Did you work there when they made Kings Quest 7? We used to huddle around the one pc at our school library in elementry school and try our best to figure it out. Fond memories.
I was 2 years old when you started at Sierra. not bashing your age just saying part of your audience might be younger than you think. ruclips.net/video/qmNCFtAlYN0/видео.html The old skool rarring never knew lol mp3.part1 mp3.part2 lmao flac for the win.
you, my friends, helped shape my childhood 😂 i'm 32yrs old now, first pc game I ever played was Leisure Suit Larry and it taught me basic English with all the other Quest games 😎 still have that Phantasmagoria box and the booklet with the cd's somewhere.. fond memories.
um no im 37 his core audience is around 33-45 all hsi freinds on youtube around that age all hjis freinds in retro gaming scene the same age all ppl that do panels at retro expos are around that age young folks have no idea about dos games or nes or atari and his channel is for this type ppl
This will be buried in the comments, but this is one of the most enjoyable episodes I've seen on any channel. If you're on the fence about making more like this, please let this be the comment that throws it over the edge.
Thirded. I grew up on the Quest series games and attribute them to my linguistic abilities. "You can't 'Thirded.'" say Thirded. "No one seems to be listening." say Thank you for everything you guys did to provide me so much entertainment in my youth, you all rock. "You're welcome."
Fourthed. Some of my greatest memories are playing Kings Quest with my sister, playing Earthsiege, and waiting for the new Inter Action magazine. Thank you guys so much :)
did you actually phone their support line? might've missed on the contribution otherwise. not that it isn't valuable work of course just saying if production guys had stopped at 5PM during crunch half of the games we have now wouldn't have been released. although maybe some should've been left unfinished and it was everyone's own sacrifice to make but it'd be interesting to hear interviews from them.
This is one of my fav videos so far. Watching you guys reminisce and chat about the old days and seeing clips of old videos really ended up being one of the most enjoyable vids i've seen in a while. Held my interest so well that when it was over I was actually bummed and could have easily watched another hours worth.
Totally agree, Weird thing is most RUclips content providers think that this stuff is boring to us, but these kind of reminiscing videos are the best. Makes me think of my dad's stories about his infamous (to us anyway) and misspent youth. Not to say they're as old as my dad, they're not, but it's good to know the storytelling gene hasn't died out yet.
Couldn't agree more and I sure hope they keep doing more of these videos. Their stories are pretty entertaining to listen to, and I could easily see myself conversing, and drinking, with them for hours on a topic like this. Aside from their primary topic they seem like cool guys and wouldn't mind learning more of what they have been up to since then. Cheers
So far, this is my favorite video MJ has done. Love to hear these old stories from the people who lived them. Dig up all of your old friends, bring them on, crack open some beers and just start talking. I'll be watching :)
The girls at those partieas were gorgeus Metaljesusrocks! The whole nineties vibe was awesome too. A careless life, and more social "real" interaction than today.
I read your comment and thought "no way I'm going to watch that long"... and then of course proceeded to finish watching the entire 54min too. Interesting stories / reminded me of my own memories playing games and calling those early era tech support numbers.
Watched this video a few times, rewatching it again now. Really want it to cross the million views. Definitely deserves it. Would love more Sierre story times, or just stories from your life in general.
Would love more of these videos, Jason! It's always cool to learn of early days of the gaming industry from people who were actually in the trenches. Hope you can post more!
I’ve watched this at least 3 or 4 times over the last year. Would love for you and DMP to do another sit down like this and reminisce about Sierra or just your shared experiences as friends and gamers
Guys I really enjoyed this trip back through memory lane. I worked for IBM during that time and loved Sierra. Listening to you guys reminded me of my IBM days.
dude, I can't remember the last time I was interested in a video the whole way through that's almost an hour long. This was great, would love to hear more stories and such from the past.
I love it when a random detail is brought up in conversation and you can see the gears working in their heads to pin it down - like at 18:22 when Paul remembered the Micron Computer stuff. That nostalgic reaction is pure joy, like "omg i totally forgot that thank you for bringing up memories". LOVE this episode!
MetalJesusRocks i love this "off the cuff" format. This was a trip down memory lane even for me. I remember when video cards were rare and $39.95 bought a game.
Guys, this is the best video yet... omg im signing up to patreon because of this. Long time viewer, i feel like i have connected you with so many other channels or vice versa. Yes Metal Jesus you Rock! Thankyou guys so much.
Epic Potato, The Future? these guys are 1985! back then there was one guy who could program machine code, and a lot of people who could do nothing all day, play games and call that support, lol! The Future is multi platform titles, released on proven gaming engines, by multiple studios for one producer, Ubi, EA or other big producer. Rest all release low budget titles on steam or other low budget platforms. Are you willing to work for one of these studio's, then just react, they need skilled people that are willing to work 80 hours a week!!!!!!!! If you can do some custom development on Unreal, do a resume, make a reel. They will talk to you!!!!!!!
lucas rem dude, what the hell did you think I'm talking about? this is IT archaeology, and this is a critical part of it that we need to extract from the sources before they (or their memories) are lost to time. all I want is for them to keep talking about this subject. And in case you didn't know, Unreal engine is slow under the hood. Looks pretty, but no Sanic speed. It's also a little bottlenecked in its environmental dynamism, largely also due to runtime speed. In the gaming world it's not all about using the latest and greatest engine. What about the emotive storytelling of Undertale, the sheer lunacy of Paradigm, the rats nest of performance that is the Minecraft engine? If you get too wrapped up in the wrong thing, you can forget what matters most. Like what happened to Sierra.
