Line #123 Creator/Sierra


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8	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sierra_logo_2014.png]]
9	[[caption-width-right:350:Save early, save often, and ''don't overwrite saves''.]]
10
11	Sierra Entertainment, Inc., more popularly known under their former name, Sierra On-Line, is an early game developer from Oakhurst, California. Founded by Ken and Roberta Williams in 1979, the company is credited with various milestones in video game history, such as creating the very first "graphic adventure game" (''Mystery House'', essentially InteractiveFiction with extremely crude line-art drawings), some of the earliest animated games (''VideoGame/KingsQuest''), and implementing beyond PC-Speaker sound into a game (''VideoGame/KingsQuestIVThePerilsOfRosella''). Sierra also was responsible for introducing the Japanese PC games ''VideoGame/{{Thexder}}'', ''Fire Hawk'', ''VideoGame/{{Silpheed}}'', ''VideoGame/{{Zeliard}}'' and ''Sorcerian'' to Western audiences. Sierra's milk and honey days were the mid-80s to the mid-90s: this was the era of [[AdventureGame adventure gaming]], when games focused more on testing the player's ingenuity than their reflexes.
12
13	Sierra's works are gaming classics and Sierra is now commonly associated with three things:
14
15	* {{Adventure Game}}s, which made up the majority of its line.
16	* {{Text Parser}}s, where the player had to write out all commands, from "PICK UP BOWL" to "OPEN DOOR" (Sierra switched to a [[PointAndClickGame point-and-click interface]] in the '90s).
17	* [[BreadEggsMilkSquick Sadism.]]
18
19	Sierra's games are [[NintendoHard notoriously difficult]]. Death is [[EverythingTryingToKillYou everywhere]] and springs up at random, and if you haven't saved your game in a while, too bad, you have to start everything all over. TrialAndErrorGameplay is the rule rather than the exception. The games are riddled with situations made UnwinnableByDesign, and since Unwinnable doesn't mean Unplayable, you often didn't realize the game was moot until you had been playing for hours. Or days. Sometimes weeks.
20
21	Sierra's infamous CopyProtection was a nuisance; their GuideDangIt moments made you want to scream. Though often their puzzles were well thought-out, equally as often they ventured into SolveTheSoupCans territory. And it bears repeating: death and unwinnable situations are ''everywhere''. It's possible that their games existed solely to keep you dialing their 1-900 hint line or shelling out for their hint books.
22
23	Yet, despite all its... quirks, Sierra produced some of the finest games of the 80s and 90s, and easily some of the best ever adventure games. Their work featured hand-crafted oil paintings for backgrounds, elaborate music, professional voice actors and composers, memorable (and loveable) characters, amazing worlds, enjoyable stories, and creative gameplay. Sierra never took itself too seriously; games were loaded with gags, puns and {{Easter Egg}}s. Although deaths were frequent, they were always friendly and most times featured a joke or pun; half the fun of a Sierra game is playing through [[HaveANiceDeath to find all the]] [[TheManyDeathsOfYou unique ways to die]].
24
25	Sierra began to fizzle out in the late 90s, with the decline of adventure gaming (which prompted Sierra to branch out into publishing games of other genres), plus being bought out by [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CUC_International CUC International]] (which also bought out [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davidson_%26_Associates Davidson & Associates]], the then-owner of Creator/BlizzardEntertainment, in 1996.[[note]]Roberta wasn't keen on the decision, but Ken believed it was best for the company's future and he himself was being exhausted by his executive role, wanting to return to managing game projects instead. When Davidson began running the show, Ken quickly became disillusioned with his choice due to his lack of say in decision-making at the new company and was constantly butting heads with the more conservative Davidson, who wasn't keen on the fantasy elements of ''King's Quest'' (despite also publishing the likes of {{VideoGame/Warcraft}} and {{VideoGame/Diablo}}) and the more risque projects like ''VideoGame/LeisureSuitLarry'' and ''[[VideoGame/PhantasmagoriaAPuzzleOfFlesh Phantasmagoria]]''. Eventually both Ken and Roberta left the company, selling all of their stock in the process, which was actually a good move considering the account scandal that happened afterwards.[[/note]] CUC itself was bought by a conglomerate named [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cendant Cendant]] which had its mitts in hotels, real estate and car rentals - soon after the company was formed, it sold Sierra and other software companies after an accounting scandal occurred when Cendant discovered that CUC had committed what was, at the time, ''the largest case of accounting fraud in the history of the United States.'' It was bought by Vivendi Universal (although after Creator/{{Universal}}'s merger with Creator/{{NBC}}, it became just Creator/{{Vivendi}}), who were cool enough to let amateur game makers create fan games of their series until 2009, when it was merged into Creator/{{Activision}} to form Creator/ActivisionBlizzard. As a result, the company was folded into Activision itself and closed down.
