Roberta Williams

Posted by Philip Jong.
First posted on 16 July 2006. Last updated on 13 March 2008.
Articles  »  Interviews
Want more information? Read the article!

No adventure game designer had ever achieved the level of success as Roberta Heuer Williams (Roberta Williams) had. Born in 1953, she and her husband Ken Williams co-founded On-Line Systems, which later became Sierra On-Line, when she was only 26. Mystery House, which she wrote in 1979, was the first graphic adventure game ever created for the PC. Her portfolio of games, spanning over nearly 20…

• (30) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink

Enter Your Comments

Name

Email (optional)

City, Country

Rate this article
1 (Poor) 2 (Fair) 3 (Good) 4 (Very Good) 5 (Excellent)

Message

Submit the word below for security verification


Previous Comments

Excellent

Oustanding interview, she´s a eternal icon of adventure. My favorite series from her of all is Phantasmagoria.

Brazil By Jose Pedro • On 02 January 2010 • From Brazil

Excellent

I remember being a fan of all the Sierra games in the 80's, and constantly dialing up to their BBS to get the game hints...Much to the dismay of my parents who had to pay the phone bills! I think for about 5-6 years, we only bought Sierra games. I remember we used to subscribe to their magazine too. Oh man, I loved those games!

United States By Alan • On 14 November 2008 • From California

Excellent

Great story, Carlos.

Poland By Igor Hardy • On 19 August 2008 • From Poland

Excellent

Do you remember when the Sierra games displayed a message: "Oops... you have tried something we couldn't foresee". My friend sent a letter to Sierra back in the days when email wasnt in our lives, asking about this strange message and months after he got a letter from Roberta Williams saying "oops... you have asked something we couldn't foresee". He might have it already somewhere!

Spain By Carlos Sisi • On 19 August 2008 • From Spain

Excellent

I, too, grew up playing Sierra games. It is good to see the devoted fan-base reunited in a way that was impossible back then.

United States By Tony Zielinski • On 06 March 2008 • From Portland, OR

Kings Quest was so great! I missed the old days when companies would make a new engine around a story instead of vice versa...

great interview

United States By Marshall • On 22 November 2007 • From USA

Well I'll be damned..
Looks to me , after reading the interview, as tho Roberta Williams is credited the creator of the chief Sierra games, She has no idea how or who came up with the most essential and key element which distinguished those games... facing situations that have multiple outcomes.

The designers were the real authors, then ?

Italy By Gylfi • On 25 January 2007 • From Llandlow

The Sierra Games have been with me for most of my childhood in the 80's and 90's. When Roberta stopped making them, I have stoped playing. In fact, like Roberta, I have not played a game since KQ 8. I guess I won't be playing again, unless she starts making games again.

Anyway, it's great to hear about her. It does not happen so often, so thanks for the interview, guys.

Germany By Toby • On 01 January 2007 • From Germany

Excellent

Great to be able to read an interview with one of the MOST influential and creative, people in gaming! If anyone deserves the time to spend with family and friends, it's you and Ken. From the earliest days of Sierra On-line, to the height of adventure gaming, you and your company have been there, turning out amazing games that kept me frustrated, laughing, angered, annoyed, elated, stumped, but most of all ENTERTAINED! Although a little harder to find now, I will openly challenge anyone to play through Phantasmagoria and not get creeped out, or Shivers and get stumped on at least one of the puzzles (while enjoying the amazing music, BTW)!
Thank YOU for all the years and amazing games that you've given us!

United States By Eddie T • On 05 October 2006 • From St. Louis, MO, USA

Excellent

It's nice to hear from Roberta. In my teenage years, Roberta and the whole Sierra gang kept my ass out of trouble. I got 'hooked' on these Sierra adventure games back in the 80's as a teen. Sure, I played sports, and did well in school - but at the same time I was thinking about how to get through a 'this or that' puzzle while sitting in math class. I couldn't wait to get home to see if it worked! Miss you all at Sierra; 1st persons are out of style as they are all the same thing; Can't wait for Al Lowe's new game 'Sam Suede: Undercover Exposure' to hit the shelves in 2007. It's about time someone came out with an original action/comedy game! Hopefully, Al Lowe can manipulate Roberta to unretire as he did to himself!

United States By William Maze • On 13 August 2006 • From Kalamazoo, Michigan USA
Page 1 2 3 >