Roberta Williams
Roberta Williams | |
---|---|
Born | February 16, 1953 |
Occupation(s) | Writer, Game designer |
Spouse | Ken Williams |
Children | DJ Williams, Chris Williams |
Roberta Williams (born February 16, 1953) is an American video game designer. She is most famous for her pioneering work in graphical adventure games, particularly the King's Quest series.
Career
In the eighties and nineties, Roberta and her husband, Ken Williams, were leading figures in the development of graphical adventure games. They founded the company On-Line Systems, which later became Sierra On-Line. Their contributions to gaming were partially chronicled in the book Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution.
Williams was instrumental in writing and designing several popular games for Sierra, including the entire King's Quest series, The Colonel's Bequest, Mixed-Up Mother Goose, and "Phantasmagoria". Though Sierra was sold in 1996, Williams' production credits date to 1998.
Roberta posed for the cover of the game Softporn Adventure by Chuck Benton, published by On-line Systems. She also posed much later with her children as Mother Goose for the cover photograph of Mixed-Up Mother Goose. The end sequence of Leisure Suit Larry 3 features her as an in-game character.
Roberta and Ken married on November 4, 1972 when she was 19, and Ken just turned 18. They have two children, D.J. (b. 1973) and Chris (b. 1979). The Williams family have homes in Seattle and Mexico.
Since her retirement in 1998, she has stayed away from the public eye and rarely gives interviews to talk about her past with Sierra On-Line. However, in a 2006 interview,[1] she admitted that her favorite game she created was Phantasmagoria and not King's Quest, "If I could only pick one game, I would pick Phantasmagoria, as I enjoyed working on it immensely and it was so very challenging (and I love to be challenged!). However, in my heart, I will always love the King’s Quest series and, especially, King’s Quest I, since it was the game that really 'made' Sierra On-Line."
Williams has often stated that her games are explicitly targeted toward a more affluent and educated audience than other games, raising criticisms of elitism. In a 1999 Gamer's Depot interview, she summed up her feelings:
Back when I got started, which sounds like ancient history, back then the demographics of people who were into computer games, was totally different, in my opinion, than they are today. Back then, computers were more expensive, which made them more exclusive to people who were maybe at a certain income level, or education level. So the people that played computer games 15 years ago were that type of person. They probably didn't watch television as much, and the instant gratification era hadn't quite grown the way it has lately. I think in the last 5 or 6 years, the demographics have really changed, now this is my opinion, because computers are less expensive so more people can afford them. More "average" people now feel they should own one.[2]
In a 2006 interview, Williams said that designing computer games is in the past for her now and that she intends to write a historical novel.[1]
Works
- Mystery House (1980)
- Wizard and the Princess (1980)
- Mission Asteroid (1981)
- The Dark Crystal (1982)
- Time Zone (1982)
- King's Quest I: Quest for the Crown (1984)
- Mickey's Space Adventure (1984)
- King's Quest II: Romancing the Throne (1985)
- King's Quest III: To Heir Is Human (1986)
- King's Quest IV: The Perils of Rosella (1988)
- Mixed-Up Mother Goose (1987)
- Laura Bow: The Colonel's Bequest (1989)
- King's Quest V: Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder! (1990)
- King's Quest 1: Quest for the Crown (Remake) (1990)
- Mixed-Up Mother Goose Multimedia (1990)
- Laura Bow in The Dagger of Amon Ra (1992)
- King's Quest VI: Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow (1992)
- King's Quest VII: The Princeless Bride (1994)
- Mixed-Up Mother Goose Deluxe (1994)
- Phantasmagoria (1995)
- King's Quest: Mask of Eternity (1998)
References
- ^ a b Adventure Classic Gaming (2006). "Roberta Williams Interview". Retrieved 2006.
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(help) - ^ Gamer's Depot (1999). "Roberta Williams Interview". Retrieved 2007.
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External links
- Ken and Roberta Williams page
- Roberta Williams at MobyGames
- Roberta Williams at IMDb
- Article at The Dot Eaters featuring Williams and an early history of Sierra
- Interview with husband Ken Williams 1996
- Interview with RW 1997
- Interview with Roberta Williams at WomenGamers.com 2000
- Interview with husband Ken Williams(German) 2003
- Interview with husband KW March 2006
- Interview with RW, July 2006
- Biography