[Burge]

Sierra will always hold a dear place in my heart because I played the majority of their adventures before I even picked up a Lucasarts adventure. But I love them both.

[Sky Warrior Bob]

Originally Posted by UPtimist

Well, I guess Sierra, even though LucasArts is pretty close. Sierra made the GKs and the King's Quests and I prefer a really mysterious and deep story more than the more humoristic and maybe a little less deeper ones that L.A. makes... I'm not saying that I don't like the L.A.'s stories, I love them, but I just prefer a real, real, real enigma...

I don't see why a number of people seem to think Sierra was some sort of great storyteller. Their early games had very vew speaking roles, and sparsly developed plots, and while the later games improved on this, attempts at story were somewhat dragged down by the events of the past. Sierra could have used a far bit many more non-Quest games under its belt.

True, a good deal of Lucasarts adventure games were more humor oriented, but The Dig didn't sell that well for them, so what are you going to do?

Sky Warrior Bob

[Terabin]

Originally Posted by Sky Warrior Bob

The Dig didn't sell that well for them, so what are you going to do?

Sky Warrior Bob

Spin out a couple AG classics and sell the farm! KOTOR X on the horizon.

[Sonny-Bonds]

I voted "huge fan of them both"
BUT if I was forced to choose, I'd say Lucasarts.

But I love the Police Quest series of games more than a lot of Lucasarts games.

[Terabin]

I'm clueless here: what's the premise behind Space Quest and Police Quest? And which is the more popular series?

[dirtyharry]

I'd say for me it will be Sierra. It's just the total feeling about those days when I played the games. True if some people say they didn't have deep plots in the beginning, but it's just the atmosphere of how it all started.

Personally I liked the Quest series, not necessarily implying that I dislike a more deep plot, like Syberia for example. I still miss those days where you could expect a sequel on the Police Quest, Space Quest and King's Quest series every year.

I've heard though that some fans are working on KQ IX.

Check it out: KQ IX

[Mattsius]

As many have said before me it's very hard to compare them. I love them both. Of Sierra's games I would say that the Larry games, the Gabriel Knight games and the Space Quest games are my favorites, but then again I more or less love all LucasArts' games. If I would have to choose one though, I'd probably pick LucasArts, but I voted for both.

[Undertak2000]

King's Quest VI was my first adventure, so I would have to say that it is still my favorite, although shortly after, I found that The Secret of Monkey Island was in the house and played that and had fun...I still did collect all the King's, Space and Police Quest games, they were awesome. I do remember always looking forward to a new Quest game or Sierra game and that was great...now, I hardly ever really look forward to a game. They just suprise me when they're good.

[ChaosFish]

Sierra and LucasArts have different styles.. but I love them both.

[Jony]

I swear, that I was thinking about making such a poll two days ago...
anyways:
Lucasarts because of the Monkey Island franchise.

[Simo Sakari Aaltonen]

If I were to be stuck on a desert island and I could take only one of the companies with me, it would be Sierra, no doubt about it. I can only take so much of LucasArts's cotton candy at a time before I find myself dying for some of Sierra's meat and potatoes; LucasArts is the Disney of adventure game companies. (Which is why the way Escape from Monkey Island poked fun at "family franchises" with its "Planet Threepwood" was pretty ironic - all the jokes were on LucasArts itself...)

Moreover, it's not just the games themselves, but the whole thing Sierra had going. Sierra and its employees, even its founders, were approachable, and it was the kind of environment I would have loved to have worked in myself. LucasArts, on the other hand... Working conditions over there are something of a negative-hued blank to me - again rather like Disney.

Another thing: did you ever hear of Sierra persecuting fan sites, which is what Lucasfilm/LucasArts did? It just didn't happen, and thank the decision-makers at Sierra for that.

The Dig was the only LucasArts game that ever came close to the breadth and depth of the likes of Gabriel Knight, Laura Bow, and Quest for Glory. Thank you, Jane Jensen, Roberta Williams, Lori Ann & Corey Cole, et al. (and Sean Clark for The Dig)!

[Kingzjester]

Originally Posted by Simo Sakari Aaltonen

The Dig was the only LucasArts game that ever came close to the breadth and depth of the likes of Gabriel Knight, Laura Bow, and Quest for Glory. Thank you, Jane Jensen, Roberta Williams, Lori Ann & Corey Cole, et al. (and Sean Clark for The Dig)!

Oh, hey, you have no taste. Dig greatest Lucas Arts game is like saying that tripe is the best part of a cow. Have you even played any of the good ones? If dig and EMI are your paragons of old LEC?

[Erwin_Br]

Originally Posted by Simo Sakari Aaltonen

Moreover, it's not just the games themselves, but the whole thing Sierra had going. Sierra and its employees, even its founders, were approachable, and it was the kind of environment I would have loved to have worked in myself. LucasArts, on the other hand... Working conditions over there are something of a negative-hued blank to me - again rather like Disney.

Are you kidding? LucasArts' environment used to be VERY creative, especially in the early days when they worked on Skywalker Range, George Lucas' big campus. MixnMojo used to have some pretty pictures of the environment, but the lazy bastards have zero content since their last server crash/attack.

Another thing: did you ever hear of Sierra persecuting fan sites, which is what Lucasfilm/LucasArts did? It just didn't happen, and thank the decision-makers at Sierra for that.

LucasArts never persecuted fan sites. They did send cease and desist letters to people who were making fan-games, though. Which is stupid of them, I agree.

