Ken Williams

Ken Williams
Williams, Kenneth A.
Born	October 30, 1954 Evansville, Indiana
Occupation	Founder, Software Developer

Career

Ken Williams is a pioneering American computer programmer, entrepreneur, and author, best known as the co-founder of Sierra On-Line, one of the most influential companies of the early personal computer era. Born in 1954, Williams began his career as a programmer in the 1970s, working on minicomputers for clients in industries like utilities and insurance. His fascination with the emerging personal computer market would soon change the course of his life—and the game industry.

In 1979, while experimenting with his new Apple II computer at home, Ken discovered that his wife, Roberta Williams, had become intrigued by the text-based adventure game Colossal Cave Adventure. Roberta envisioned a more immersive experience— one that combined interactive storytelling with graphics. Encouraged by her idea, Ken programmed her first concept, a haunted house mystery titled Mystery House. It was released in 1980 and became the first graphical adventure game for home computers.

To distribute the game, the couple founded a company called On-Line Systems, operating out of their home in Simi Valley, California. Ken handled the technical and business aspects, while Roberta wrote and designed games. They packed and shipped floppy disks by hand, sometimes assembling boxes at their kitchen table.

Mystery House was a surprise hit, selling over 10,000 copies and laying the groundwork for what would become the adventure game genre. Building on that success, the company released additional titles such as The Wizard and the Princess (1980) and Mission: Asteroid (1980), all using increasingly sophisticated graphics and storytelling techniques.

In 1982, the company relocated to Oakhurst, California, and was renamed Sierra On-Line, reflecting its new headquarters near the Sierra Nevada mountains. By this time, Ken had grown the company into a serious software publisher, expanding beyond adventure games to educational software, productivity tools, and even early experiments in online gaming.

One of Sierra’s most important breakthroughs came in 1984, when IBM approached Ken to develop a showcase title for its new PCjr home computer. The result was King’s Quest, a groundbreaking animated adventure game with full-color graphics and an innovative parser interface. Ken oversaw the development of the AGI (Adventure Game Interpreter) engine that powered the game, enabling Sierra to create a new generation of interactive adventures.

Throughout the 1980s, under Ken’s leadership, Sierra thrived as a hub of innovation, releasing genre-defining series such as:

King’s Quest (Roberta Williams)
Space Quest (Scott Murphy and Mark Crowe)
Police Quest (Jim Walls)
Leisure Suit Larry (Al Lowe)
Hero’s Quest / Quest for Glory (Lori and Corey Cole)

Ken focused not only on publishing successful games, but also on fostering creative freedom and technical advancement. He invested in cross-platform engines, internal development tools, and a proprietary game engine that kept Sierra ahead of its competitors in an increasingly crowded marketplace.

By the early 1990s, Sierra had become a publicly traded company with hundreds of employees and studios across the U.S. and Europe. Ken's ambition and business vision turned Sierra into an empire— one that merged storytelling, art, and programming into an emerging art form.

In 1996, Ken and Roberta sold Sierra to CUC International. Although Ken initially stayed on as a C-level executive, he soon left the company and the industry altogether, disillusioned by the direction of corporate ownership.

After retiring from software, Ken and Roberta spent years sailing the world. In the 2020s, Ken re-engaged with the game community, publishing a memoir titled Not All Fairy Tales Have Happy Endings (2020), a candid and detailed account of Sierra’s rise and fall. In 2022, he and Roberta made a surprise return to game development with Colossal Cave 3D Adventure, a modern reimagining of the game that originally inspired them.

Ken Williams remains a legendary figure in the history of video games—an innovator who helped transform games from simple pastimes into an expressive, narrative-driven medium.

List of major works

Ken Williams

Career

List of major works

External links