Ken and Roberta Williams hardly need introduction among adventure game fans. Founding legendary developer Sierra On-Line in the early days of gaming, his duo have been responsible for some of the genre’s most innovative, bold and memorable titles. The two had been away from game development for quite some time, but were out of the spotlight. In recent years, the two have won the Gaming Icon Award from The Game Awards, and Roberta has won her Pioneer Award. 2019 Game Developer Conference.
The seasoned tag team returns to the world of adventure games for the first time in 25 years with new development team Cygnus Entertainment. The team’s first outing is a complete remake of a true classic, Colossal Cave. Colossal Cave is a pioneering text adventure game named Colossal Cave Adventure released in 1976 that turns the original lime green text on black into a visually appealing graphic adventure. The original game was a major influence on many designers of the time, including Ken and Roberta, who are funding this ambitious remake. We sat down with the power duo to discuss our return to the world of game development and what players can expect from our return to game development.
This interview has been edited and condensed for brevity and clarity.
PlayStation.Blog: Roberta, how was your experience with the original text-based Colossal Cave Adventure in 1976 or 1977?
Roberta: i never played computer games so farColossal Cave may or may not be the first computer game, but it’s very close to being the first. And it was indeed the first adventure game. So basically we invented the concept of an adventure game. So I played it, loved it, wanted to play more, but there weren’t any better games at the time. It eventually became a mystery house.
PSB: How did the original Colossal Cave Adventure influence the games you make?
Roberta: Colossal Cave invented most of what many of us who do game design have invented. [rely on], especially in the adventure game genre. It developed the idea of mapping the world. Mazes, getting lost, going down one-way passages, entering somewhere but then getting confused… Plus, you can come across levels, puzzles, inventory objects, and creatures that could kill you. Colossal Cave takes all these elements like never before and forms the basis of such an adventure game. And maybe computer games. We’ve incorporated some of these elements into Mystery House to add even more elements of storytelling. That was the process of making my first game.
Mystery House didn’t know where to start.that is, had number idea. “You know what?” But I’ve always liked the board game Crew. I loved murder mysteries, detective stories, and Agatha Christie books. So I thought it would be interesting to do a whodunnit. But how do you game it? And I thought, let’s think about how to play a game called Clue. I put it together, wrote the game, and made it more narrative.
what i loved [the original] The huge cave was of an exploratory nature. I wanted to know where I was going and how far I could go into this cave.So when I first started designing [Mystery House],I”i need to make it exploratory]but I added a mystery element. I wanted to keep that sense of exploration in my game.
PSB: What made you decide to return to game development?
Roberta: So we were literally out of business for 25 years…. And we have decided to do this with the pandemic and lockdown. Late 2020 or early 2021 he talked about it. We retired honorably here in Palm, California at his desserts and sat in the cantina one morning drinking coffee and looking out over the Coachella Valley… what we were bored with and what we wanted to do thing.
Ken did a project and wanted to go back to programming. He suggested Colossal Cave, and I don’t know why—it just came out of his mouth. He was like the first time I played the original game, I don’t know why, but I just had to sit down and write a game… I’d never done that before. It was weird.
Later that day, Ken told me he was done talking to Don Woods (one of the original Colossal Cave developers). I saidwhat? How did you do it! ? “ And Ken saysWell, I have my ways.i think we are doing it’ But that’s where we started. And it’s been about a year and a half since then.
And we started with the idea that it was going to be kind of simple, we knew we wanted it to be 3D. He’s secretly studying Unity and his…. programming chops. And he hired an artist and the two of them started working on it. I came in a little late… first I said, “I don’t mind if you help me, but I don’t want to get too involved.” I looked over their shoulders and gave advice from time to time.
It seems that it became a rumor before I knew it. [laughs] People wanted to interview me about Colossal Cave, King’s Quest, etc. “What are you doing, you’re back!?” and at first, “Well, I didn’t really have any plans… [laughs]But I don’t know, could it be me? ”
Before I knew it, I was drawn into a meeting with Unity, and suddenly I was back. And I’m not trying to be selfish. It was strange, everyone seemed to expect it. and I said, “Well, it looks like we can’t get out of here.” And if I was going to be in this, I had to be very serious about it.
After making the decision to participate in the design of Colossal Cave, there was no way out. Since then, I’ve jumped into both legs, arms, head, hair, and everything else… but it’s completely changed the game.you wanted me in, i’m in” It’s a big project and one I’m proud of.
PSB: What can longtime adventure game players expect from Colossal Cave?
Roberta: wrong [from our old games]It’s not King’s Quest. First of all, it’s a first person experience. There are no characters for you to guide. Player avatar He considered creating a creator, but decided to keep Colossal Cave as intact as possible. Don’t try to put yourself in your game. It’s a Will Crowther and Don Woods game… that seeks to provide a fun and immersive experience for modern players in the world Will Crowther, Patricia Crowther and Don Woods envisioned. I wanted to come across just like what I was doing.
Second, giant caves are more pure exploration [compared to the narrative focus on my older games]In my previous works, I kind of locked people in…. You will be in an area until you reach the next part of the story. The next part will send you to the next exploration area with new objectives and other things to do.
But in huge caves you can go anywhere. That doesn’t mean you won’t encounter obstacles. You can figure out how to get around them, but you can also turn around and go somewhere else. You can find treasures, but you may not know what to do with them. But someone could steal your treasure! They are fun, very complex, and very interesting. And there are dwarves!They are dirty small creatures.
PSB: How has game development changed in the last 40 years?
Ken: Well, it has gotten better and worse. there is more competition. That’s the first thing you notice. But there are also tools. Many years ago we had to write our own text editor, graphics editor, animation editor, figure out how to create sound and get color graphics. This project has a free Unity engine and great training materials to get you started quickly. Visit Unity’s site to purchase assets at affordable prices. Visit Adobe’s site to choose from thousands of animations.
You can focus on your art and game design. Many of the lower levels are lifted off the shoulder.
PSB: Has development been difficult during the pandemic?
Ken: It wouldn’t have been possible without working from home. When Roberta joined the project, we had to assemble a team quickly, but I treated it like a hobby project to kill time during COVID. said:This has to be Sierra quality. We need artists and programmers. ” It kept growing. And suddenly I had to quickly build a team of 30 smart people….I could build a team regardless of where they lived. In some ways it’s better than working in an office.
Colossal Cave is coming to PS5 starting today, with versions for PS VR2 and PS4 in development.