Epic Potato Unreal is open, and well documented!!! and does support good stuff, open, that's why mentioned it as a good example. I'm not sure if I can name the Engine we work on now, it's all closed, not allowed to say anything about it. But it runs on iPad and consoles....If you have better solutions? I don't think so..... You asked for the Future, well do you get it now? but still you talk about yesterdays junk, why? Mind craft is especially not the future, I cant read all that shit, but not the Future. Think now! 2017 and beyond, not 1985 or any year my grandfather was still cool in.
lucas rem Okay, UE3 and 4 are open to freely edit, but NOT to freely develop on, with UE4 using a subscription system now. Don't think I don't know these things. Yes, the code is well documented, but you can't get bleeding fast load speeds of resources. You're not letting me answer, there doesn't HAVE to be a "better engine", it all depends on your applications "Mind craft"? The "Future" has to always be capitalized. Really? Get off of your iPad. Why are you talking about this on a video of guys reminiscing about THEIR PAST WITH A DEAD COMPANY? You act like a damn bot. This is supposed to be history and nostalgia, not this dumb "oh, the Future is now, old man, get with the times, grandpa, look at me as jack off to my 90's edginess with the articulation of a worldwide weenie" show you're giving us. You don't know what you're talking about, you don't belong here, go back to where you came from, you confusing little man.
Lol idk who y'all are, here I am, recognized the name Sierra. Clicked on it, say two guys on a couch talking, I'm like hey whatever I'll see what it's about. Next thing I know, I've watched the entire hour, and the whole thing was literally just two guys rambling about their past at a company; and I enjoyed every bit of it! Great video and I don't even know why, y'all are just very entertaining. Y'alls voices sound like you would do a very professional podcast, or be the voices on a high end radio show.
Dynamix in the house! I actually lived next door to Jeff Trunnel back in the day. I remember meeting him and when he found out I was into video game he invited me over back to see Rise of the Dragon, which was in development at the time. Few years later I hit him up for a job in the QA dept when I was college and transiting into the art dept. Eventually ended up being one of the mocap guys (Hi Troy!) until the implosion where they moved the whole studio up to Bellevue.
Hey Paul, I worked with you at Won.net for a while when you ran the moderators and created a life-size mech that shot ping pong balls. I was only there a short time, creating a tournament system when the Cendant debacle went down and I got fired. It was a blast watching you guys reminisce (even though most of it was before my time) and I hope you do more of these. Cheers!
Drunken Master Paul helping out with the expresso during that fire drill shows great character. He made a lot of people happy that day, and likely didn't get anything but a thank you in return.
I could (and would) absolutely listen to your reminiscences for as long as you would tell them. My very first solo video game as a child was willie beamish, and so I have been a fan as long as I have been a gamer. TIM, kings Quest, Laura bow, Dr cranium, all the Sierra games I played were wonderful, and your tales of the past are a joy to listen to.
I have been a long time subscriber and this video has eluded me for years! Was tipped off to it from your QA session you uploaded. Had NO IDEA Paul was rocking a skullet Devin Townsend style!! 🎉🤘🏻 great video man
Thank you for this edition, MJR. It was totally nostalgic, a great time, and made me feel as if I was apart of it all Ken Williams letter to his employees had so much pain in it. I felt he wrote that letter, disheartened and with so much disappointment. His words denoted he cared about that company, his employees, and the product. I also appreciate Drunken Master Paul's presence. You know, we live in uncertain times, which is not a statement anew. This leads me to believe, perhaps, that is life... certainty. However, knowing that makes me want to just enjoy the ride even more. Meeting good people and creating positive memories along the way, a lot like what you and Drunken Master discussed. Of course, having to experience a layoff is an awful feeling, however, you still have to keep moving forward. At least, that is the lesson I am walking away with after tuning in to this exceptional retrospective. Anyway, thanks again and I would love to see another walk down memory lane. Peace
sIosha when i saw the runtime i thought it was lengthy enough to be extensive, but you are right, seems like they have a lot more stories. Plus maybe they could mention how good Gabriel Knight was ;)
Tribes is one of my favorite PC games of all time. I read a dollar bin diving article in IGN about some of the best dollar games you can find and luckily I found Tribes in a clearance bin at Babbages. I spent so much time playing that. I’ll never forget it.
I happen to live in coarsegold and was in the computer business when Sierra was here in Oakhurst. When the owner sold the company and they moved out of town it was a huge blow here. Many of us still remember them being a welcome presence in our community and miss them still.
The Space Quest series is still one of my favorite games of all times. I've spent a good percentage of my life 4, 5, and 6 playing them over and over again
In 1995 I was in 6th grade and my pops brought home a Packard bell one day.. I loved that thing like it was life. It had either only 4 megs or 8 I can't remember... Was a pentium with windows 95. I was one of the few kids in my whole neighborhood that had a computer so everybody crammed into my house all time
I love hearing about your glory days! It's always fun hearing about someone's past and learning from it and taking advice. I guess that's why I love reading biographies! Cool episode!! Love the podcast format 😊😊
Thanks for the wayback machine, guys. I remember the fire alarm day. I loved staying after to play games, but I don't remember putting in a lot of time after work ;) The worst time is when they switched our hours from 8-5 to 10-7. I hated those months. Oh, and I remember doing that Phantas scene with Paul :)
You, MJR and Dave are some of the luckiest people on the planet. When I was a kid, I dreamed of working at Sierra. I watched all the cool behind the scenes footage that came with the various collections, and as a young child in the mid 1990s, Sierra seemed like an interactive form of Disneyworld. Ken Williams was like, the Walt Disney of MY childhood if that makes any sense - mustache and all. You had all these cool, long haired, metal people making these awesome games. I'm sure some days sucked, but it really seems, from this video, like working at Sierra was an experience more than it was a job. Like, Sierra was the Woodstock of video games. Anyway, I would also like to say thank you, MJR and Dave for your contributions to my childhood. And thank you to all Sierra alumni who might read my message - all of you rock.
This is one of my favorite videos on youtube. I grew up with kings quest and sierra in general - so awesome to see a few of the faces behind it. Wish I could grab a few beers and hear the rest of the conversation!
