It's been a busy past few months, so we’re excited to share another meaningful update about the journey of Legends of Adventure: The Story of Sierra On-Line with you and reveal what's coming next.
We're still targeting a 2026 release for the documentary – and as you'll read below we've made a lot of progress towards that goal!
Recently Completed Interviews
We are pleased to announce that our most recent round of interviews included conversations with:
Josh Mandel,a designer and producer at Sierra On-Line and the voice of King Graham, who helped craft the tone and humour of some of the company's most beloved games. Josh spoke from the heart about his experience at Sierra, calling it "the best four years of his life."
Mark Seibert, a composer, director, and producer at Sierra, who helped establish the sound that set Sierra's adventures apart. His vantage point revealed how Sierra stayed on the cutting edge of multimedia storytelling, and we're so happy to have interviewed him!
Laine Nooney, an Associate Professor of Media Industries at NYU and one of the foremost scholars on the history of the early computer and games industries in the United States. Laine has researched and written about Sierra On-Line extensively, and will help the viewer understand why Sierra mattered, how it succeeded, and why it still resonates so strongly today.
Marcus Mera, theco-producer of Ken and Roberta Williams' recently released remake of Colossal Cave, which brought them out of retirement. As a fan and collector of Sierra On-Line games himself, he gives us a window into why the Williams' returned to gaming after decades away from the industry.
Each interview subject brought thoughtful perspectives and their own unique personal experiences to the story, and we are grateful for their participation.
Post-Production Progress
A behind-the-scenes shot of our editor's desk – where the magic happens!
We are now deep into post-production and have nearly completed an assembly cut of the film. This is the first rough version of the film where every scene, interview, and story beat is placed in order from start to finish.
For the first time, we are able to watch the story unfold from beginning to end. It's been an incredible experience seeing the tale of Sierra On-Line – as well as years of work by our team – finally take shape on screen. This has been a long journey and though there is much more work to be done, we're so thrilled to see it starting to come together.
Next Steps: Final Interviews
A very dedicated collector recently showed us some classic On-Line Systems computer games in person
With the assembly cut nearly completed, we're still working to schedule a few very exciting final interview subjects and we're working diligently to make these conversations happen. We're excited to reveal who these people are when we're able to confirm their participation!
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Thank you again for your continued support, enthusiasm, and patience as we work to tell the story of Sierra On-Line and the remarkable people behind it. We look forward to sharing more soon, including an exclusive backer-only look behind the scenes as the film continues to take shape. Be sure to follow us on Blueskyand Instagram for day-to-day updates on the doc and more!
We're here today with a very special update marking one year since Legends of Adventure: The Story of Sierra On-Line was successfully 100% funded on BackerKit!
With the generous support of our backers, we went on to exceed our original goal and our own expectations. It was an important day for the team because it was the day we officially knew that we were going to get to tell this incredible story and do it in a way that was worthy of the subject matter. So thank you again for making this possible!
Documentary Progress Report
It's been a year full of progress on the project – almost two dozen amazing interviews, over 40 hours of footage, hundreds of pieces of archival material sourced, and almost a month spent on the road by our team – and there's so much more to come.
Interviews continue (more on that in the "Backer Only" section below) and we're now deep in post-production with work on a first assembly cut well underway, as well as the film's score and main title design.
We're excited to share more news on this front in the coming months, but for now we want to give you a sneak peek at one of the highlights of our last production road trip...
Inside the Williams' Oakhurst Home
As mentioned in our last update, the previous production leg brought the LOA team to Oakhurst, California – home of Sierra On-Line's headquarters from the early 1980s until 1993. The majority of the Sierra team lived in and around the area during this time, including co-founders Ken and Roberta Williams.
After some early successes at Sierra and around the time that development on the original King's Quest began, Ken and Roberta decided to build a home in Oakhurst. With six bedrooms, five and a half bathrooms, two kitchens, a bar and game room, and indoor volleyball court, the palatial house was unlike anything else in the region and a tribute to what they'd built at Sierra so far.
Home to the Williams' young family, more than a few wild company parties, and the development of some of Sierra's most beloved games, today the house remains largely the same as when it was first built, complete with stained glass referencing early Sierra titles like Mystery House, The Wizard and the Princess, and The Dark Crystal.
