Goodbye, Sierra.

This forum is a place to talk about AGDI games and projects.

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Fender178
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#51 Post by Fender178 » Tue Jun 29, 2004 9:02 pm

Ok thanks for making that clear.

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#52 Post by Blackthorne519 » Tue Jun 29, 2004 11:17 pm

Fender178 wrote:Im wondering about the copy protection stuff for games such as kq3, kq4, kq5 floppy disk version, and kq6. I wonder if its ok to give that stuff out with out getting into major trouble with Sierra since they no longer exist?
Major trouble? Heheh. Let's be honest; no one gives a big rats ass. Except people who want to act like they're respectable.........

Bt

(BTW, I own all of these things. I happened to buy the collections in 1999!)

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#53 Post by zigi » Wed Jun 30, 2004 2:17 pm

i understand correctly?!?!?!!?!?!!?!?

its not possible, cuz half life 2 is coming soon, and counter strike still played and still getting updated sometimes...

probably its not what i think...


bad english...

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#54 Post by Erpy » Wed Jun 30, 2004 2:21 pm

It's quite likely HL2 will be released under the Sierra label. VU will continue to use the name Sierra on certain games. They don't need employees in an office in Bellevue for that.

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#55 Post by Rambaldi0503 » Wed Jun 30, 2004 5:42 pm

What is LSL8 going to be released under? The VU label?

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#56 Post by Erpy » Wed Jun 30, 2004 5:52 pm

The most logical thing would be to use the Sierra label. There's a folder dedicated to LSL8 on Sierra's official boards as well, after all.

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#57 Post by Kiwegapa » Thu Jul 01, 2004 8:57 am

One only has to look at the fate of Atari to see what happens to a company that ceases to exist yet has a valuable and widely recognizable name. The new owner uses them to label new games or create a line of games vaguely related to the original company's theme.

Late in the production of Neverwinter Nights, the Atari brand was slapped onto it and from what I can gather, the executives owning the Atari brand seemed to feel it would make the game sell better. But most who had been waiting for the game were puzzled and dismayed at the change. With good reason, it seems. The new Atari has become famous for bad support, poor quality control, and extreme delays in releasing fixes for its games. They even pushed Temple of Elemental Evil out the doors in an unfinished state. There were missing NPCs and unsolvable quests in addition to the hundreds of remaining bugs. The developer wanted to finish the game and later asked to put out a patch to fix it, but Atari denied them because they didn't want to pay another cent. Fortunately the consumer outcry was so great that they relented and allowed the developers to do their job.

The Atari of today is clearly not the company we knew in the 1980s, and after the loss of Coarsegold, neither was Sierra. But we will see future use of the Sierra name, I'm sure.

But I will still mourn this new turn of events. I grew up on these adventures, and I have an original box of King's Quest I sitting upstairs. Between Sierra and Infocom, I learned first-hand that logic, creativity, and fun could be blended skillfully, and often with great humor.

Sierra wasn't just a company that produced adventures, it was an adventure. A vision shared by Ken and Roberta Williams, Mark Crowe and Scott Murphy, Al Lowe, and many others, along with all the players. I thank them, and all of you, for being part of a great gaming experience.

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Goodbye to my childhood

#58 Post by CreepyXDiner » Fri Jul 02, 2004 11:44 pm

Since I was 2 years old it seems that Sierra games where always in my household. It is because of games like KQ, PQ,SQ, QFG ect. that I decided to go to UAT to follow my dreams of being a video game designer. Goodbye to Sierra your games helped me find what I wanted to do with my life.

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#59 Post by Broomie » Sun Jul 04, 2004 5:32 pm

Source wrote:Despite the closing, VU Games still plans to use the Sierra name, much like Infogrames Entertainment changed its name to Atari (ATAR: Research, Estimates) in 2003 to capitalize on its name recognition value.

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#60 Post by Rambaldi0503 » Sun Jul 04, 2004 6:02 pm

Broomie wrote:
Source wrote:Despite the closing, VU Games still plans to use the Sierra name, much like Infogrames Entertainment changed its name to Atari (ATAR: Research, Estimates) in 2003 to capitalize on its name recognition value.
Is that a good? I don't really think so. It's a shame that's what Sierra became... just a name.

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#61 Post by ThreeHeadedMonkey » Sun Jul 04, 2004 9:53 pm

Well said...

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#62 Post by Broomie » Tue Jul 06, 2004 10:24 am

Rambaldi0503 wrote:Is that a good? I don't really think so. It's a shame that's what Sierra became... just a name.
It's more of a just to let you know.