This video has been in my watch later playlist for awhile, finally getting to it today. I am currently unemployed (laid off) from a software / design job and have been applying like crazy. I too always brand the logo on my resume! I also match the typeface and colors from the brand as well and include a custom cover letter each time specific to the job. It’s obviously easier these days although not sure how common it is is practice. Unfortunately I feel like no one takes notice as I haven’t been getting the response I’m after. Avoiding insanity I do switch up my tactics to discern which actions have more or less success. Looking to land something exciting in the near future! Great video, bummed I didn’t watch it sooner but seems to be coming to me at the right time in life so I’ll take that as a positive sign. Cheers! 👍🏼🙏🏼✌🏼
@@slodogg Back years ago they would be impressed by that when computer people were like family. Today the suit types probably think you're a geek or a fan and probably toss your resume in the physical garbage can or delete it unread. I would take off the logos and show them samples of your work
Had no clue who you were prior to this video just now popping up in my suggested feed. Great video guys! Paul looks like the long lost brother of one of my college buddies, lol, right down to the way he was losing his hair. Acts a lot like his as well. You guys had a blast and made a ton of memories! Glad you caught a good portion of it on video!
Sierra was one of the best gaming companies in the world in my opinion.. always pushing the boundaries of creative gaming and innovation.. Just as much as you are one of the best channels on RUclips.. Thank you for sharing your memories!! Rock on!! :)
Jeremy Dziewurski Adventure games, which Sierra excelled at are still a lucrative genre, especially on mobile, and still on PC. This is a heartbreaking story of how a creative company can lose it's soul after going corporate.
@@MrFIRESEAL117 uh, MJ just said they got all the games free and frequently got free gaming hardware, all the time... That's not free labor... Besides, alot of the employees were just starting their careerand didn't mind working without a reliable paycheck...
Awesome video. It reminded me of Dr. Radiaki, a Doom clone my parents got me for Christmas when I was like 8 years old, and it required 8MB of ram. I had a 486sx25 with 4MB and to make it run a friend of my father working in the IT of a bank show me once how to start Windows 3.1 in repair mode without loading all services. It was a long list of questions to answer and after a bit of trial and error we managed to run the game by freeing up memory occupied by OS processes otherwise . It was amazing, after waiting for the whole Christmas Day and the day after without being able to play with my gift, finally having the game run was more fun than the game itself. That's how I got into IT i think.
Great episode. I had many Sierra games back in the day. 5 1/4 inch floppy for PC and later 3 1/2 inch for Amiga. I wish I still had them in my collection.
I grew up with Sierra when I was a kid. The games I remembered playing was Kings Quest IV, V, VI, V, and Mask of Eternity, as well as Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers, and Gabriel Knight 3, and of course, Half-Life, which Sierra published. Also, you just earned a new subscriber to your channel, MJR. :D
THOROUGHLY enjoyed this video. I've always said, if I could do my life over, I'd do everything I could to work at Sierra in their glory days. Can't wait to see more of these!
Man, Sierra = my childhood. My first serious game was Space Quest 1, the old AGI version. I played it, beat it, played it again on an old monochrome monitor. It started my love affair with them as a publisher, and I went on to play all kinds of their games. Earthsiege, Cyberstorm, KQ, Conquests, Shivers, Lighthouse, Police Quest, Manhunt, Gobliiiins, Thexder, etc, etc, etc!
This is ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC. Phantasmagoria and King's Quest VII were part of my wheel house growing up so this is great to get this perspective!!! WOW. This makes me so happy. Thank you.
Ken Williams rarely talks about Sierra anymore, but I remember reading an interview he did where he put a lot of the blame for Sierra getting caught up in Cendent on himself. He had been looking for a way to go to "the next level, but I was a programmer, not a businessman" and didn't dig deep enough into Cendent's background. It's too bad when folks who are real artists get swindled. Side note: Ken and Roberta are now big into yachting around the world. Ken even wrote a book about it.
"Hi is that Sierra tech support? I can't get past the yeti in King's Quest V, I think my game is broken...!" *throws custard pie in face* Cheers guys, really fascinating retrospective!
Cool glimpse into sierra thx. Good god I never realized how many sierra "games" I had as a kid aside from the usual household games of that time like the Kings Quests. Things like home architect 2.0, land designer etc. Can't wait to bring up a pic of home architect and show my dad to see if he remembers next time I visit him >,
My favorite "Sierra" game was actually a Dynamix game, Betrayal at Krondor. It is still my favorite RPG. I was very sad when Sierra hit their downward spiral. Great story guys!
This was awesome!! Having worked in tech support myself, I was super jealous of your experience. I did support for a major ISP and it was hell!!! It was very corporationy as well. I am glad I found your channel!!! Sierra was one of my faves!!
Metal jesus rocks you are my favorite RUclipsr along with some others but you taught me so much that I didn't even know so thank you for being a good friend 😀
I was a GM for the Realm... I started as a player in the Beta... I think the lead programmer was Steve Nichols- and we all worked for Paula (she was awesome, I wish I could remember her last name) ,,,, I was around until the game got sold off to Codemasters. Oh my god the lag... and the queue to join....I remember that "evil crash"- I believe it was LadyTree who called you? She was head of the "Council of Elders" ;)
Tragluk LOL. Rosie the staffie who was Rosie the Killer PVP. LadyGhostrider. KissMe and KillMe.... Meat.... I miss my account now, I had awesome stuff!
Great vid dude really interesting to hear you talk about experiencing the beginning of gaming as we know it.. i remember playing command and conquer at like 5 frames per second because i was too poor to upgrade my pc 😂
The best sign of good content is when you watch an hour of it, and it feels like 5 minutes. Great work. From my end I mixed with a couple of UK companies back in the day. The biggest one being Activision. I remember going to the launch of Little Computer People when money was no object.. Good times.
Hey MJ! I want to say this was my favorite video post you did. I love hearing stories like this. I too am a huge Hard Rock/Metal fan. I got my BS degree in Music Production & Music Business and my AS in Radio-TV Production. I remember the days of PCs and gaming back then. I have friends who are IT techs and hanging with them in college and heard similar stories. I love the story w/ DMP talking about the game disc that had Win 95 on it. Or My game was working yesterday and now it’s not...opens CD drive and has become a PB&J sandwich saver.
Great stories I can’t believe I missed this and im a subscriber! I worked for call centers with similar customer experience type calls and those are great stories.
