Ken Williams

By Craig White

What is it like to found your own multimillion-dollar company? We came to Ken Williams of Sierra On-Line to find out. Maybe 1997 was a bad year for Sierra, but as Ken tells us, 1998 will be one of Sierra's best years ever. And what's this about Homeworld?

What are you doing at the moment, and who is taking care of Sierra?

Currently I'm taking some time off. It has been eighteen years of 12-hour work days and constant heavy pressure. I needed some time away from work. That said, all I've done since I decided to take time off is work.

I wanted to learn French, so I've been taking French lessons several times per week. Don't ask me why I want to learn French, I have no answer. It's just that I'm stubborn. I thought it would be easy, and now I find out that it is totally impossible for me. It has become like an adventure game. I keep thinking I'll conquer it and then I find how little I know.

I've also been messing around trying to learn C++ and Java--and I've installed NT on my computer. I used to be a great programmer, but it has been a while since I actually had time to write any code. I don't like that. I've also been messing around trying to see if I can start another company--not too successfully, I might add. Check out www.storeit.com--it is one of seven different company ideas I'm toying with.

Sierra is being run now by three different people; Scott Lynch, Randy Dersham and Bill Moore. Each of these guys has a third of the company.

How was 1997 good for Sierra, and how was it bad?

1997 was a totally confusing year. We were bought late last year by a big conglomerate, CUC International. This was the right move for Sierra and is in the best interests of our customers and employees. However, it represented a change for the organization. People don't always adjust well to change. The good news is that the change is behind us and the products in development look awesome.

At this same time, we were also wrestling with trying to reinvent the adventure game. I thought we were caught in a rut with our adventure games, and that we needed a major change in direction. I shut down all adventure game projects and asked everyone to come up with something completely different. At first, the organization was in shock, and for a while, nothing got done. Then, people started experimenting with new technologies. Kings Quest 8, Quest for Glory 5 and Gabriel Knight 3 are our first products since the major technology shift. I have absolutely no doubt that all three products will be huge hits when they release. The only way to make a major leap forward was to completely start with a blank sheet of paper and be willing to not ship any adventure games until we had a breakthrough.

How do you feel about the games that are scheduled to be released in 1998?

1998 will be a breakthrough year for Sierra. I was making a list the other day of products that I thought would make the top 10 and was easily able to list six titles. Typically I can only list one or two products a year that have a shot. The market is extremely competitive, and the competitors are extremely good. That I can say that about next year's product line is a pretty strong statement.

What was your favorite game that Sierra released in 1997?

My favorite Sierra product of 1997 was our Drivers Ed product. If you know anyone who is 15 to 16 years old, tell them to run to the store and get a copy. I wish this product would have existed when I was that age.

Continuing on the above question, what looks like the most promising game of 1998?

Roberta will kill me for saying this, but my guess for our #1 product is Homeworld. I think it will go to #1 in the industry and stay there for a long time. Kings Quest 8 will be almost as big a hit, but I definitely think it will be Homeworld at #1.

I can't tell you anything more than just the name because I'm not sure what we're making public right now. Homeworld is completely different than anything on the market today, and once it ships there will be 50 clones rushed into development. We would like to have the market all to ourselves for as long as we can.

What would you like to see Sierra do 10 years from now? Do you think you'll still be CEO, or do you plan to pass the job along anytime soon?

I am not running Sierra today and haven't been since the sale of the company over a year ago. CUC is a big shopping company, and I was working with them to create their Internet shipping site--www.netmarket.com. I miss running Sierra, but Scott, Randy and Bill are good people and will build solid product. I'm still involved with Sierra, but more as an advisor at product strategy meetings. I do love Sierra and creating games, but after 18 years I'm ready for a new challenge, and Sierra is in good hands.

Do you think there will ever be a Phantasmagoria 3? How do you feel about the Phantasmagoria series now? Do you think there is a future, or even a large enough group of fans now to continue the series?

Roberta (who did Phantasmagoria 1) and Lorelei (who did Phantasmagoria 2) are different people, and the games produced show it. Phantas 1 was a huge hit, and Phantas 2 was a lesser hit. Maybe it was that people preferred Roberta's game. Maybe it was that people were tired of movie games. Who knows? Phantas 1 is definitely my favorite game of all time. If you haven't played it in a while, go back and play it again--it really is special. There isn't another game like it anywhere.

Roberta has started talking about doing a Phantas 3, and I hope she does it. There is some debate over whether it should be done with live action or using 3D. I was fighting to make it live action--but Scott (who is now running that piece of Sierra) said we should seriously consider going 3D. By the time Phantas 3 releases, computers will be much faster, and having 3D characters using human textures will be possible. In other words, we will be able to do 3D characters, that you control, that appear to be totally human. I'm not convinced, but I am listening. I think I just liked Phantas 1 and don't want to see anything changed. I want the same technology, the same cast and a continuation of the same story. That said, Roberta will ultimately make the decision, not Scott or I.

What do you think of Sierra's main competitors like LucasArts and Virgin? Do you think any of their games stand up to the high standards of Sierra's?

Lucas does great work. I'm biased towards us but would never fault anyone for buying a Lucas product. Virgin does some great products, but since 7th Guest I haven't seen them do a great adventure.

Do you play many games, and if so, what genre and what publisher?

My favorite games are Phantasmagoria 1, Leisure Suit Larry, Red Baron, FPS Golf and Nascar. I'm not really an action game player.

Recent acquisitions have stated that Sierra and Microsoft are "working together." Is there any truth to this?

We talk to someone at Microsoft about something every day--but only as a developer. We're not working on any products jointly or anything. Microsoft has talked a lot about someday having Windows-based machines in quarter arcades. I hope this happens and that games like Nascar find their way into arcades. This would be a huge win for Sierra and for gamers.

Back in the early '80s when you and Roberta were making Mystery House, did you ever think you would own a multimillion-dollar gaming company?

Nope--we didn't start Sierra to build a big company. In fact, it was the opposite. We just wanted to make enough money to be able to move out of Los Angeles. We hated living in a big city and wanted to move to Yosemite. Sierra allowed this to occur.

How do you feel about all of the Sierra fans out there and the many who own fantastic web sites?

Blown away. Who would have thought it?