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#63 Post by Rambaldi0503 » Tue Jul 06, 2004 7:40 pm

Broomie wrote:
Rambaldi0503 wrote:Is that a good? I don't really think so. It's a shame that's what Sierra became... just a name.
It's more of a just to let you know.
Oh I know, Broomster, I was just commenting on how sad that that's what they've become, sort of like Atari.

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#64 Post by KaokanDBZ » Tue Jul 13, 2004 11:04 pm

In my opinion, Sierra died the moment they decided to downsize and defunct their adventure game department ;_;

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#65 Post by Gronagor » Wed Jul 14, 2004 6:23 am

Yeah... but think of it as someone we knew for a long time, but suddenly had an accident (their own fault) and were in a potato state for the last few years, and now they've shut down the machines. It's still a bit painful, but it is for the best.

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#66 Post by Cumboy » Wed Jul 14, 2004 7:23 am

I think Sierra really died in all but name when they shut down Yosimete Entertainment in early 1999, the last remaining part of its original self.

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#67 Post by Quest For Glory Fan » Wed Jul 14, 2004 8:31 am

:cry :cry :cry :cry :cry

Funerals always make me cry.

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#68 Post by The Infamous Mecha Sonic » Wed Jul 14, 2004 8:59 am

It's a shame there aren't necromancers outside of Quest for Glory and such. I guess AGDI is the closest thing to bringing the old Sierra back to life now.

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#69 Post by Blackthorne519 » Wed Jul 14, 2004 7:06 pm

The Infamous Mecha Sonic wrote:It's a shame there aren't necromancers outside of Quest for Glory and such. I guess AGDI is the closest thing to bringing the old Sierra back to life now.
Yeah, but on their coat-tails, and inspired by them (AGDI) are sure to be more throngs of ambitious old-Sierra fans, willing to make games in the old tradition. Trust me, there already are some......

Bt

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#70 Post by Rambaldi0503 » Wed Jul 14, 2004 7:17 pm

Blackthorne519 wrote:
The Infamous Mecha Sonic wrote:It's a shame there aren't necromancers outside of Quest for Glory and such. I guess AGDI is the closest thing to bringing the old Sierra back to life now.
Yeah, but on their coat-tails, and inspired by them (AGDI) are sure to be more throngs of ambitious old-Sierra fans, willing to make games in the old tradition. Trust me, there already are some......

Bt
Jeez, BT, why don't you just give them our friggin web-site WWW.INFAMOUS-ADVENTURES.COM! You're such a jackass, trying to self-promote INFAMOUS ADVENTURES as people who are WILLING TO MAKE GAMES IN THE OLD TRADITION. Get over yourself and our team, BT! :p

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#71 Post by Hollister_Man » Fri Jul 23, 2004 2:35 am

Don't forget me! Although Eternal Saga is just me, and progress is slow, I must say ES is also dedicated to making games to rekindle our love for adventures. Game, I should say, 1 game, ATM.

I haven't cried yet, but I have thought about it. So long, Sierra, we hardly knew you. To think I lived an hour from Bellevue all my childhood, and drove right by the Sierra sign, in fact.

Remember, 'As long as the memories live, the Saga will continue...'

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#72 Post by Boogeyman » Sun Jul 25, 2004 9:32 pm

At least Sierra was still doing UNIQUE games to the very end,unlike FucasArts, which is just doing Star Wars stuff which has already been done over and over again!

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#73 Post by Rico Len » Wed Jul 28, 2004 12:37 am

Blackthorne519 wrote:
Nothing lives forever......
It does if you keep it in your heart.

I've been thinking a lot about adventure games, and just classic PC gaming in general. It was such a part of my youth, and I cherish the memories so much. I mean, let's face it, in my youth my penchant for the worlds of King's Quest didn't make me real popular in Junior High School, or school in general, but I always felt a part of something special; cause every so randomly, I'd meet someone else who played Sierra games, or LucasArts games, and we'd feel like we were part of a secret club - and what a privledge it was to be in that club.