26
27	However, in more recent times, Creator/TimSchafer's success with crowd funding on Website/{{Kickstarter}} has inspired several of the old Sierra teams to reunite under new banners, and thanks to several successful funding campaigns, many of them have started to work on SpiritualSuccessor and [[VideoGameRemake Remake]] projects.
28
29	On August 7, 2014, Activision announced that they would [[http://www.shacknews.com/article/85680/sierra-entertainment-set-to-return-with-new-game-at-gamescom-2014 revive the company]] at Gamescom 2014. At Gamescom, it was announced that ''VideoGame/GeometryWars 3: Dimensions'' (developed by Lucid Games, a company formed by former Creator/BizarreCreations staff) and a new ''VideoGame/KingsQuest'' (developed by The Odd Gentlemen, the people behind ''VideoGame/TheMisadventuresOfPBWinterbottom''). Activision's plan for the label is for working with indie developers who have original projects under development or who are interested in tackling classic Sierra properties.
30
31	Its subsidiaries included Creator/YosemiteEntertainment.
32
33	Compare Creator/{{LucasArts}}, their main rival, whose games were decidedly more forgiving. Also compare with its eastern counterpart Creator/{{Atlus}}, which, like Sierra, was known for creating very difficult games and were defunct for years before being revived by its parent company.
34	----
35	!!Notable Games and Series include:
36	[[index]]
37	* ''VideoGame/ThreeDUltraLionelTraintown''
38	* ''3-D Ultra Minigolf''
39	* The ''VideoGame/ThreeDUltraPinball'' series of DigitalPinballTables
40	** ''3-D Ultra Pinball''
41	** ''VideoGame/ThreeDUltraPinballCreepNight''
42	** ''3-D Ultra Pinball: The Lost Continent''
43	** ''3-D Ultra NASCAR Pinball''
44	** ''VideoGame/ThreeDUltraPinballThrillRide''
45	* The ''Aces'' series of flight sims (''Aces Over Europe'', ''Aces of the Pacific'', ''Aces of the Deep''; developed by Dynamix, published by Sierra)
46	* ''VideoGame/TheAdventuresOfWillyBeamish''
47	* ''VideoGame/BCsQuestForTires'' and its sequel ''Grog's Revenge''
48	* ''VideoGame/BetrayalAtKrondor'' and ''VideoGame/BetrayalInAntara''
49	* ''Birthright''
50	* ''VideoGame/TheBlackCauldron'' (yes, based on [[WesternAnimation/TheBlackCauldron the movie]])
51	* ''VideoGame/CodenameIceman''
52	* ''VideoGame/ConquestsOfCamelot''
53	* ''VideoGame/ConquestsOfTheLongbow''
54	* ''VideoGame/CrashBandicoot'' (inherited from Universal Interactive)
55	* ''Crazy Nick's Software Picks'' series (a series of budget titles consisting of arcade sequences from other Sierra games)
56	** ''King Graham's Board Game Challenge'' (includes checkers and backgammon from ''Hoyle 3'')
57	** ''Roger Wilco's Spaced Out Game Pack'' (includes Mrs. Astro Chicken and the Monolith Burger minigame from ''VideoGame/SpaceQuestIVRogerWilcoAndTheTimeRippers'' and the sand skimmer chase from the ''VideoGame/SpaceQuestITheSarienEncounter'' remake)
