Sierra On-Line Games History: Dawn of Adventure 1984-1987

Sierra produced many memorable games, many of which are incredibly hard to find collector's items. This article covers the formative years of 1984 to 1987, with the advent of the 3-D Animated Adventure.

(This article is a continuation of the History of Sierra series presented by magisterrex.  To read them in sequence, return to the article index found on the magisterrex.com home page.)

	The Gelfling Adventure (1984).  Designed for a younger audience by Al Lowe and released for the IBM PC, this game was a more simple version of The Dark Crystal.  It can be argued that the menu-driven puzzle system was the precursor to the mouse-driven puzzle system used on later adventure games, such as Leisure Suit Larry V and Space Quest IV.
	King's Quest (1984, Sierra On-Line/IBM). Originally created to help sell the IBM PCjr, the first King's Quest was written by Roberta Williams, but the manual was written by someone at IBM.  The game's sales were dependent on the success of the PCjr, and as the computer was not, neither was the game.  However, this was another Sierra first! King's Quest was the first 3-D Animated Adventure, where a moving character could go in front of or behind other objects on the same screen.
	King's Quest: Quest For The Crown (1984, Sierra On-Line).  Sierra repackaged King's Quest with an in-house manual and sold it under the Sierra label.  The game was packaged in the classic gray box format (with black plastic insert tray).  This game would be released in 1987 and 1989.
	Mickey's Space Adventure (1984, Sierra On-Line) The first joint venture between Sierra On-Line and Walt Disney, and written by Roberta Williams.  The first release was sold in a plastic clam shell case format.  A second release in 1986 came in the standard box format.  Released for the Apple II, and actually meant for children.
	Winnie The Pooh in the Hundred Acre Wood (1984, Sierra On-Line).  Another of the Sierra/Walt Disney collaborations, this game was really a series of vignettes, with a very loose theme.  Sold in the plastic clam shell format, and later re-released in the classic Sierra box/plastic tray format in 1986.
	Donald Duck's Playground (1984, Sierra On-Line).  The final Disney/Sierra collaboration targeted to children.  Originally sold in the plastic clam shell format, and later re-released in the standard Sierra box/plastic tray format.
	The Black Cauldron (1984, Sierra On-Line).  Based on the Walt Disney movie of the same name, this game designed by Roberta Williams, but programmed by Ken Williams, Mark Crowe, and Scott Murphy (the Two Guys From Andromeda!).  It was originally released as a PC Booter game that ran in up to 16 colors.  Two updated versions were sold by Sierra in 1986 and 1987, both of which ran in MS-DOS.
	Learning With Fuzzywomp (1984, Sierra On-Line).  Another computer game designed for children, and released by Sierra for both the Apple II and IBM PC.
	Mr. Cool (1984, SierraVision).  An odd arcade game based on Q*bert, Mr. Cool lacked the fun of the original, and played in only 2 dimensions.
	King's Quest II: Romancing The Throne (1985, Sierra On-Line).  Sierra's second 3-D Animated Adventure, with graphics by Roberta Williams and storyline by Annette Childs.  Originally released in the gray box (plastic insert tray) format, and later re-released in 1987.
	Space Quest: Chapter 1 The Sarien Encounter (1986, Sierra On-Line).  The first game by the Two Guys From Andromeda, Mark Crowe and Scott Murphy, this was the first 3-D Animated Adventure comedy.  Originally released in the gray box (with plastic insert tray) format, and later re-released in 1987 and 1990.
	King's Quest III: To Heir Is Human (1986, Sierra On-Line).  Written by Roberta Williams and Annette Childs, with programming by Al Lowe, Bob Heitman, and Bob Kernaghan.  This was the first of the King's Quest series to use spells as part of the game.  Originally released in the gray box with plastic insert format, and was re-released in 1987.
	Thexder (1987, Sierra On-Line). An arcade game imported from Japan.  The original name for this game was THX-DR122, and it was developed by Game Arts Co. Ltd.  A smash it for Sierra!
	Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards (1987, Sierra On-Line).  Programmed by Al Lowe (also text and music), with support from Mark Crowe.  This game was based on Softporn Adventure, and many of that game's puzzles were simply duplicated.  Another Sierra first: the game was beta-tested by Compuserve clients as Sierra was not certain that an adult-themed game would be acceptable to the market.  The game's sales were slow, but soon exploded into a cultural phenomena!
	Police Quest: In Pursuit of the Death Angel (1987, Sierra On-Line).  A gritty storyline with none of the "cutesy" Sierra adventure game touches nor comedic element of the earlier 3-D Animated Adventures.  Designed by Jim Walls, a former police officer, the game required players to follow actual police procedures to solve the mystery.
	Space Quest II: Vohaul's Revenge (1987, Sierra On-Line).  The second in the Space Quest series by Mark Crowe and Scott Murphy.
	Mixed-Up Mother Goose (1987, Sierra On-Line).  Roberta Williams returns to childrens' software.  This game proved to be quite popular, as it has been re-released several times (1990, 1992, and 1996).  The 1987 version uses the same 3-D Animated Adventure format that King's Quest and Space Quest used.
	King's Quest I: Quest For The Crown (1987, Sierra On-Line).  The gold box re-release of the 1984 game.
	King's Quest II: Romancing The Throne (1987, Sierra On-Line).  The gold box re-release of the 1985 game.
	King's Quest III: Romancing The Throne (1987, Sierra On-Line). The gold box re-release of the 1986 game.
	Space Quest Chapter I: The Sarien Encounter (1987, Sierra On-Line).  The gold box re-release of the 1986 game.

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