I remember being about 10, and playing King's Quest I for hours at my cousins house on his Apple IIgs. I loved that game so much; it was so immersive. Then I found a game called "Space Quest" and I played that for hours, too. Finding the glass to break the laserbeam in the cave took me FOREVER! But winning those games, it made me feel proud. I remeber when I saw the Sierra catalog, and it announced the coming of SCI games, starting with KQIV - which I ran out and bought... I so wanted a sound card because of that game, but I didn't get one until a couple years later. I wandered all around Tamir, just so happy to play that game. I got scared by Lolotte and I was so proud of myself and my nerdery, cause I got all the Greek mythlogy refrences (The Greae Witchs/Sisters) and other stuff. I hold Space Quest III dear too, cause I got that for my 12th birthday. First game I beat on my own. Soon after, I bought my favorite game of all time, Hero's Quest..... I could go on forever, but it just remains that I loved Sierra games. I loved them. As I got older, I'd find the reissues in bargain bins, the collection series, the Anthologies. I owned them all, and sadly lost them during college. I could kick myself now. But I hold those games so dear, and I remember as a kid I really wanted to make such games. What a blessing AGS is, and communities like this are - for we, the people who hid in the masses growing up, now have a place where we can meet in massive numbers, and on a common ground. I'm so elated that I can make a game, like Quest for Infamy, and that I can play games made by AGDI, LucasFan, Screen7, Amberfisch Arts, MushroomRepublic and many, many more who continue this on, all in the name of love. The devotion and emotion put into these games just sums up the warm feeling in my heart about it all. Now, I'm sad to see Sierra past into the the mists of time, but that's where it really belongs. Locked in time, in our memories of the joy those games gave us then, and not strewing forward, stumbling in an over-produced mass market of garbage. These games today, they have no joy about them. They lack heart. I don't feel for them, and maybe it's because I've grown up - but they just don't feel as good to me. I could explain this away easily by saying I am older, and things change, but why do I get that same feeling when I play non-remakes made with AGS? Because a good game is a good game, and a good style is a good style. It's why I, at 26, can love these games as much as Broomie can, who is ten years younger than I.

Rest in peace, Sierra, but live on in our hearts.

Steve
There's a lot of what you've said here that I can personally identify with. I myself am 25, and have grown up with these games along with the wizardry series and FTL's Dungeon Master series as being the greatest games of my childhood. I couldn't wait until school got out for the summer so I could spend as much time as possible playing Leisure Suit Larry 2, or Space Quest 3, or King's Quest 3, or Police Quest 2. I lived on those games. No one I knew other than my much older brothers who own the Atari ST I played on played the games. I'd spend hours watching them play on the weekends when the got home from their summer jobs and learn from what they did to catch up to them on the week days when they were working. Between Sierra and FTL I must have spent thousands of hours playing computer games as a kid. And then when I started high school I got myself a 386 and picked up Quest for Glory 4... holy crap if that wasn't just the coolest game ever! I had never played a quest for glory game before and once I beat that game I went back and bought the rest of the series and played them to death too. Then my time was divided between Sierra and the brand new ID Software and their revolutionary game of Doom. Even later as I started college I found yet another series of Sierra adventure games I hadn't touched. The Phantasmagoria series. I saw the second release on the game shelf at a video game store and noticed the Sierra Half-Dome logo and it caught my attention... I then went back and got the first game and played it and that has to be to date the scariest and eeriest game I've ever played. The second wasn't so great but the first was just awesome! I haven't played a good adventure game from Sierra since... But there's a ton of the Kings Quest games I could never get my hand on. I never did find the Kings Quest Anthology, so to date I've only played 3 and 5 of that series (aside from 1 and 2 since finding this site).

What I disagree on is that games are devoid of the joy of gaming anymore... I'll most whole-heartedly agree that it's not what it was. Which is really sad. But every now and again a great gem comes along and I'm amazed by it's depth and nowdays it's stupendous graphics. StarCraft was really something else. Robert Heinlien meets WarCraft. It was awesome. Metroid Prime is another such game. Before that the original Baldur's Gate blew me out of the water, it's got to be the best role playing video game ever made. Doom 3 looks to be the next great, but we'll see for certain soon enough.

But when it comes down to it nothing beats the nostalgia I feel when I play LSL2 or QFG4. I wanted to cry when I heard Sierra was closing it's doors for good even though they hadn't made anything new that was great in quite some time. Reading this thread a couple months after the fact and I'm still dissapointed. All I can say is that I want to do anything I can to support Tierra now, because my old games don't work anymore and I want to be able to go back to these greats one day (anyday) and relive them if I so choose.

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#74 Post by Shade » Thu Jul 29, 2004 7:12 am

Sigh... Every once in a while when I saw the Sierra logo on a new game (usually some computer board game casino thing) I smiled a little that she was still out there doin' something. And now... cue violin music.

I honestly feel very lost amidst new games. The last game I really felt moved by was The Longest Journey... it had plot, character development, and wackiness. I miss Sierra's wackiness, what would it be like if Diablo or Warcraft let you shove bananas in robots' jet packs?!?

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#75 Post by Khalon » Mon Aug 02, 2004 9:47 am

Rather odd, considering those are fantasy.

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