you loved, does not exist any longer. They went out of business a long long time ago. The name still exists, but its certainly not the same company. Ken Williams was forced to close down the company for some reason (you can find this out on his website, I don't remember the exact reason anymore), and the name was sold to Interplay or Activision or EA or someone. Since then the name has been mostly used to release crap, but there are some great games occasionally, like Half Life 2. Now its just a brand though. Kind of like Atari is not the Atari of old that created the Atari 2600 and the classic consoles and games. The name alone was bought by some company to help give their games exposure. It's basically a marketing trick, but it works. I mean it had you fooled regarding Sierra, right? ;)

Anyway, I just thought I'd let you know that Sierra, at least the Sierra you're thinking of, has not existed for a decade or so.

[Gonchi]

Kind of like Atari is not the Atari of old that created the Atari 2600 and the classic consoles and games. The name alone was bought by some company to help give their games exposure.

That was Infogrames. I hear they're in some sort of trouble.

[Dasilva]

I know the old Sierra is gone, its just hard to believe. At least their not as bad as LA, they can make games but dont. Just stupid. :P

[RLacey]

Am I alone in not understanding the argument that LA sucks because it could "make games" (surely the remit of any developer) but chooses not to, whereas Sierra somehow doesn't suck because it doesn't exist in the same way as it used to. Quite aside from the fact that LA has a very different staff make-up nowadays, Sierra would be perfectly capable of finding a developer to handle something if they wanted it made.

[Dasilva]

Am I alone in not understanding the argument that LA sucks because it could "make games" (surely the remit of any developer) but chooses not to, whereas Sierra somehow doesn't suck because it doesn't exist in the same way as it used to. Quite aside from the fact that LA has a very different staff make-up nowadays, Sierra would be perfectly capable of finding a developer to handle something if they wanted it made.

Like they did with LSL.

[RLacey]

If anything I'd use that as evidence that it is Sierra that sucks, rather than LucasArts. LucasArts aren't using their franchises in a way that tarnishes memories of the previous games; Sierra are.

[Dasilva]

Its the new Sierra though, not the old one we know.

[RLacey]

Well, I'd say that LucasArts is practically a new company. New logo, new brand (dropping the "Entertainment Company" bit), new staff, new president.

[Dasilva]

I love the new LA logo. :)

[Jackal]

I think one of the problems nowadays is that developers are controlled somewhat by their publishers. Honestly, most of the developers I talk to are enthusiastic, friendly, and helpful, and probably not at all unlike the Sierra people mentioned here. But 9 out of 10 conversations end with some kind of "but check with the publisher" caveat. And that's the developers that are even ALLOWED to speak on their own (game's) behalf. :( Often if you want to talk about a game, you need to go directly to a publisher's PR rep, and that's as far as you get. I've had unanswered mails sitting in publisher limbo more often than I can count. When I mail a developer, I almost always get a response the same day.

So, um, yeah. :shifty: I didn't exactly mean to turn this into a "publishers suck!" rant, but I do think that giving developers more of their own voice back would go a long way to helping gamers feel connected to the process again.

Does Samorost 2 require online activation or whatever? And can you play it on more than one computer?

No online activation. I didn't check the latter, but I saw absolutely no reason to suggest you couldn't.

[fov]

Am I alone in not understanding the argument that LA sucks because it could "make games" (surely the remit of any developer) but chooses not to, whereas Sierra somehow doesn't suck because it doesn't exist in the same way as it used to.

Give it a few years. It's the exact same situation; LucasArts is just about 5 years behind Sierra on the same course.

All people could talk about for a while was how much Sierra sucked because they could make games but chose not to. I think people have just gotten tired of saying it. ;)

[rtrooney]

LucasArts is just about 5 years behind Sierra on the same course.I'm going off on a tangent here, but one of the things that made Sierra so accessible was that Sierra made its talent so accessible.

Josh Mandel, Al Lowe and others were regular participants on several forums, with the Sierra imprimatur. That's how they spread the word.

As someone else pointed out, that kind of freedom is rarely given by publishers today. A perspective I think they will eventually regret.

[Melanie68]

Look what happened to Ragnar on his blog. He put out some info on Dreamfall and got slapped on the hand by his publisher and had to take it off.

*back to Sierra*

:)

[Luke]

I'm going off on a tangent here, but one of the things that made Sierra so accessible was that Sierra made its talent so accessible.

Josh Mandel, Al Lowe and others were regular participants on several forums, with the Sierra imprimatur. That's how they spread the word.

As someone else pointed out, that kind of freedom is rarely given by publishers today. A perspective I think they will eventually regret.

I couldn't agree more. I co-founded the KQ9/Silver Lining project and was there when the team brought Josh aboard for an advisory position. Although I'm long gone from the team, Josh and I still IM every now and then. It's so nice to have a connection with something that's no more.

[avatar_58]

Now thats cool. :)

I really love how sierra's old gang always seem so friendly and welcome fans at every given chance.