58	** ''Leisure Suit Larry's Casino'' (includes the casino games from the remake of ''LSL 1'' and ''LSL 5'')
59	** ''Parlor Games with Laura Bow'' (includes Yahtzee and dominoes from ''Hoyle 3'')
60	** ''Robin Hood's Game of Skill and Chance'' (includes the archery minigame, Nine Men's Morris, and stick fighting from ''Conquests of the Longbow'')
61	* ''VideoGame/DrBrain''
62	* ''VideoGame/EcoQuest''
63	* ''VideoGame/EmpireEarth'' (developed by Stainless Steel Studios)
64	* ''VideoGame/FirstEncounterAssaultRecon'' (original game developed by Creator/{{Monolith\|Productions}}, expansions by [=TimeGate=])
65	* ''VideoGame/FreddyPharkasFrontierPharmacist''
66	* ''VideoGame/GabrielKnight''
67	* ''VideoGame/GeometryWars'' (rights bought from Creator/BizarreCreations)
68	* ''VideoGame/{{Gobliiins}}'' series (developed by Creator/CoktelVision, published in the US by Sierra)
69	* ''VideoGame/GoldRush''
70	* ''VideoGame/HalfLife1'' (developed by Creator/{{Valve\|Software}})
71	* ''Heart of China''
72	* ''Hi-Res Adventures''
73	** ''Mystery House'' (the first game released by Sierra)
74	** ''The Wizard and the Princess''
75	** ''Mission Asteroid''
76	** ''Cranston Manor''
77	** ''Ulysses and the Golden Fleece''
78	** ''VideoGame/TimeZone''
79	** ''Franchise/TheDarkCrystal''
80	* ''VideoGame/{{Homeworld}}''
81	* ''VideoGame/HoyleOfficialBookOfGames'' series
82	* ''Hunter Hunted''
83	* ''VideoGame/TheIncredibleMachine''
84	* ''Impressions City Building Series'' (''VideoGame/{{Caesar}}'', ''VideoGame/{{Pharaoh}}'' and its [[ExpansionPack expansion pack]] ''Cleopatra'', and ''[[VideoGame/EmperorRiseOfTheMiddleKingdom Emperor]]''; developed by Creator/ImpressionsGames, published by Sierra)
85	* ''VideoGame/JonesInTheFastLane''
86	* ''VideoGame/KingsQuest'' (the series that spawned other Quest games and launched Sierra into the mainstream)
87	* ''VideoGame/LauraBow''
88	* ''VideoGame/LeisureSuitLarry''
89	* ''VideoGame/LighthouseTheDarkBeing'' (essentially Sierra's response to ''VideoGame/{{Myst}}'')
90	* ''VideoGame/LordsOfMagic''
91	* ''[[VideoGame/{{Manhunter}} Manhunter]]'' series (''Manhunter: New York'', ''Manhunter 2: San Francisco'')
92	* ''VideoGame/MixedUpMotherGoose'' (a rather popular EdutainmentGame title, notably ironic since it came from a software house most famous for its NintendoHard games that are anything but for kids)
93	** ''Mixed Up Fairy Tales''
94	* ''NASCAR Racing'' (developed by Creator/PapyrusDesignGroup)
95	* ''VideoGame/NoOneLivesForever''
96	* ''[[VideoGame/PeppersAdventuresInTime Pepper's Adventures In Time]]''
97	* ''VideoGame/{{Phantasmagoria}}''
98	** ''VideoGame/PhantasmagoriaAPuzzleOfFlesh''
99	* ''VideoGame/PoliceQuest''
100	** ''VideoGame/PoliceQuest1InPursuitOfTheDeathAngel''
101	** ''VideoGame/PoliceQuest2TheVengeance''
102	** ''VideoGame/PoliceQuest3TheKindred''
103	** ''VideoGame/PoliceQuest4OpenSeason''
104	** Its ''{{VideoGame/SWAT}}'' spinoffs, including ''{{VideoGame/SWAT 3}}'' and ''{{VideoGame/SWAT 4}}''.
