Thank you for reading.

In our last ReAction,
Roberta talked about how she came to find Colossal Cave, and how it
affected her and ultimately changed the course of her life.

Why Colossal Cave?
Part II

by Roberta Williams

I found myself thinking and planning a game of my own in bed at night and
became so excited by the idea that I drove to a local art store and
bought oversize pieces of thick white paper. I brought them home and sat
down at the proverbial ‘kitchen table’ to start sketching and doodling
out a game map of my idea. In my mind, I was calling it Mystery House because I based it on the board game ‘Clue’ and a story much like an Agatha Christie novel. It
was an impulsive thing to do, but I found myself compelled, and just knew that I was on to something! I convinced Ken to work with me on it, and together we created the first computer game with graphics – for the Apple II computer. So, how did Colossal Cave Adventure manage to change my world in such a profound way? It did it by reaching deep into my soul, my very brain. Though I was ‘spelunking’ in the Colossal Cave game, Colossal Cave itself had entered into the tunnels and crevices of my own grey matter and dug out my forgotten urges of fun, adventure, creating, and
storytelling. In actuality, I had never really lost those, but had
locked them deep inside and tossed aside the key. Colossal Cave found that key for me!

This recounting explains, “Why Colossal Cave.” I owe it so
much; it gave me this life I now lead. Without it, I honestly don’t know
what I would have been doing all of these years! (And our company,
Sierra On-Line, would never have existed.) So that’s my motive, the
reason to bring it back to today’s gameplayers. In my grateful mind, I
want to share it, and to hope that it can inspire others as it did for
me. It gave me my life’s career and weirdly taught me ‘how’ to design
adventure games. But that’s really not a huge leap as I’ve always loved
to tell stories – as a child to my friends, to my younger brother, to my
parents, to my cousins. I used to put together little plays or skits as
well — and, of course, I would play the main character while my
brother, friends, or cousins would be the other characters. We would
perform them for my parents, or for my aunts and uncles. I feel honor
and passion about bringing Colossal Cave back to modern players
because, in my mind, it worked absolute ‘magic’ for me, and I can’t
understand why it wouldn’t for others.

But maybe, that’s just me; it’s how I think!

As
a computer game designer, I love being able to create immersive
‘worlds’ for people, not just simply to devise a linear story. I want to
create a fantasy world where the players truly are the protagonists and
can decide within it where they wish to go, get totally immersed in
that world, and feel like they’re ‘in charge.’ I want them to sense
danger, or experience exhilaration upon finding something important —
and leave it to them to figure out how to get past an obstacle, solve a
puzzle, and successfully reach a goal. Discovery is important! And I
experienced all of those emotions when first playing the text-based Colossal Cave.
Those game attributes are still there, and I honestly can’t believe
that people have changed so much that they are not able to feel the same
sense of wonder, exploration, and discovery that a game like this can
impart. So, here’s my motive: to re-introduce Colossal Cave to
modern gameplayers, partially to validate for myself that people truly
haven’t changed that much. But nagging questions do remain: Can modern
players spawn the patience for a slower, more methodical exploration
through a fantasy cave – a serene, cerebral enjoyment? Or are they only
capable of experiencing high-tension, and on-the-edge excitement? I am
curious about that, and time will tell who the modern gameplayers really
are. I hope that they can enjoy both! But, I admit, I do have some
worries; I fear that many of today’s gameplayers have become addicted –
and I do use that term advisedly – to the high-action and
constant-adrenaline tension of today’s third-person, action-oriented
games. Though today’s action-adventures do tell a story — as did the
prior adventure games of the 80’s and 90’s – they tend to move players
quickly toward precise spots because of pre-determined game plots, the
game focus usually being combat. But traditional adventure games not
only had a story to tell, but players were – and still are — enjoying
those games at their own speed and whims. All in all, I’m optimistic
that there is still a sizable group of tried-and-true adventure players,
as well as those who would permit themselves to explore a quieter, more
personal world of traditional adventure gaming.

And along these lines, I would like to take a moment to kindly request that if you have played our newly revived Colossal Cave and
enjoyed it, I would be so appreciative if you could review it. That
would help us pass along the word – but more specifically to aid the
preservation of Colossal Cave as the historical computer game icon it truly is!

Thank you!

Roberta Williams