Again, we can't imagine Activision smiles upon any of its IPs being distributed so freely and simply, so the games probably won't be available for long. We suggest you get to perp-busting/galaxy-saving/womanizing at your earliest convenience.
Sierra On-Line games playable on iPad via web app (for now)
by Griffin McElroy 
on Jan 15th 2011 11:32AM
21
Again, we can't imagine Activision smiles upon any of its IPs being distributed so freely and simply, so the games probably won't be available for long. We suggest you get to perp-busting/galaxy-saving/womanizing at your earliest convenience.
Reader Comments (21)
Posted: Jan 15th 2011 11:35AM Cleric said
Ok so run with me here.
Telltale Leisure Suit Larry
Telltale Leisure Suit Larry
Posted: Jan 15th 2011 11:45AM The Minn said
I beat all Leisure Suits, Kings Quests, Space Quests (personal fav), etc...
Posted: Jan 15th 2011 11:48AM BigD145 said
Loved the games, but what a terrible looking port.
Posted: Jan 15th 2011 11:56AM Gibbeynator said
Hasn't Sarien.net been around for a couple years? If Activision was going to do something, wouldn't they have already done something?
Posted: Jan 15th 2011 11:58AM EvoHelix said
Weren't these game notorious for presenting players with unsolvable puzzles that hinged on making a completely arbitrary decision early on with no foresight of the consequences? I've had the Sierra point and click adventure games described to me as some of the most evil games ever created.
Posted: Jan 15th 2011 12:22PM freaparn said
@EvoHelix
That's more of the label associated with games such as Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which required the player to do something random along the lines of picking up the junk mail in their home at the beginning of the game in order to solve a puzzle in some far-flung star system at the very end.
Sierra tended more towards having semi-arbitrarily scattered puzzle solutions within bordered zones. The games mostly had "open world" presentation in that you could wander through 6-30 bordered screens of world picking up puzzle pieces and information to solve puzzles elsewhere in the general area. Solve problems and move to a new area, rinse, repeat. There are a few exceptions (cat + fence + tape = fake mustache, etc), but the overall design philosophy was to test the player's analytical and problem-solving abilities... not to arbitrarily jerk them around.
Or so my nostalgia would have me believe.
Reply
That's more of the label associated with games such as Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which required the player to do something random along the lines of picking up the junk mail in their home at the beginning of the game in order to solve a puzzle in some far-flung star system at the very end.
Sierra tended more towards having semi-arbitrarily scattered puzzle solutions within bordered zones. The games mostly had "open world" presentation in that you could wander through 6-30 bordered screens of world picking up puzzle pieces and information to solve puzzles elsewhere in the general area. Solve problems and move to a new area, rinse, repeat. There are a few exceptions (cat + fence + tape = fake mustache, etc), but the overall design philosophy was to test the player's analytical and problem-solving abilities... not to arbitrarily jerk them around.
Or so my nostalgia would have me believe.
Posted: Jan 15th 2011 1:21PM (Unverified) said
@EvoHelix
That sounds accurate from what I've seen in the Space Quest games. Sometimes there are items or actions done early in a game that can be missed and cause you to get stuck later on or even result in your death. Though, given the nature of the series, death is humorous at least.
Reply
That sounds accurate from what I've seen in the Space Quest games. Sometimes there are items or actions done early in a game that can be missed and cause you to get stuck later on or even result in your death. Though, given the nature of the series, death is humorous at least.
Posted: Jan 15th 2011 5:28PM dnatapov said
@EvoHelix I don't remember ever getting stuck based on previous decisions.
You might be missing some item, but IIRC there was usually some way to go back and get it. And the puzzles are mostly rational - once in a while you'll encounter something which might be less than intuitive but once you figure it out it usually makes sense that it would work.
Reply
You might be missing some item, but IIRC there was usually some way to go back and get it. And the puzzles are mostly rational - once in a while you'll encounter something which might be less than intuitive but once you figure it out it usually makes sense that it would work.
Posted: Jan 17th 2011 10:39AM sigma8 said
@EvoHelix
There were a few cases of that in the classic Sierra games, but it was typical for the time. Gamers back then were usually more alert to stuff like this. People were always on the lookout for stuff that they might need later, as opposed to gamers today, who are just happy to cruise to the next challenge, without a worry for future planning.
Reply
There were a few cases of that in the classic Sierra games, but it was typical for the time. Gamers back then were usually more alert to stuff like this. People were always on the lookout for stuff that they might need later, as opposed to gamers today, who are just happy to cruise to the next challenge, without a worry for future planning.
Posted: Jan 15th 2011 1:25PM Startingline13 ArmlessOctopus said
Space Quest! I'm pumped, I had that on my original floppy disk!
Posted: Jan 15th 2011 1:50PM Gaddes said
No Quest for Glory.... ;_;
Posted: Jan 15th 2011 2:53PM Crockett said
I remember playing that screen shot game.
Was that the one that had an Age verify test at the beginning?
Was that the one that had an Age verify test at the beginning?
Posted: Jan 15th 2011 3:35PM LoveYouSomeEric said
@Crockett
Yup. If I remember correctly, it would ask you a series of trivia questions based on how old you claimed to be.
Reply
Yup. If I remember correctly, it would ask you a series of trivia questions based on how old you claimed to be.
Posted: Jan 15th 2011 6:01PM The Wicker Man said
They have been doing this for months since I first stumbled across their webzone. It has lasted this long, so as long as no website draws too much attention to it we can.....oh shat nevermind. :(
Posted: Jan 15th 2011 7:11PM apache said
ye ye yeah
Posted: Jan 15th 2011 10:08PM commonperson said
I tried it but couldn't get any sound (which was a cool part of some of these games.). Has any one else tried and did you get any sound? I remember as a kid a friend's dad bought him Leisure Suit Larry back when it first came out. Holy inappropriate purchase for our age group. He'd have ne over to help answe the trivia at the start so he could see the "dirty" bits. Now you can get same sex love scenes and not even answe one question about Lee Iacoca.
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