| 词条 | Ken Williams (game developer) |
| 释义 |
| name = Ken Williams | image = | image_size = | caption = Ken Williams (right) and Jim Henson, circa 1982 | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1954|10|30|mf=yes}} | birth_place = | death_date = | death_place = | children = 2 | occupation = Game programmer, entrepreneur | spouse = Roberta Williams | website = {{URL|kensblog.com}} }} Ken Williams (born October 30, 1954) is an American retired game programmer who co-founded On-Line Systems together with his wife Roberta Williams. On-Line Systems eventually became Sierra On-Line and was ultimately renamed Sierra Entertainment. The couple were leading figures in the development of graphical adventure games. At its height, Sierra employed nearly 1,000 people prior to its acquisition in 1996. HistoryEarly yearsWilliams was born in October 30, 1954 and is from Simi Valley, California. Ken and Roberta's early contributions to the computer game industry were partially chronicled in the book Heroes of the Computer Revolution. He wrote the textbook Apple II Computer Graphics,[1] and articles for Softline.[2] Sierra On-Line{{Main|Sierra On-Line}}Williams and wife Roberta co-founded On-Line Systems in 1979. Sierra's notable online service, the ImagiNation Network, was purchased by AT&T in 1994.[3] Williams was the president of Sierra until the company was sold to CUC International in July 1996, but he remained with the company leading its strategic direction until November 1997. Vivendi (now Activision Blizzard after the Vivendi Games and Activision merger) currently holds the Sierra name.[4] In his role as Sierra's CEO, Williams focused on innovation: "I'm not sure how typical I am of other CEOs ...most of my time is spent looking at product ... To me, everything is about being able to build awesome product ... Any game which does not push the state of the art leaves an opportunity for a competitor's game to look better."[5] In Sierra's later years, the company's focus had shifted to publishing many titles from other studios, including Valve's Half-Life. Commenting on first-person shooters, Williams recalls, "By the time I decided we wanted into the genre, we were too far behind. With 20/20 hindsight, I blew it when I had the chance to buy id and didn't ... Valve was the first group I had spoken with that could put Sierra in front of id."[6] Williams has cited Microsoft and The Walt Disney Company as influencing Sierra's business model. "These two companies were our role models. I read every book written on both companies. I did everything to try to understand how they thought, and how they did business."[7] Recent yearsWilliams is no longer active in the computer game industry. He focused on writing, and managing a Web site construction tool called Talkspot,[8] which aimed to redefine how small businesses communicate with their customers on the Internet. He has published three books on boating, talking about his worldwide cruising along with his wife Roberta on their 68-foot Nordhavn trawler. In addition, he publishes a blog about cruising, Ken's Blog.[9] DepictionsWilliams's trademarks have been his mustache and hair. His appearance has inspired Sierra's designers for some sprites, honoring Williams with cameo appearances in some games. One of these "incarnations" is the chief Keneewauwau of the Nontoonyt natives and Williams, the annoying joke teller (both appearing in Leisure Suit Larry games), as well as a whipper of "scumsoft" in Space Quest III, and Kenny the Kid in Frontier Pharmacist. Personal lifeKen married Roberta Williams at the age of 19. They have two children, D.J. (born 1973) and Chris (born 1979). The Williams family has homes in Seattle, France and Mexico.[10] References1. ^{{cite book |last1=Williams|first1=Ken|first2=Bob|last2=Kernaghan|first3=Lisa|last3=Kernaghan|first4=Gregory|last4=Paul Steffen|location=Bowie, MD|publisher=R.J. Brady Co.|date=1983|isbn=0893033154|oclc=9465136|title=Apple II Computer Graphics}} 2. ^{{cite news | url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1981&pub=6&id=1 | title=Apple II Graphics: An Inside Look | work=Softline | date=September 1981 | accessdate=13 July 2014 | author=Williams, Ken | pages=8}} 3. ^{{cite web |author=Associated Press |year=1994 |url=http://www.apnewsarchive.com/1994/AT-T-Buys-On-line-Service-Opens-New-Communications-Unit/id-9f81a7348c6edf0b1be8728555ea923d |title=AT&T Buys On-line Service, Opens New Communications Unit |accessdate=September 18, 2012}} 4. ^{{cite web |author=IGN Staff |year=2008 |url=http://ca.ign.com/articles/2008/07/10/vivendi-and-activision-complete-transaction-to-create-activision-blizzard |title=Vivendi and Activision Complete Transaction to Create Activision Blizzard |accessdate=July 10, 2008}} 5. ^{{cite web |first=Jess|last=Morrissette |year=1999 |url=http://www.adventureclassicgaming.com/index.php/site/interviews/125/ |title=Ken Williams (1999 ACG Interview) |accessdate=September 18, 2012}} 6. ^{{cite web|first=Geoffrey |last=Keighley |year=1999 |url=http://www.gamespot.com/features/halflife_final/part24.html |title=GameSpot's The Final Hours of Half-Life |accessdate=September 18, 2012 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/19990508130942/http://www.gamespot.com/features/halflife_final/part24.html |archivedate=May 8, 1999 }} 7. ^{{cite web |first=Philip|last=Jong |year=2006 |url=http://www.adventureclassicgaming.com/index.php/site/interviews/197/|title=Ken Williams (2006 ACG Interview) |accessdate=March 29, 2006}} 8. ^TalkSpot 9. ^Ken's Blog 10. ^Sierra gamers, Sierragamers. External links
7 : 1954 births|American computer businesspeople|American video game designers|American people of Welsh descent|Place of birth missing (living people)|American video game programmers|Living people |
| 随便看 |
|
开放百科全书收录14589846条英语、德语、日语等多语种百科知识，基本涵盖了大多数领域的百科知识，是一部内容自由、开放的电子版国际百科全书。