Love the old Sierra stories. I have a very "slight" connection to Sierra. Back when Sierra was publishing Half-Life, the company I was working for ProVideo/Lumina Media. They were hired to create a Half-Life trailer; specifically one for the doomed version of the Dreamcast. I was very jealous of our chief editor getting to work on that. I did, however, talk our sales/marketing guy to convince whoever he was talking to over at Sierra to send over a "care package of games." He got us one copy of: Half-Life Half-Life Blue Shift Half-Life Opposing Force "Police Quest" SWAT 3 We split the haul. He took Half-Life and Opposing Force for his nephew and I got Blue Shift and SWAT 3. It wasn't until I tried to install Blue Shift that I learned I needed Half-Life (I was still a fairly naive gamer), eBay to the rescue! I'd love to hear more Sierra Stories.
subbed based on this video.. my darkest days were my childhood but sierra games were the light in that darkness that kept me sane.. i also could listen to yalls stories for hours.. thanks for the content
This was awesome! It made me feel like I was sitting there in your basement talking with you guys. I have a lot of good memories playing Sierra games and I never knew that it was that kind of company! Thanks!
One of the best videos you have done. I remember playing lots of Sierra games back in the day and I have ALWAYS Wondered what happened to one of the greatest game companies to have ever existed. Thank you for being so extensive and not just doing a 5 minute video. I now completely understand and it does suck #ripsierra. Great company, they are sorely missed. #youguysrock
You still need those Sierra support Guys, lol! You call the Nintendo Helpdek too? are they your friends now, drink beer with them? Inside into gaming tips, lol!
I was SO inspired by KQ3, 4, 5 and especially 6... I wrote an entire full-length play based on a huge portion of the KQ6 game. :) I tried to contact Ken & Roberta... to see if they'd give some kind of blessing to do it someday, but, never heard back (no surprise)... I NEVER knew what the whole Cendant thing was all about, but I remember Sierra disappearing, so-to-speak. :( It made me pretty sad. THANK YOU for educating me on the whole thing--it is nice to know the history--however sad it was (for Ken & Roberta).
Thank goodness I recorded and kept all that Sierra party footage!! My god, we were so YOUNG! :)
MetalJesusRocks Besides your beard you don't look any different! Age has certainly be kind to you!
Did you work there when they made Kings Quest 7? We used to huddle around the one pc at our school library in elementry school and try our best to figure it out. Fond memories.
I was 2 years old when you started at Sierra. not bashing your age just saying part of your audience might be younger than you think.
ruclips.net/video/qmNCFtAlYN0/видео.html
The old skool rarring never knew lol mp3.part1 mp3.part2 lmao flac for the win.
you, my friends, helped shape my childhood 😂 i'm 32yrs old now, first pc game I ever played was Leisure Suit Larry and it taught me basic English with all the other Quest games 😎 still have that Phantasmagoria box and the booklet with the cd's somewhere.. fond memories.
um no im 37 his core audience is around 33-45 all hsi freinds on youtube around that age all hjis freinds in retro gaming scene the same age all ppl that do panels at retro expos are around that age young folks have no idea about dos games or nes or atari and his channel is for this type ppl
The old VHS footage from the party was an awesome touch.
This will be buried in the comments, but this is one of the most enjoyable episodes I've seen on any channel. If you're on the fence about making more like this, please let this be the comment that throws it over the edge.
DiggieSmalls I think we all agree with was awesome!
Never mind the ´16´. It´s MB, not GB lol. Insane. From 16 to 64000.
I have the phone line connection sound affect start whenever I boot up my gaming rig.
Robin delseman äter laputa..
Just sucks he never replies to his fans but he's a great RUclips'r!
Y'all worked at Sierra? Then I just want to personally thank you for whatever contribution you provided towards my favourite games growing up.
Seconded, glad you added that Sierra intro at the beginning it hit me right in the nostalgia so I had to send this to my brother too.
Thirded. I grew up on the Quest series games and attribute them to my linguistic abilities.
"You can't 'Thirded.'"
say Thirded.
"No one seems to be listening."
say Thank you for everything you guys did to provide me so much entertainment in my youth, you all rock.
"You're welcome."
Fourthed. Some of my greatest memories are playing Kings Quest with my sister, playing Earthsiege, and waiting for the new Inter Action magazine. Thank you guys so much :)
did you actually phone their support line? might've missed on the contribution otherwise. not that it isn't valuable work of course just saying if production guys had stopped at 5PM during crunch half of the games we have now wouldn't have been released. although maybe some should've been left unfinished and it was everyone's own sacrifice to make but it'd be interesting to hear interviews from them.
I absolutely loved the NASCAR games and Police Quest: SWAT.
This is one of my fav videos so far. Watching you guys reminisce and chat about the old days and seeing clips of old videos really ended up being one of the most enjoyable vids i've seen in a while. Held my interest so well that when it was over I was actually bummed and could have easily watched another hours worth.
Totally agree, Weird thing is most RUclips content providers think that this stuff is boring to us, but these kind of reminiscing videos are the best. Makes me think of my dad's stories about his infamous (to us anyway) and misspent youth. Not to say they're as old as my dad, they're not, but it's good to know the storytelling gene hasn't died out yet.
Agreed. I loved the early Sierra stuff and it was great to get an insider look and reflection on the company. More of these videos please
I totally agree! Create a livestream and just sit and talk and me and my beers will follow!
Couldn't agree more and I sure hope they keep doing more of these videos. Their stories are pretty entertaining to listen to, and I could easily see myself conversing, and drinking, with them for hours on a topic like this. Aside from their primary topic they seem like cool guys and wouldn't mind learning more of what they have been up to since then. Cheers
I would love if they did a series of Sierra game reviews.
So far, this is my favorite video MJ has done. Love to hear these old stories from the people who lived them. Dig up all of your old friends, bring them on, crack open some beers and just start talking. I'll be watching :)
Thanks so much!
YES! PLease continue guys, this deserves a series of vids
Would love more long form content like this.
Dave Hobbs podcast
My mom also worked at Sierra, she was the Chief Extended Co Minister at Rupperswil
Yup...
I wouldn't. Please play your home movies at home.
