3 ms·

Thanks for that! Things I learned from the WP page [0]: - Sierra was originally called On-Line Systems. A throwback to the Mother of all Demos, perhaps? - T

• dalke 12y ago
  If you want to get into the background of Mystery House - not how to play it but more the background of how it was made and fits into the larger context of interactive fiction - then you should read Jimmy Maher's description at http://www.filfre.net/2011/10/mystery-house-part-1/ http://www.filfre.net/2011/10/mystery-house-part-1/ along with part 2. Those are part of a very long and enjoyable description of the evolution of interactive fiction, the developers, and the computer systems. However, the only description of the choice in using "On-Line" is a conjecture in http://www.filfre.net/2011/10/ken-and-roberta/ http://www.filfre.net/2011/10/ken-and-roberta/ : > Specifically, he wanted to bring FORTRAN, as it happens the implementation language of the original Adventure (not that Ken likely knew this or cared), to the little Apple II. With that purpose in mind, he registered a company of his own, choosing to call it On-Line Systems, a name fairly typical of the vaguely futuristic, vaguely compound, but essentially meaningless names (Microsoft, anyone?) that were so common in the era.