The Dig was the only LucasArts game that ever came close to the breadth and depth of the likes of Gabriel Knight, Laura Bow, and Quest for Glory. Thank you, Jane Jensen, Roberta Williams, Lori Ann & Corey Cole, et al. (and Sean Clark for The Dig)!

What about Loom and Grim Fandango?

--Erwin

[Simo Sakari Aaltonen]

Kingzjester: Your attitude could use some work.

You wrote: "Oh, hey, you have no taste. Dig greatest Lucas Arts game is like saying that tripe is the best part of a cow. Have you even played any of the good ones? If dig and EMI are your paragons of old LEC?"

My reply, in several paragraphs: I have an excellent minty taste with chocolaty highlights. Who called The Dig the "greatest Lucas Arts game"? Not I. I referred to its breadth and depth - a completely different thing. Regardless, The Dig is one of the good ones - in my books.

I own and have played and replayed, many times, all the Monkey Island games, Loom, Full Throttle, Maniac Mansion, Day of the Tentacle, Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders, The Dig, Sam & Max, Grim Fandango, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, and Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine (half-adventure). I know these games forwards and backwards. I have also played The Labyrinth, the game featuring the company's first attempt at a point-and-click interface. Zak McKracken was, in fact, the first adventure game I ever played. If I omitted any title, it was an oversight that doesn't mean I haven't played it. My experience with Sierra titles is similarly exhaustive.

Your assumption that my preference for Sierra stems from lack of experience with LucasArts titles is so far off the mark as to be laughable. I do not appreciate the implied insult: that I am talking of things I have no knowledge of.

I have no problem whatsoever with anyone liking LucasArts - in fact, my SO adores the Monkey Island series, and I myself enjoy LucasArts titles - I would not have replayed each of them time and time again if I didn't. The fact remains that I still prefer Sierra over LucasArts. What is your problem with that?

[Marek]

It's funny how many posts confuse the new Sierra with the old Sierra and the new LucasArts with the old LucasArts. Which are we talking about?

[Simo Sakari Aaltonen]

Erwin_Br: My word choice ("persecuting") was indeed poor. Your phrasing is more accurate - not to mention less contentious. However, Lucasfilm/LucasArts did embark on a major cease-and-desist campaign some years back, and it was not limited to sites about fan games. Surely I'm not the only one here who remembers this?

I adore Loom - that game world is up there with that of The Dig in atmosphere and simple beauty. The only reasons I didn't mention Loom along with The Dig were that, due to the special interface, the former didn't have as much depth as the latter. The world was a fairly empty place (like those of most LucasArts titles), with few objects to interact with, and all the conversations were non-interactive.

Grim Fandango I've always found overrated. That's not to say I didn't enjoy many aspects of it, but overall I found the experience unsatisfying: it's just too sterile to be in my personal Top Ten. Except for a couple of later games, Sierra's game worlds were always highly textured and layered - lots of things to manipulate and lots of NPCs to interact with.

As for the working conditions on the Skywalker Ranch, I will take your word on that.

Marek: I'm talking about the old Sierra and the old LucasArts, if by these we mean those companies in the days when they still produced adventure games.

[Kingzjester]

Originally Posted by Simo Sakari Aaltonen

What is your problem with that?

Like all religious fanatics I suffer from the belief that the unbelievers just haven't had anyone explain to them the fine points of my religion, which of course is the only one true one.

Joking aside, saying that LEC games are not as layered or true to themselves as Sierra games is like saying Daniel Defoe, in his utter mediocrity, is a better writer than Jonathan Swift.

[Simo Sakari Aaltonen]

At least you're honest about your religious fanaticism, Kingzjester.

But I never said "true to themselves" (wouldn't know what I meant by it in this context if I had done).

I still prefer the cotton-candy/meat-and-potatoes metaphor, as it best describes my long-term reactions towards the two companies' respective outputs. Nothing wrong with cotton candy - it just works better for me in small doses. Seems I'm in a minority on this one, but then, nothing wrong with that, either.

[Ariel Type]

I don't see a reason to compare them: both made some good and some bad games, both had very good game designers, both became classic. Their games were very different (and not only comparing the companies, but also comparing games incide each one). LA never made something as deep and serious like Gabriel Knight or, say, Laura Bow. And Sierra never made something that original and funny as Monkey Island. Well, Sierra made far more games, then LA, but many of them were shorter and less thought-out then the ones by LA. But well, the fact is that (maybe due to more titles) SIerra "produced" more talanted people than LA. And for me, more interesting titles came from the side of Sierra (again might be due to the fact that there were more of games)...
Nevertheless, I'll vote for 3rd, though I'm not a fan, especcially "huge" Just to bring justice. The only company I can call myself "a fan of" is Legend, which leaves those two far behind it

[Cellardoor]

Originally Posted by Simo Sakari Aaltonen

Moreover, it's not just the games themselves, but the whole thing Sierra had going. Sierra and its employees, even its founders, were approachable, and it was the kind of environment I would have loved to have worked in myself.

Hear! Hear! 8-)

It's this kind kind of atmosphere that has made me interested in not just Sierra's games, but the people behind it and the company as well. LucasArts to me lacks in character, their games aren't much more than games to me. LA game boxes don't include is much goodies that really add flavor to the games like Sierra does. Games like Gold Rush and Conquests of Camelot come with beautiful and detailed maps, GR even has a 90 page history book!

To me, LA games are like the friends I don't know really well, but with whom I love to hang out at times and have some great laughs and good times. Sierra games are like the really good friends that I truly know and appreciate. With them, I don't just laugh and have a good time, but there's also that bond of true friendship. I could never feel that way for my "casual" friends... Or LucasArts games.