Long and hard
SIERRA DAYS PART 2 VIDEO NEXT PLEASE!! Love the stories guys👍
Do it guys
110% Correct. C'mon fellas. Make it happen.
Cool stories for us 90s PC gaming generation.
The girls at those partieas were gorgeus Metaljesusrocks! The whole nineties vibe was awesome too. A careless life, and more social "real" interaction than today.
I didn't expect to watch the full 54 minutes...but man this was so mesmerizing to hear all these stories.
I read your comment and thought "no way I'm going to watch that long"... and then of course proceeded to finish watching the entire 54min too. Interesting stories / reminded me of my own memories playing games and calling those early era tech support numbers.
This was 54 mins?! I never even realised. Haha....
Once you start watching it, you can't stop.
Haha, same here. Didn't think I'd watch the whole thing at first, but then wow, it's over already! Great to hear all of these stories.
Watched this video a few times, rewatching it again now. Really want it to cross the million views. Definitely deserves it. Would love more Sierre story times, or just stories from your life in general.
Would love more of these videos, Jason! It's always cool to learn of early days of the gaming industry from people who were actually in the trenches. Hope you can post more!
You guys were probably joking, but I'd happily support a kickstarter of you trying to buy back Sierra. And I'm sure a lot of people would too.
Dan Vasc I would for sure! I used to love Sierra game's
Yup...
Oh wth, kinda cool randomly seeing a Dan Vasc comment in a metal Jesus video lmaoo
Holy shit, Dan Vasc is a Sierra fan?!?
Which were your favorites?
Saw the length, didn't expect to watch the whole thing, it was over before I knew it! Really fascinating video
I’ve watched this at least 3 or 4 times over the last year. Would love for you and DMP to do another sit down like this and reminisce about Sierra or just your shared experiences as friends and gamers
Get a life!
@@toxinqwerty I make more money while taking a $h*T than you make in a month. I got a life, enjoy yours.
@@NA-bk6gb LOL, not bad.
Guys I really enjoyed this trip back through memory lane. I worked for IBM during that time and loved Sierra. Listening to you guys reminded me of my IBM days.
dude, I can't remember the last time I was interested in a video the whole way through that's almost an hour long. This was great, would love to hear more stories and such from the past.
Best hour I've spent on RUclips in a very long time! Thanks guys!
I love it when a random detail is brought up in conversation and you can see the gears working in their heads to pin it down - like at 18:22 when Paul remembered the Micron Computer stuff. That nostalgic reaction is pure joy, like "omg i totally forgot that thank you for bringing up memories". LOVE this episode!
You guys are good storytellers. This is a good format.
Thanks so much!
MetalJesusRocks i love this "off the cuff" format. This was a trip down memory lane even for me. I remember when video cards were rare and $39.95 bought a game.
Guys, this is the best video yet... omg im signing up to patreon because of this. Long time viewer, i feel like i have connected you with so many other channels or vice versa. Yes Metal Jesus you Rock! Thankyou guys so much.
Thanks so much Greg :)
PLEASE continue this discussion in the future! You guys are among the very few to actually talk about their background in Sierra and Dynamix.
Epic Potato,
The Future? these guys are 1985! back then there was one guy who could program machine code, and a lot of people who could do nothing all day, play games and call that support, lol!
The Future is multi platform titles, released on proven gaming engines, by multiple studios for one producer, Ubi, EA or other big producer. Rest all release low budget titles on steam or other low budget platforms.
Are you willing to work for one of these studio's, then just react, they need skilled people that are willing to work 80 hours a week!!!!!!!!
If you can do some custom development on Unreal, do a resume, make a reel. They will talk to you!!!!!!!
lucas rem dude, what the hell did you think I'm talking about? this is IT archaeology, and this is a critical part of it that we need to extract from the sources before they (or their memories) are lost to time. all I want is for them to keep talking about this subject.
And in case you didn't know, Unreal engine is slow under the hood. Looks pretty, but no Sanic speed. It's also a little bottlenecked in its environmental dynamism, largely also due to runtime speed. In the gaming world it's not all about using the latest and greatest engine. What about the emotive storytelling of Undertale, the sheer lunacy of Paradigm, the rats nest of performance that is the Minecraft engine? If you get too wrapped up in the wrong thing, you can forget what matters most.
Like what happened to Sierra.
Epic Potato
Unreal is open, and well documented!!! and does support good stuff, open, that's why mentioned it as a good example. I'm not sure if I can name the Engine we work on now, it's all closed, not allowed to say anything about it. But it runs on iPad and consoles....If you have better solutions? I don't think so.....
You asked for the Future, well do you get it now? but still you talk about yesterdays junk, why? Mind craft is especially not the future, I cant read all that shit, but not the Future. Think now! 2017 and beyond, not 1985 or any year my grandfather was still cool in.
lucas rem Okay,
UE3 and 4 are open to freely edit, but NOT to freely develop on, with UE4 using a subscription system now. Don't think I don't know these things.
Yes, the code is well documented, but you can't get bleeding fast load speeds of resources.
You're not letting me answer, there doesn't HAVE to be a "better engine", it all depends on your applications
"Mind craft"? The "Future" has to always be capitalized. Really? Get off of your iPad.
Why are you talking about this on a video of guys reminiscing about THEIR PAST WITH A DEAD COMPANY? You act like a damn bot. This is supposed to be history and nostalgia, not this dumb "oh, the Future is now, old man, get with the times, grandpa, look at me as jack off to my 90's edginess with the articulation of a worldwide weenie" show you're giving us.
You don't know what you're talking about,
you don't belong here,
go back to where you came from,
you confusing little man.
Loved Sierra games growing up, thanks for much for making this vid :D
Lol idk who y'all are, here I am, recognized the name Sierra. Clicked on it, say two guys on a couch talking, I'm like hey whatever I'll see what it's about. Next thing I know, I've watched the entire hour, and the whole thing was literally just two guys rambling about their past at a company; and I enjoyed every bit of it! Great video and I don't even know why, y'all are just very entertaining. Y'alls voices sound like you would do a very professional podcast, or be the voices on a high end radio show.
Exactly my experience
taylor robinson "Y'alls"? What the fuck?