Take a look inside the Williams' Oakhurst home below:
So if you're planning a trip to the Yosemite area in the near future or want to relive the glory days of Sierra On-Line with a big group of friends, the owners of the property have provided us with a discount code – SIERRADOC10 – that can be used until the end of 2027 to book the house on loveyosemite.comfor 10% off.
Once again, we're incredibly grateful to all the backers for their support and for coming along with us on this wild journey. Follow us on Blueskyand Instagram for updates on the documentary and more!
We still have a cool early bird perk running - all backers who pledge within the first 48 hours will get their name in the SPECIAL thank-you section of the pilot episode credits AND a mystery poster - no matter the pledge level!!
As for the cover poll - A WON!!
The ratio was 3:2 with A as the most popular choice! Thank you to everyone who voted and cheered us on - the development was a rough one but your kind words helped SO much - I was re-reading them a lot!! :') You can find your names in the trailer's credits, as promised -
Let's make this show happen!
P.S. I'll be including the B option cover as a poster reward for the backers!
Hiya, so PART ONE of the WLCW Pilot is out on Youtube! But some people were having issues with YT compression and frame skipping... we did our best to polish everything up in time before the Backerkit campaign ended.
This vertical slice was largely rushed in the last 4 weeks so we'd have "something" to show for the series, however it is NOT the Pilot that the Backerkit was meant to fund, it's more so "what we would've gotten done" if WLCW continued at a much smaller independently funded scale. It's also not the first episode chronologically and is more so an experimental self-contained episode...
I've noted some feedback that weeee really need to hire more animators + pace out the Episodic plots much better. Though please keep in mind that this is effectively "the last" small-scale WLCW production where I do like the vast majority of the key animation, as I will be delegating myself to overseeing the overall series production, storyboards, and design.
Ah also, another thing, a large amount of Backers from the Backerkit pledged to have their names in the credits but since they haven't been charged yet, we have not put your names in the credits at the moment. However they WILL be in the full episode release and home media versions.
Regardless, Thank you to everyone who has supported and who has continued to support WLCW now and into the future.
We will be trying to make something cooler and on a professional scale in the future, starting with the WLCW Shorts planned for later this summer. Gay Bomb and Psychic Arms Race were delayed due to the campaign's unprecedented scope required, and we will be aiming to release these by August at the latest, as well as pushing forwards with The British, + The Warsaw Pact that same month with a full expanded team of animators.
See you guys soon! I'm going to be taking a week-long break to do some thinking, reorganizing, but tentatively our internal schedule to restart production on WLCW is July 13th! We onboarded 2 dozen new staffers and we really hope to deliver something cool to you guys soon!
WE'VE REACHED 2,500 FOLLOWERS ON THE PRE-LAUNCH PAGE!!!!!
And, as promised, here's a glimpse of the new character of the series: Vicky Jun, aka Ricky's sister.
She's twenty years old and works in the cafe “The StarFish” on the seaside, where most of the customers are tourists.
She has a powerful character and quickly gets mad at Ricky when he causes trouble.
Vicky has a strong feeling of protection towards him since she is raising him by herself. She is passionate about punk rock music and has a beautiful voice.
Want to know more? Follow the project and support it on launch day (17th July)! As each milestone is reached, we'll share more information about the world of The Little Trashmaid!
Now on to the next goal: REACH 3000 FOLLOWERS ON THE PRE-LAUNCH PAGE!!!
We’ve been heads-down for 4 months - redesigning, recomposing, rewriting… it’s all leveled up, and we’re genuinely excited to show you the campaign:)
But the main event is a new trailer!! I've already hidden a few screenshots from it in our BackerKit updates, plus some behind-the-scenes & polls! All the good stuff is there - check it out ;) ;)
All the news aside, here's a fun one: We need your vote. Like, really need it.
We have 2 cover options and they are biting each other's ankles. Whichever cover gets the most votes will be the face of our campaign & trailer!!
So vote and we’ll add your name to the credits!
Here’s how it works: Follow TABOO on BackerKit → you’ll instantly unlock an exclusive prequel comic.
Read it to the end and check out a secret poll. Options A and B are still neck and neck. One single vote could tip the whole thing!!
The comic vanishes on 5th of July. If you want your name in those credits, jump in now! ;)
Thank you so much for following and backing our previous campaign - we’d love to have you back with us again!
We are actively reaching out name talent, and we want know which actors your think would make the PERFECT Grandpa Sorenson, Grandma Sorenson, and Muriel? Who do you see in your head? Comment on this post and let us know!
