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I grew up with Sierra adventure games in the 80s and they hold an incredibly special place in my heart. I love reading these articles about what was happening b

I grew up with Sierra adventure games in the 80s and they hold an incredibly special place in my heart. I love reading these articles about what was happening behind the scenes so thanks for posting. Despite my extreme level of nostalgia for those old games (I installed KQ3 a few weeks ago just to visit Manannan) I find them unplayable today. I think the last Sierra adventure that I honestly enjoyed was probably KQV. When I look at the list [0] of their releases I think the last Sierra adventure game I ever bought was probably Dagger of Amon Ra. By about 1991/1992 I was beginning to move on to other genres. When more open games like Microprose's Darklands and Origin's Ultima 7, Ultima Underworld, and Privateer were released I switched over and never looked back. I haven't played an adventure game for more than a few hours since. I often wish I could travel back to 1989 and sit down in front of my IBM PS/2 30/286 and fire up The Colonel's Bequest or KQIV and experience the enjoyment that I felt with those games one more time. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Sierra_Entertainment_video_games https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Sierra_Entertainment_v...

liberte82 7y ago
I'm one of the few who really enjoys KQ7. This was their foray into the modern era, making a game that doesn't soft-lock you or require impossible knowledge (i.e. trying pretty much every permutation/combination of items for the right answer).
- shdon 7y ago
  I quite liked it too. Many people also seemed to dislike the Disney-esque animation style, but I think that suited the game very nicely.
Razengan 7y ago
King's Quest V, Space Quest IV, and Quest for Glory IV were also the last Sierra games I played to the finish (and enjoyed.) After that, I felt there was a noticeable drop in the quality of the hand-drawn artwork, and soon after, the 3D-for-the-sake-of-3D hysteria that overtook the industry and we had to suffer through a few years of 3D games that were uglier than the 2D games they "superseded." See King's Quest 8: Mask of Eternity (at your own peril. I'll spare you the link.)
- BuckRogers 7y ago
  I stopped around that exact same timeframe. I never played KQ6 (supposedly it was the best one), or QFG5 (I did buy it though..). Space Quest 5 was pretty good, not quite as frustrating as SQ4 could be, and not quite as great- but not bad. Checkout Hero-U, from the creators of Quest for Glory. I truly believe it's the closest and best concept possible for a modern adventure game. KQ8 was horrendous, I had no interest in it even when it was released. Couldn't agree more that 2D art oftentimes makes more sense than 3D. Artistry is often forgotten in favor of technology. As long as the artist's vision is conveyed (which never includes "ugly"), I don't care if it's voxels, polygons or sprites.
jeffwmair 7y ago
My feeling is almost exactly as you describe yours. I wish I could go back and relive the enjoyment I had when I was young, playing on the Tandy 1000 in my parents basement. I still feel very strong nostalgia and think about the games quite a bit, but then if I try to play them I get bored nearly instantly or start feeling guilty for not doing more important things with my time (wife & 2 kids). Oh well, I will always have the nostalgia I guess.
- ljf 7y ago
  Years ago, I got really into (or at least taken with the idea) of amassing a collection of vintage games machines. It started with some Pong clones, and went on to various Atari machines and then to NES. But pretty quickly, I realised that I was taken with the IDEA of buying and owning them. Actually owning them and actually playing the games wasn't that fun. I think I kept hold of the NES the longest and sold them all as consoles with huge game collections (kickstarting someone elses hobby I hoped). I hope who ever got them enjoyed them - but it turned out there are very few old games I really enjoy playing for any length of time. I think 'Blazing Lazers' is likely my favourite old game, and I still have a romantic attachment to owning a NEOGEO to play it on, but in truth a fire it up no more than once a month on my MAME, play it for 15 minutes at most and turn it off again. I keep telling myself I'll build a MAME cabinet, but again, I'm more interested in the idea of the cabinet than actually the pleasure I'll get from owning it (and the 'space debt' it will add to my house).
  - BuckRogers 7y ago
    Count me in as another person on the same level of nostalgia for old games and especially Sierra games as you and the parent comments.. I found the same thing you did on the experience. There are games from that era that are still fun, but you really have to dig. I run emulators and sort through them, and it's no surprise no one is trying to repackage and sell most of them. No one would buy them. The IP is only valuable for respins. One thing worth noting, I found the more simple the games were, the better they aged. There was a time in the 90s when Atari 2600 games felt useless, now I'm finding their simple arcade action aged better than genres that tried to do more. Adventure games themselves are timeless because they're at their core, puzzle-oriented storybooks. My favorite by far is Hero's Quest / Quest for Glory. Those were the crown jewel of the Sierra lineup. The original creators are back at it, and recently released Hero-U (it's on Steam and GOG). I've only played it a bit, but it seems like as good as you can do to bring a traditional adventure game into 2019. Hero-U is definitely worth checking out for any old Sierra-head!