And mine :)
same here
Me too. Was the best 1 hour I ever spent on RUclips.
Dynamix in the house! I actually lived next door to Jeff Trunnel back in the day. I remember meeting him and when he found out I was into video game he invited me over back to see Rise of the Dragon, which was in development at the time. Few years later I hit him up for a job in the QA dept when I was college and transiting into the art dept. Eventually ended up being one of the mocap guys (Hi Troy!) until the implosion where they moved the whole studio up to Bellevue.
Brian Wright Thank you for Willy Beamish!
You guys should totally do another one of these with some other Sierra employees!! I was a kid at the time and loved PC games.
like listening to my dad and his friend talking about the good old days, love this video
If you send a company a letter today, with their logo slapped on it, you would get a cease and desist within 24 hours.
i'm a bit lonely actually.
And you just completely exposed why you are NOT a hiring manager lmfao. I would let you go in a second as the owner of my Company.
That's not true at all.
If you send in your resume these days via a letter *without* a logo slapped on it, you'd be instantly looked at.
TheJunkEraser who cares if he's not a hiring manager. I guess your position gives you some sense of false superiority.
Hey Paul, I worked with you at Won.net for a while when you ran the moderators and created a life-size mech that shot ping pong balls. I was only there a short time, creating a tournament system when the Cendant debacle went down and I got fired. It was a blast watching you guys reminisce (even though most of it was before my time) and I hope you do more of these. Cheers!
no
That was so interesting about your time at Sierra. Sounds like a great company to work for in the mid 90s.
Drunken Master Paul helping out with the expresso during that fire drill shows great character. He made a lot of people happy that day, and likely didn't get anything but a thank you in return.
Man, I remember playing some great Sierra games growing up. So many memories :)
thanks for helping me with my math when I needed it Patrick!
You helped me so much in my Calc class last year!
Same here. They taught me English skills and not to install Sierra games via illegal copies.
You guys are truly rock stars! Great stories - thanks for sharing.
I could (and would) absolutely listen to your reminiscences for as long as you would tell them. My very first solo video game as a child was willie beamish, and so I have been a fan as long as I have been a gamer. TIM, kings Quest, Laura bow, Dr cranium, all the Sierra games I played were wonderful, and your tales of the past are a joy to listen to.
TIM! I freaking LOVED this game!
I have been a long time subscriber and this video has eluded me for years! Was tipped off to it from your QA session you uploaded. Had NO IDEA Paul was rocking a skullet Devin Townsend style!! 🎉🤘🏻 great video man
Just started the video and already gave a thumbs up just for seeing you guys back together.
Thanks so much!
RUclips recommended this, it's not a disappointment.
Would love to hear more Sierra stories in the future!
Thank you for this edition, MJR. It was totally nostalgic, a great time, and made me feel as if I was apart of it all Ken Williams letter to his employees had so much pain in it. I felt he wrote that letter, disheartened and with so much disappointment. His words denoted he cared about that company, his employees, and the product. I also appreciate Drunken Master Paul's presence. You know, we live in uncertain times, which is not a statement anew. This leads me to believe, perhaps, that is life... certainty. However, knowing that makes me want to just enjoy the ride even more. Meeting good people and creating positive memories along the way, a lot like what you and Drunken Master discussed. Of course, having to experience a layoff is an awful feeling, however, you still have to keep moving forward. At least, that is the lesson I am walking away with after tuning in to this exceptional retrospective. Anyway, thanks again and I would love to see another walk down memory lane. Peace
Finally! We've been waiting for this video for so long!!!! 🤘🏻
Not sure why it took so long for us to make this video! But it's nice to finally have it out there.
I would love a part 2 someday.
Please continue this...it is interesting.
sIosha when i saw the runtime i thought it was lengthy enough to be extensive, but you are right, seems like they have a lot more stories. Plus maybe they could mention how good Gabriel Knight was ;)
no idea why but i read your comment in MJR's voice
"Finally! We've been waiting for this video for SO!! LONG!!!!"
Tribes is one of my favorite PC games of all time. I read a dollar bin diving article in IGN about some of the best dollar games you can find and luckily I found Tribes in a clearance bin at Babbages. I spent so much time playing that. I’ll never forget it.
One of the best team multiplayer games ever.
I happen to live in coarsegold and was in the computer business when Sierra was here in Oakhurst. When the owner sold the company and they moved out of town it was a huge blow here. Many of us still remember them being a welcome presence in our community and miss them still.
The Space Quest series is still one of my favorite games of all times. I've spent a good percentage of my life 4, 5, and 6 playing them over and over again
Ditto.
I absolutely loved this video. I can listen to you guys talk about Sierra and the old days all day long.
This.
In 1995 I was in 6th grade and my pops brought home a Packard bell one day.. I loved that thing like it was life. It had either only 4 megs or 8 I can't remember... Was a pentium with windows 95. I was one of the few kids in my whole neighborhood that had a computer so everybody crammed into my house all time
It would've had 32MB ram.
PLEASE MAKE MORE VIDEOS LIKE THIS🙏🤗
I love hearing about your glory days! It's always fun hearing about someone's past and learning from it and taking advice. I guess that's why I love reading biographies! Cool episode!! Love the podcast format 😊😊
Thanks for the wayback machine, guys. I remember the fire alarm day. I loved staying after to play games, but I don't remember putting in a lot of time after work ;) The worst time is when they switched our hours from 8-5 to 10-7. I hated those months. Oh, and I remember doing that Phantas scene with Paul :)
You, MJR and Dave are some of the luckiest people on the planet. When I was a kid, I dreamed of working at Sierra. I watched all the cool behind the scenes footage that came with the various collections, and as a young child in the mid 1990s, Sierra seemed like an interactive form of Disneyworld. Ken Williams was like, the Walt Disney of MY childhood if that makes any sense - mustache and all. You had all these cool, long haired, metal people making these awesome games. I'm sure some days sucked, but it really seems, from this video, like working at Sierra was an experience more than it was a job. Like, Sierra was the Woodstock of video games.
