Girl Power 2

Women at the Pinnacle

That final title, Gabriel Knight 3: Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned would be the last adventure title released by Sierra. Sierra now exists in name only, while most of its major properties sit idle. The women of Sierra are no longer under one roof, scattered by time and circumstance.

Lori and Corey Cole founded Transolar Games, mainly as a way to support fans of the Quest for Glory series. Lori said she and Corey have attempted to regain the license to their series over the years with little success. While Lori admits she doesn't find much time for gaming, she does enjoy the occasional game of World of Warcraft, and still throws around the D20 now and then. Corey is now employed with game design company Visual Concepts.

Ken and Roberta have sworn off the industry completely, spending much of their time sailing. In 2005, Ken published Crossing an Ocean Under Power, the story of his and Roberta's journey across the Atlantic.

In addition to continuing to write, Jane Jensen is more directly involved with the industry, creating casual games like Inspector Parker and BeTrapped for Oberon Media. She suggested that changing demographics in games could create a new audience for titles like the ones she, Cole and Williams created.

"I get a lot of letters from women and older people who want a great story, a beautiful environment to explore, and who hate shooters and 'twitch' games - this is the adventure game audience, and fortunately, the [size] of this demographic ... has been growing steadily," Jensen said.

While Vivendi Universal Games (which now owns Sierra) and the developers may have moved away from the games connected to the company's former glory, the rabid Sierra fan base has not. Some are so desperate, they've begun creating their own unofficial entries into the series, like Hero6 or The Silver Lining.

Few of the fan projects share the same aesthetic as their inspirations; many have even changed the name. What remains are the same things that drove Sierra at its inception: The desire to delight, to transport and to entertain.

That is the legacy of Sierra, one that's still synonymous with the name, no matter how the brand may be used. In the end, it's largely the legacy of a handful of women, willing to look beyond, willing to see not only what games were, but what they could be.

Justin McElroy is the news editor of The Ironton Tribune and a freelance gaming writer. He lives in Huntington, W.Va. with his fiancee, Sydnee.