105	* ''VideoGame/QuestForGlory''
106	* ''VideoGame/{{VideoGame/Rama}}'': TheGameOfTheBook Literature/RendezvousWithRama (developed by Dynamix, published by Sierra)
107	* The ''VideoGame/RedBaron'' series (developed by Dynamix, published by Sierra)
108	* ''VideoGame/Shivers1995''
109	** ''VideoGame/ShiversTwoHarvestOfSouls''
110	* ''VideoGame/SpaceQuest''
111	** ''VideoGame/SpaceQuestITheSarienEncounter''
112	** ''VideoGame/SpaceQuestIIVohaulsRevenge''
113	** ''VideoGame/SpaceQuestIIIThePiratesOfPestulon''
114	** ''VideoGame/SpaceQuestIVRogerWilcoAndTheTimeRippers''
115	** ''VideoGame/SpaceQuestVTheNextMutation''
116	** ''VideoGame/SpaceQuestVIRogerWilcoInTheSpinalFrontier''
117	* ''Franchise/SpyroTheDragon'' (inherited from Universal Interactive)
118	* ''VideoGame/{{Starsiege}}'' series from ''Metaltech: Earthsiege'' to ''VideoGame/{{Tribes}} 2'' (developed by Dynamix)
119	* ''VideoGame/StayTooned'' (developed by Funnybone Interactive)
120	* ''VideoGame/TorinsPassage''
121	* ''VideoGame/YouDontKnowJack'' (up until ''5th Dementia'', developed by Berkeley Systems and Jellyvision)
122	[[/index]]
123	----
124	!!Tropes associated with Sierra's work:
125	%%
126	%% As with all Creator/ pages, trivia tropes about the creator specifically are to be posted here,
127	%% not a Trivia/ page, as they technically are InUniverse in the case of the person's career.
128	%% However: As with all Creator/ pages, items that could go on a specific work's trivia page go there, not here.
129	%%
130	%%* ActionBar
131	* AdventureGame: had numerous series in this genre, especially the Quest ones like ''Space Quest'', ''King Quest'', and ''Quest for Glory''.
132	* BrandNameTakeover: In Russia, point'n'click games are referred to as "Quests", due to popularity of Sierra games in Soviet Russia during the late 80s and in post-Soviet Russia. and the term "Quest" ("Квест") being much more comfortable to use than "Adventure Game" ("Приключенческая Игра").
133	* CopyProtection: various games made you have to keep your manual so that you had to give the correct word from a particular page, or else you couldn't play. Sometimes, it was placed in the middle of the game, and not having the ability to get the code meant you could never finish the game.
134	* TheCameo: Ken Williams made lot of cameos in the games he sold, mostly the ''VideoGame/LeisureSuitLarry'' series. In an interview, he said he had no idea he was in them until he saw the finished products.
135	* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: While adventure games are Sierra's bread and butter, they also released many applications and office software in their early days. From programming software like ''LISA'', money management software like ''Smart Money'', word processing software like ''[=HomeWord=]'', to a whole line of 3D house modeling software under their Sierra Home label, Sierra made almost everything a computer could do.
136	* EasterEgg: the company liked putting iconic items from their various into different games they made.
137	* EverythingTryingToKillYou: We're not kidding, everything can and ''will'' '''kill you!'''
138	* ExecutiveMeddling:
139	** What ultimately led to the company's virtual collapse after the 90s. After being purchased by Vivendi, the new executives closed Dynamix, (developer of the ''Aces'' series and other racing and combat simulations) and directed the company to abandon adventure game development entirely. Unfortunately, despite publishing a number non-adventure titles, this pretty much eliminated Sierra's main product as a developer, and the company never really recovered, until by the end of the 2000s Sierra effectively only existed as a label. Meddling immediately prior to the Vivendi buyout was also directly responsible for the utter mess that was ''VideoGame/KingsQuestMaskOfEternity'', and the lukewarm reception for ''VideoGame/QuestForGloryV'', among the last adventure titles produced by the company.
140	** A ''[[Series/BabylonFive Babylon 5]]'' space combat simulator was nearly completed, but was canceled much to the uproar of the fans. The CEO at the time argued that the game's development cost was so high that the game would have never turned a profit. It was very shortsighted decision: many old games have found a second life through online distribution such as Platform/{{Steam}} or [[Website/GOGDotCom GOG.com]] or [[GameMod modding]].
141	%%* FantasyKitchenSink
142	* GuideDangIt: Some fans have speculated that Sierra made some of their puzzles [[MoonLogicPuzzle deliberately obtuse]] to [[MoneyDearBoy sell more hint books]]. Even today, Sierra games are probably responsible for a lot of hits to Website/GameFAQs.
143	* HaveANiceDeath: Punny comment on your demise! Restore, Restart, Quit?
144	** They are [[https://imgur.com/j7Hn3KF proud]] of this feature.
145	* HurricaneOfPuns: More humorous titles like ''Space Quest'' and ''Quest for Glory'' games were usually chocked full of them in dialogue, including visual ones.