Anyway, I would also like to say thank you, MJR and Dave for your contributions to my childhood. And thank you to all Sierra alumni who might read my message - all of you rock.
This is one of my favorite videos on youtube. I grew up with kings quest and sierra in general - so awesome to see a few of the faces behind it. Wish I could grab a few beers and hear the rest of the conversation!
This video has been in my watch later playlist for awhile, finally getting to it today. I am currently unemployed (laid off) from a software / design job and have been applying like crazy. I too always brand the logo on my resume! I also match the typeface and colors from the brand as well and include a custom cover letter each time specific to the job. It’s obviously easier these days although not sure how common it is is practice. Unfortunately I feel like no one takes notice as I haven’t been getting the response I’m after. Avoiding insanity I do switch up my tactics to discern which actions have more or less success. Looking to land something exciting in the near future! Great video, bummed I didn’t watch it sooner but seems to be coming to me at the right time in life so I’ll take that as a positive sign. Cheers! 👍🏼🙏🏼✌🏼
I hope you find work
Roger [kirbydudelol] Waters thanks 👍🏼 plugging away at it, although the job market hasn’t been so hot for a few months now 😂
@@slodogg Back years ago they would be impressed by that when computer people were like family.
Today the suit types probably think you're a geek or a fan and probably toss your resume in the physical garbage can or delete it unread.
I would take off the logos and show them samples of your work
Can't wait for Part 2 of this 6-Part Series!
Insert disk 2
This is a great chat and not a chat show host in sight...
Drunken master put up one hell of a fight with baldness.
Had no clue who you were prior to this video just now popping up in my suggested feed. Great video guys! Paul looks like the long lost brother of one of my college buddies, lol, right down to the way he was losing his hair. Acts a lot like his as well. You guys had a blast and made a ton of memories! Glad you caught a good portion of it on video!
Sierra was one of the best gaming companies in the world in my opinion.. always pushing the boundaries of creative gaming and innovation.. Just as much as you are one of the best channels on RUclips.. Thank you for sharing your memories!! Rock on!! :)
Jeremy Dziewurski Adventure games, which Sierra excelled at are still a lucrative genre, especially on mobile, and still on PC. This is a heartbreaking story of how a creative company can lose it's soul after going corporate.
At the expense of Free Labor from their employees mind you.
Yup (best game companies ever, that is)
@@MrFIRESEAL117 uh, MJ just said they got all the games free and frequently got free gaming hardware, all the time... That's not free labor... Besides, alot of the employees were just starting their careerand didn't mind working without a reliable paycheck...
My #1 from childhood beside Nintendo!
Awesome video. It reminded me of Dr. Radiaki, a Doom clone my parents got me for Christmas when I was like 8 years old, and it required 8MB of ram. I had a 486sx25 with 4MB and to make it run a friend of my father working in the IT of a bank show me once how to start Windows 3.1 in repair mode without loading all services. It was a long list of questions to answer and after a bit of trial and error we managed to run the game by freeing up memory occupied by OS processes otherwise . It was amazing, after waiting for the whole Christmas Day and the day after without being able to play with my gift, finally having the game run was more fun than the game itself. That's how I got into IT i think.
Cool story, bro.
For the record, that's the first time I've typed that phrase in a non-sarcastic way.
Everytime I think about Sierra, The Incredible Machine comes to my mind. I loved it so much...
Great episode. I had many Sierra games back in the day. 5 1/4 inch floppy for PC and later 3 1/2 inch for Amiga. I wish I still had them in my collection.
Favourite video in a while guys, definitely do more of this and more insights to the industry. Cheers lads
I grew up with Sierra when I was a kid. The games I remembered playing was Kings Quest IV, V, VI, V, and Mask of Eternity, as well as Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers, and Gabriel Knight 3, and of course, Half-Life, which Sierra published.
Also, you just earned a new subscriber to your channel, MJR. :D
THOROUGHLY enjoyed this video. I've always said, if I could do my life over, I'd do everything I could to work at Sierra in their glory days. Can't wait to see more of these!
i grew up on sierra games and watch your channel a lot. i had no idea you worked there. how cool. this was great
Man, Sierra = my childhood. My first serious game was Space Quest 1, the old AGI version. I played it, beat it, played it again on an old monochrome monitor. It started my love affair with them as a publisher, and I went on to play all kinds of their games. Earthsiege, Cyberstorm, KQ, Conquests, Shivers, Lighthouse, Police Quest, Manhunt, Gobliiiins, Thexder, etc, etc, etc!
This is ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC. Phantasmagoria and King's Quest VII were part of my wheel house growing up so this is great to get this perspective!!! WOW. This makes me so happy. Thank you.
I wish I knew you were doing this, I would have shown up to join the conversation!
+Howard Carson HOWARD!!! You were a great DJ at my parties!! \m/
Just let me know when the next one is, and I will DJ again (and sing along with Tainted Love)
OMG This is so cool!
Thank you for sharing your memories. I keep finding “hidden gems” in your Metal Jesus library.
Ken Williams rarely talks about Sierra anymore, but I remember reading an interview he did where he put a lot of the blame for Sierra getting caught up in Cendent on himself. He had been looking for a way to go to "the next level, but I was a programmer, not a businessman" and didn't dig deep enough into Cendent's background. It's too bad when folks who are real artists get swindled.
Side note: Ken and Roberta are now big into yachting around the world. Ken even wrote a book about it.
sounds a lot like Sega lol
"Hi is that Sierra tech support? I can't get past the yeti in King's Quest V, I think my game is broken...!" *throws custard pie in face* Cheers guys, really fascinating retrospective!
I've never thought that this video would be this thrilling.
Thanks for that view from the side of an (rockin') employee.
This was one of your best videos in my opinion
Dude!, we need part 2 of these.. , im sure there are more cool stories under the table.. greetings from paraguay bros!
+MetalJesusRocks August is coming. Quarterly episodes are a must!
0:20 DMP's hair was pure metal.....
Skullet!
It's like a metal dad hair.
Looks like Peter Gabriel during the Genesis years, ROCK AND ROLL!
Nah dude, best Ronnie James Dio impression I have ever seen. Freaky good.
