Sierra On-Line (ESOC 210)

  • Ken begins working at Informatics

    Ken begins working at Informatics

    Dick Sunderland, looking for more programmers for his new team, alongside Jay Sullivan, interviews Ken.
  • Ken quits Informatics

    Ken quits Informatics

    Ken quits Informatics to then become an independent consultant and started his own business. This would later become Sierra On-Line
  • Ken is introduced to an Apple Computer

    Ken is introduced to an Apple Computer

    Ken's brother Larry brought an Apple computer to show Ken
  • Ken shows Roberta Colossal Cave Adventure

    Ken shows Roberta Colossal Cave Adventure

    Ken showed Roberta, his wife, Colossal Cave Adventure.
  • Roberta begins work on Mystery House

    Roberta begins work on Mystery House

    Roberta, after finishing Adventure, takes an interest in creating her own adventure games.
  • The First Graphical Game

    The First Graphical Game

    Roberta wanted to have picture to go along Mystery House so Ken decided to reprogram a VersaWriter into creating graphics for her game.
  • Mystery House is released

    Mystery House is released

    In May, Ken and Roberta created fliers advertising their game and sent them to computer stores, and put them inside a magazine called MICRO.
  • Ken and Roberta lease a building for their business

    Ken and Roberta lease a building for their business

    After moving out of Simi Valley, California in the late 1980s, they leased a space on the second floor of a building in Oakhurst that would be their first office for Sierra On-Line that wasn't their house.
  • Sierra On-Line works with IBM

    Sierra On-Line works with IBM

    Sierra On-Line is contracted by IBM to create a game for IBM's new PC. IBM would fund the game entirely, from development to marketing.
  • King's Quest is released

    King's Quest is released

    King's Quest is the game that was released alongside IBM's PCjr. This game uses the new game engine developed by Sierra On-Line.
  • Adventure Game Interpreter is developed

    Adventure Game Interpreter is developed

    Adventure Game Interpreter is a game engine that was created by Sierra On-Line. It was mainly developed for King's Quest but was used for other games as well. The game engine made it easy to add images to a game.
  • Sierra On-Line begins development on Space Quest

    Sierra On-Line begins development on Space Quest

    Scott Murphy and Mark Crowe pitch Space Quest to Ken who then gives the project the green light.
  • Sierra goes public on the stock market

    Sierra goes public on the stock market

    After having multiple successes with King's Quest and Space Quest and their many sequels, Sierra decides to go public under the tag "SIER".
  • Sierra publishes Half Life

    Sierra publishes Half Life

    After negotiating with Valve for the rights to publish Half Life in 1996, Half Life is finally released to a resounding success.
  • Ken and Roberta Williams begins development on Colossal Cave 3D

    Ken and Roberta Williams begins development on Colossal Cave 3D

    After being in retirement for 25 years, the 2 founders of Sierra On-Line come back to create a VR version of the game that had originally inspired the duo to create Sierra On-Line