146	* KleptomaniacHero: Roberta Williams expressly said she wanted players to never know exactly what they might need later, and thus pick up anything,
147	%%* LastLousyPoint
148	* LaterInstallmentWeirdness: After the glory days ended and the subsequent sale of the company from Cendant to Vivendi Universal, the Sierra name was little more than a label, and they released titles from other developers. By 2005 it had been fully integrated with Vivendi Games and took on its [=IPs=], including ''Crash'' and ''Spyro''.
149	* LemonyNarrator: Especially if it's [[VideoGame/LeisureSuitLarry Neil]] [[VideoGame/FreddyPharkasFrontierPharmacist Ross]] or [[WesternAnimation/SpaceGhost Gary]] [[VideoGame/SpaceQuest Owens]].
150	%%* TheMaze
151	* MultipleEndings: Featured in many of their later games.
152	* NintendoHard: And then some!
153	%%* NoFourthWall
154	* MediaNotes/PCVsConsole: Was very far on the "PC" side at its height, though they did publish a few games for consoles late in its life. Its adventure games were also popular enough to port to consoles, though these were done by outside companies with [[PortingDisaster varying results]], which likely only reinforced the opinion of fans that the PC was the superior platform. Ken Williams did admit that he and his family owned and enjoyed console games. ''VideoGame/KingsQuestMaskOfEternity'' was inspired by ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'' and ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime''. After the Cendant sale and acquisition by Vivendi, it switched to supporting consoles fully. Thankfully, we got ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfSpyro'' out of it.
155	* PermanentlyMissableContent
156	%%* PlotCoupon
157	%%* PointAndClickGame
158	* PressStartToGameOver: Sierra games loved to kill you on the first screen. And gloat about it.
159	* RealIsBrown: As the graphics capabilities of computers improved, Sierra's adventure games had increasingly subdued or washed-out graphics. For example, compare the vibrant 16-color graphics of ''King's Quest IV'' to the subdued 256-color graphics of ''King's Quest V''. The final ''Legend of Spyro'' game, ''Dawn of the Dragon'', also heavily abused this.
160	* RunningGag: The stuffed moose head that first showed up in ''VideoGame/KingsQuestIIIToHeirIsHuman''. It crept his way in various Sierra games since and has become a MythologyGag as it even showed up in fan-made adventure games.
161	** Sierra's Half Dome logo. If the game has mountains in the background, you can bet it's gonna be there.
162	* SaveScumming: Sierra actually encouraged the practice in its game manuals.
163	%%* SchmuckBait
164	%%* SolveTheSoupCans
165	%%* TalkToEveryone
166	%%* TextParser
167	* TheManyDeathsOfYou: Sierra took pride in making sure that at any time your character could die in their games.
168	* TrialAndErrorGameplay: In some circles, this is actually known as ''"Curse You Sierra"'' or as WebVideo/SteamTrain put it, ''"Sierra: How the [[PrecisionFStrike fuck]] was I supposed to know that?"''
169	* {{Unwinnable}}: So bad that Sierra has its own section in ''both of the tropes'':
170	** [[UnwinnableByDesign/{{Sierra}} Unwinnable by Design]]
171	** [[UnintentionallyUnwinnable/{{Sierra}} Unintentionally Unwinnable]]
172	* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
173	** Al Lowe was working on a satire game called ''Capitol Punishment'' that took shots at American politicians. He canceled the game because of technical issues.
174	** ''Captives'' was a game advertised in Sierra's [=InterAction=] magazine, but never released. It was about the PC playing a mercenary rescuing hostages held captives by aliens. Saving different types of hostages would wield different benefits. Soldiers would give you extra firepower, scientists would research better weapons for you. There was also armed vehicles you could temporary use.
175	* WorldOfPun: Pretty much every adventure game they've made. The ''VideoGame/KingsQuest'' series is probably better known for the puns in its death messages than anything.
176	* YouCantGetYeFlask: The ''other'' reason early Sierra games could be so infuriating. The downside of the company's focus on graphics meant less memory for parsers, contrasted with Creator/{{Infocom}}'s [[DevelopersForesight incredibly smart parsers]]. This is why Sierra ultimately abandoned text parsers altogether.

Context Creator / Sierra