His hair has to be one of the best skullets I have ever seen!
That glorious skullet though
born like that lol
Buisness up front, party in the back.
THAT HAIR
Cool glimpse into sierra thx.
Good god I never realized how many sierra "games" I had as a kid aside from the usual household games of that time like the Kings Quests. Things like home architect 2.0, land designer etc. Can't wait to bring up a pic of home architect and show my dad to see if he remembers next time I visit him >,
Loved playing Leisure Suit Larry, Space Quest, Police Quest, Kings Quest, and Quest for Glory.
that ace face paint was sick dude
Thanks! My wife Rebecca painted that on me. It's pretty close to the original Spaceman!
and his brother, I.P. Frehly.
My favorite "Sierra" game was actually a Dynamix game, Betrayal at Krondor. It is still my favorite RPG. I was very sad when Sierra hit their downward spiral. Great story guys!
This was awesome!! Having worked in tech support myself, I was super jealous of your experience. I did support for a major ISP and it was hell!!! It was very corporationy as well. I am glad I found your channel!!! Sierra was one of my faves!!
Metal jesus rocks you are my favorite RUclipsr along with some others but you taught me so much that I didn't even know so thank you for being a good friend 😀
This video is magical. So much nostalgia and like Sierra is totally how I would have pictured
I was a GM for the Realm... I started as a player in the Beta... I think the lead programmer was Steve Nichols- and we all worked for Paula (she was awesome, I wish I could remember her last name) ,,,, I was around until the game got sold off to Codemasters. Oh my god the lag... and the queue to join....I remember that "evil crash"- I believe it was LadyTree who called you? She was head of the "Council of Elders" ;)
Wow, LadyTree. Remember Tragluk? I used to love seeing his troll wander onto the screen.
Tragluk LOL. Rosie the staffie who was Rosie the Killer PVP. LadyGhostrider. KissMe and KillMe.... Meat.... I miss my account now, I had awesome stuff!
Great vid dude really interesting to hear you talk about experiencing the beginning of gaming as we know it.. i remember playing command and conquer at like 5 frames per second because i was too poor to upgrade my pc 😂
I dig Drunken Master Paul's old 'Riff Raff' look. Should bring that back in fashion.
John Riggs: RIGG'd Games Fantastic reference. Fantastic channel.
I'm a doctal
The best sign of good content is when you watch an hour of it, and it feels like 5 minutes. Great work. From my end I mixed with a couple of UK companies back in the day. The biggest one being Activision. I remember going to the launch of Little Computer People when money was no object.. Good times.
"I don't condone piracy" - goes on to talk about MP3s on IRC
ayyy lmao
Hey MJ! I want to say this was my favorite video post you did. I love hearing stories like this. I too am a huge Hard Rock/Metal fan. I got my BS degree in Music Production & Music Business and my AS in Radio-TV Production. I remember the days of PCs and gaming back then. I have friends who are IT techs and hanging with them in college and heard similar stories. I love the story w/ DMP talking about the game disc that had Win 95 on it. Or My game was working yesterday and now it’s not...opens CD drive and has become a PB&J sandwich saver.
Great stories I can’t believe I missed this and im a subscriber! I worked for call centers with similar customer experience type calls and those are great stories.
Love the old Sierra stories. I have a very "slight" connection to Sierra. Back when Sierra was publishing Half-Life, the company I was working for ProVideo/Lumina Media. They were hired to create a Half-Life trailer; specifically one for the doomed version of the Dreamcast. I was very jealous of our chief editor getting to work on that.
I did, however, talk our sales/marketing guy to convince whoever he was talking to over at Sierra to send over a "care package of games." He got us one copy of:
Half-Life
Half-Life Blue Shift
Half-Life Opposing Force
"Police Quest" SWAT 3
We split the haul. He took Half-Life and Opposing Force for his nephew and I got Blue Shift and SWAT 3. It wasn't until I tried to install Blue Shift that I learned I needed Half-Life (I was still a fairly naive gamer), eBay to the rescue!
I'd love to hear more Sierra Stories.
Awesome story! A real piece of Gaming history.
Killer Robotics Yeh not a lot of gaming based RUclips channels can claim such great accolades.
subbed based on this video.. my darkest days were my childhood but sierra games were the light in that darkness that kept me sane.. i also could listen to yalls stories for hours.. thanks for the content
Larry, King's Quest, Quest for Glory, Police Quest, Space Quest... loved them all as a kid!
Have you tried Heroine's Quest on steam?
I watched this whole damn video because I'm your age and it's great to see all these home videos. I miss being young! What great times we all had.
That Windows 95 disc issue was hilarious! ! Wow, I hope he upgraded before sending it back lol
This was awesome! It made me feel like I was sitting there in your basement talking with you guys. I have a lot of good memories playing Sierra games and I never knew that it was that kind of company! Thanks!
One of the best videos you have done. I remember playing lots of Sierra games back in the day and I have ALWAYS Wondered what happened to one of the greatest game companies to have ever existed. Thank you for being so extensive and not just doing a 5 minute video. I now completely understand and it does suck #ripsierra. Great company, they are sorely missed. #youguysrock
#Sierra2015
Thanks for the insight into Sierra. I'm definitely subscribing to your channel.
You still need those Sierra support Guys, lol! You call the Nintendo Helpdek too? are they your friends now, drink beer with them? Inside into gaming tips, lol!
I was SO inspired by KQ3, 4, 5 and especially 6... I wrote an entire full-length play based on a huge portion of the KQ6 game. :)
I tried to contact Ken & Roberta... to see if they'd give some kind of blessing to do it someday, but, never heard back (no surprise)...
I NEVER knew what the whole Cendant thing was all about, but I remember Sierra disappearing, so-to-speak. :( It made me pretty sad.
THANK YOU for educating me on the whole thing--it is nice to know the history--however sad it was (for Ken & Roberta).
This is my all time favorite MJR video. I wish you guys would do more Sierra retrospective videos!
B.C.'s Quest for Tires for ColecoVision was one of my favorite games from Sierra. X-mas '83. Good times!