liberte82 7y ago

I'm one of the few who really enjoys KQ7. This was their foray into the modern era, making a game that doesn't soft-lock you or require impossible knowledge (i.e. trying pretty much every permutation/combination of items for the right answer).

shdon 7y ago
I quite liked it too. Many people also seemed to dislike the Disney-esque animation style, but I think that suited the game very nicely.

Razengan 7y ago

King's Quest V, Space Quest IV, and Quest for Glory IV were also the last Sierra games I played to the finish (and enjoyed.) After that, I felt there was a noticeable drop in the quality of the hand-drawn artwork, and soon after, the 3D-for-the-sake-of-3D hysteria that overtook the industry and we had to suffer through a few years of 3D games that were uglier than the 2D games they "superseded." See King's Quest 8: Mask of Eternity (at your own peril. I'll spare you the link.)

BuckRogers 7y ago
I stopped around that exact same timeframe. I never played KQ6 (supposedly it was the best one), or QFG5 (I did buy it though..). Space Quest 5 was pretty good, not quite as frustrating as SQ4 could be, and not quite as great- but not bad. Checkout Hero-U, from the creators of Quest for Glory. I truly believe it's the closest and best concept possible for a modern adventure game. KQ8 was horrendous, I had no interest in it even when it was released. Couldn't agree more that 2D art oftentimes makes more sense than 3D. Artistry is often forgotten in favor of technology. As long as the artist's vision is conveyed (which never includes "ugly"), I don't care if it's voxels, polygons or sprites.

jeffwmair 7y ago

My feeling is almost exactly as you describe yours. I wish I could go back and relive the enjoyment I had when I was young, playing on the Tandy 1000 in my parents basement. I still feel very strong nostalgia and think about the games quite a bit, but then if I try to play them I get bored nearly instantly or start feeling guilty for not doing more important things with my time (wife & 2 kids). Oh well, I will always have the nostalgia I guess.

ljf 7y ago
Years ago, I got really into (or at least taken with the idea) of amassing a collection of vintage games machines. It started with some Pong clones, and went on to various Atari machines and then to NES. But pretty quickly, I realised that I was taken with the IDEA of buying and owning them. Actually owning them and actually playing the games wasn't that fun. I think I kept hold of the NES the longest and sold them all as consoles with huge game collections (kickstarting someone elses hobby I hoped). I hope who ever got them enjoyed them - but it turned out there are very few old games I really enjoy playing for any length of time. I think 'Blazing Lazers' is likely my favourite old game, and I still have a romantic attachment to owning a NEOGEO to play it on, but in truth a fire it up no more than once a month on my MAME, play it for 15 minutes at most and turn it off again. I keep telling myself I'll build a MAME cabinet, but again, I'm more interested in the idea of the cabinet than actually the pleasure I'll get from owning it (and the 'space debt' it will add to my house).
- BuckRogers 7y ago
  Count me in as another person on the same level of nostalgia for old games and especially Sierra games as you and the parent comments.. I found the same thing you did on the experience. There are games from that era that are still fun, but you really have to dig. I run emulators and sort through them, and it's no surprise no one is trying to repackage and sell most of them. No one would buy them. The IP is only valuable for respins. One thing worth noting, I found the more simple the games were, the better they aged. There was a time in the 90s when Atari 2600 games felt useless, now I'm finding their simple arcade action aged better than genres that tried to do more. Adventure games themselves are timeless because they're at their core, puzzle-oriented storybooks. My favorite by far is Hero's Quest / Quest for Glory. Those were the crown jewel of the Sierra lineup. The original creators are back at it, and recently released Hero-U (it's on Steam and GOG). I've only played it a bit, but it seems like as good as you can do to bring a traditional adventure game into 2019. Hero-U is definitely worth checking out for any old Sierra-head!