Roberta and Ken Williams were retired for 25 years, mostly living in Mexico, playing golf, and exploring the world on their boat. In 2020 when the covid pandemic struck, Ken and Roberta were locked down like everyone. Ken was bored, and Roberta suggested he write a book about Sierra. The process of writing the book brought back long-forgotten memories resulting in Ken learning Unity and deciding to make a game.
Sierra On-line used an internally developed language called SCI to build their games. Ken wanted to use a game engine and had a choice between Unity and Unreal. Both appeared to be excellent engines, but Unity had extensive online training, and Ken knew he had a lot to learn. Unity is an incredible engine from an amazing company.
Roberta and Ken originally had no interest in starting another company. They were just looking for something fun to build and Roberta had the idea of paying homage to the game that inspired their company and changed their lives, Colossal Cave Adventure.
As they have gotten deeper into developing the game, they now understand why it became such a success. The original game is certainly an adventure game, but also has action elements, humor, engaging characters, is scary in places, has a point system, and is incredibly challenging. It’s a far better game than they first realized! There is far more to it than they would ever have believed when they started.
The initial release will be on Meta Quest 2 (VR), Nintendo Switch, and Epic Games. Additional platforms are currently under consideration.
One of our artists convinced Ken to create a VR version of the game. At first, we thought it would be a simple effort but quickly realized that VR is not as simple as just running the same old game on a new platform. Major design changes were required for VR. The original graphics had to be thrown away, and we started over. Was it worth it? YES! Anyone who plays the VR version will be blown away. It is staggering when you enter the cave.
Fall 2022
We are working hard to get the initial release of the game launched (Windows/Mac/Meta Quest 2). As soon as the game launches, we will be exploring other platforms for the game. Other virtual reality options are of great interest to us.
Absolutely! We are still working on arrangements for final distribution, but we are planning for a boxed version to be available on Amazon and at other major retailers. The details are not fully finalized at this time.
