We’re excited to share another meaningful milestone in the journey of Legends of Adventure: The Story of Sierra On-Line, as well as a first look at some of our rewards and a sneak peek at the doc's official soundtrack!
The Music of Legends of Adventure
Music was always an integral part of the games that Sierra On-Line produced. In fact, you can probably hear that iconic Sierra fanfare in your head as you read this!
Given the company’s strong musical identity and the memories that so many gamers associate with the sounds of Sierra, we knew that the score for the Legends of Adventure documentary would be an incredibly important piece of the puzzle.
It’s one of the reasons we approached Castle If, also known as Jess Forrest, an amazingly talented Toronto-based composer known for her retro futuristic electronic music. Forrest, who favours a Moog Voyager synthesizer, frequently utilizes vintage production techniques and other analog sources in her compositions. This throwback approach to music composition is not unlike the way that some of the original Sierra game music was created and produced in the 1980s and 90s, so we knew that Forrest’s music would be able to help us evoke a certain time and place that lives in the hearts of adventure game fans.
We recently chatted with Forrest about her experience working on Legends of Adventure and how she approached composing music for the documentary.
What’s been something that’s surprised you about working on this project?
Forrest: “My introduction to the Sierra On-Line fanbase has been, hands down, the best part about working on Legends of Adventure!”
Castle If's original track for our first-look teaser trailer
Tell us about your approach to composing a score for a documentary about Sierra and its games.
Forrest: “My main goal with the soundtrack is to create something that feels fresh and exciting while also tapping into a subconscious nostalgia for the original games. Of course, the score needs to support Ken and Roberta's story, but I also wanted to write music that would resonate with the fans who helped build the Sierra empire in the first place.”
We’re so excited to be collaborating with Forrest on this project. She has already composed more than a dozen tracks for the film and will continue her work in the months to come as we inch closer to completion.
Backers: Visit the “Backer-Only” update section below to hear an exclusive sneak preview of the first track from the Legends of Adventure OST before anyone else!
Rewards Update: Pins
While finishing the film has obviously been our biggest priority, we’ve also been hard at work on producing some of the many rewards that our backers will receive once the project is completed.
Here’s a sneak peek at the exclusive commemorative enamel pin set that all backers who supported at the Blu-Ray Quest Plus level and above will be receiving, as well as those who purchased the standalone 10 Pin Ultimate Fan Collection add-on.
We’re really happy with how these pins turned out and we can’t wait to start seeing them out in the wild.
We will be sending out backer surveys in the coming months to confirm pledge levels and shipping info, so that we can start sending all of these goodies out as soon as possible.
Post-Production Progress
A sneak peek at the film's editing timeline – please note the footage has not yet been color corrected.
We’re happy to report that the four hour plus rough cut of Legends of Adventurethat we told you about a few months ago is now closer to the feature length goal of around two hours. It’s now really feeling like the movie that we originally envisioned – and that we've been able to produce with your support.
Editing the documentary has been a long but exciting process with new insights and story beats emerging as we continue to shape the film. We deeply appreciate the community’s patience with this process as we all want to make the best film possible. We remain on track to complete the film in 2026 with official release plans to be announced soon.
We have recently added another professional archivist to the team to help us make the most of all the incredible archive materials we have and maximize their impact within the film. This is an important step towards making this the rich, material-filled story that we all want to see.
We’re also adding another award-winning editor to begin work on a trailer for the doc. We’re hoping to be able to privately share that with our backers as soon as that’s ready!
Thanks!
Once again, we’re thankful to our amazing backers for your continued support and patience as we work hard to bring this important story to life. Things are progressing very quickly now, so stay tuned for more frequent updates throughout the remainder of the year!
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!
Long time! My apologies for being a little quiet the past couple of months. Pre-production is officially in full swing, and things have been moving fast!
There is a lot happening behind the scenes right now as we prepare to film Fablehaven, but I wanted to share a few updates with you.
We'd like to sincerely thank everyone who contributed to this result!
There are still 5 days left until the crowdfunding campaign ends. If you'd like to take this opportunity to order "The Little Trashmaid" volumes and contribute to the pilot episode, you can still do so!
The more budget we have available, the more confident we can be on the project!
