History Creator / Sierra

* SaveScumming

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Before ''Videogame/KingsQuest'': the company made adventure games but also arcade games and office software.

** ''3-D Ultra Pinball: Creep Night''

On August 7, 2014, Activision announced that they would [[http://www.shacknews.com/article/85680/sierra-entertainment-set-to-return-with-new-game-at-gamescom-2014 revive the company]] at Gamescom 2014. At Gamescom, it was announced that ''VideoGame/GeometryWars 3: Dimensions'' (developed by Lucid Games, a company formed by former Creator/BizarreCreations staff) and a new ''VideoGame/KingsQuest'' (developed by The Odd Gentlemen, the people behind ''VideoGame/TheMisadventuresOfPBWinterbottom'' and the upcoming ''Webcomic/Homestuck'' adventure game) are the first titles under the revived Sierra label. Activision's plan for the label is for working with indie developers who have original projects under development or who are interested in tackling classic Sierra properties.

On August 7, 2014, Activision announced that they would [[http://www.shacknews.com/article/85680/sierra-entertainment-set-to-return-with-new-game-at-gamescom-2014 revive the company]] at Gamescom 2014. At Gamescom, it was announced that ''VideoGame/GeometryWars 3: Dimensions'' (developed by Lucid Games, a company formed by former Creator/BizzareCreations staff) and a new ''VideoGame/KingsQuest'' (developed by The Odd Gentlemen, the people behind ''VideoGame/TheMisadventuresOfPBWinterbottom'' and the upcoming ''Webcomic/Homestuck'' adventure game) are the first titles under the revived Sierra label. Activision's plan for the label is for working with indie developers who have original projects under development or who are interested in tackling classic Sierra properties.

On August 7, 2014, Activision announced that they would [[http://www.shacknews.com/article/85680/sierra-entertainment-set-to-return-with-new-game-at-gamescom-2014 revive the company]] at Gamescom 2014.

Compare Creator/{{LucasArts}}, their main rival, whose games were decidedly more forgiving. Also compare Creator/{{Atlus}}, which, like Sierra, was known for creating very difficult games and were defunct for years before being revived.

On August 7, 2014, Activision announced that they would revive the company [[http://www.shacknews.com/article/85680/sierra-entertainment-set-to-return-with-new-game-at-gamescom-2014 ]] at Gamescom 2014.

'''Sierra Entertainment, Inc.''', more popularly known under their former name, '''Sierra On-Line''', was an early game developer. The company is credited with various milestones in video game history, such as creating the very first "graphic adventure game" (''Mystery House'', essentially InteractiveFiction with extremely crude line-art drawings), some of the earliest animated games (''VideoGame/KingsQuest''), and implementing beyond PC-Speaker sound into a game (''VideoGame/KingsQuestIVThePerilsOfRosella''). Sierra also was responsible for introducing the Japanese PC games ''VideoGame/{{Thexder}}'', ''Fire Hawk'', ''Silpheed'', ''VideoGame/{{Zeliard}}'' and ''Sorcerian'' to Western audiences. Sierra's milk and honey days were the mid-80s to the mid-90s: this was the era of [[AdventureGame adventure gaming]], when games focused more on testing the player's ingenuity than their reflexes.

Compare Creator/{{LucasArts}}, their main rival, whose games were decidedly more forgiving.

** UnwinnableByDesign
** UnwinnableByMistake

* The ''[[VideoGame/ThreeDUltraPinball 3-D Ultra Pinball]]'' The ''3-D Ultra Pinball'' series of DigitalPinballTables

* The ''3-D Ultra Pinball'' series of DigitalPinballTables (''3-D Ultra Pinball, 3-D Ultra Pinball: Creep Night, 3-D Ultra Pinball: The Lost Continent, 3-D Ultra NASCAR Pinball, 3-D Ultra Pinball Power,'' and ''[[VideoGame/ThreeDUltraPinballThrillRide 3-D Ultra Pinball: Thrill Ride]]'')

Sierra fizzled out in the late 90s, with the decline of adventure gaming. It was bought by Creator/VivendiUniversal, who were cool enough to let amateur game makers create fan games of their series until 2009, when it was transferred to Creator/{{Activision}}. There are currently no plans to restart the adventure gaming department.

Sierra's games are notoriously difficult. Death is [[EverythingTryingToKillYou everywhere]] and springs up at random, and if you haven't saved your game in a while, too bad, you have to start everything all over. The games are riddled with {{Unwinnable}} situations, and since Unwinnable doesn't mean Unplayable, you often didn't realize the game was moot until you had been playing for hours. Or days. Sometimes weeks.

** Its ''SWAT'' spinoffs, including ''{{VideoGame/SWAT 3}}'' and ''{{VideoGame/SWAT 4}}''.

* ''VideoGame/PoliceQuest'' and its {{spinoff}} ''SWAT'' (including ''{{SWAT 4}}'', developed by {{Creator/IrrationalGames}})

* ''VideoGame/SpyroTheDragon''

* ''VideoGame/HalfLife'' (developed by Creator/{{Valve}})
* ''[[CodenameIceman Codename: Iceman]]''

Yet, despite all its... [[UnusualEuphemism quirks]], Sierra produced some of the finest games of the 80s and 90s, and easily some of the best ever adventure games. Their work featured hand-crafted oil paintings for backgrounds, elaborate music, professional voice actors and composers, memorable (and loveable) characters, amazing worlds, enjoyable stories, and creative gameplay. Sierra never took itself too seriously; games were loaded with gags, puns and {{Easter Egg}}s. Although deaths were frequent, they were always friendly and most times featured a joke or pun; half the fun of a Sierra game is playing through [[HaveANiceDeath to find all the]] [[TheManyDeathsOfYou unique ways to die]].

* ''VideoGame/{{Spyro}}''

* ''VideoGame/DoctorBrain''