This small article is very much a product of my recent read of Ken Williams’ absolutely excellent book Not All Fairy Tales Have Happy Endings. Through the book, Williams touches on his and his company’s pioneering work on the online service known as The Sierra Network. In that regard, I thought I’d show the few items in my collection that fit into that category.

As a hobbyist historian, I was more than thrilled when I learned that Ken Williams was writing a book about his and Roberta’s company. Despite the abundance of information available regarding Sierra On-Line, its games, and its designers, particularly from 1985 and onwards, there is a noticeable scarcity of firsthand accounts, especially in relation to the business aspects of the company.

Williams’ new book gives an unparalleled insight into one of the biggest and most beloved software entertainment companies there ever was. It tells the story of a man who wanted his company to be at the forefront of technology and managed to achieve this for the better part of 20 years.
One of Williams’ biggest ambitions was The Sierra Network, Later renamed to The ImagiNation Network. A project that not only was way ahead of its time but also a project that was very dear to Williams’ heart not only as a businessman but as a technologist as well. Williams covers this exciting vanguard venture in great detail in his book, alongside many other exciting memories, thoughts, and facts.

I really love the book, not only for its subject matter and unparalleled insight but because it’s very personal and hasn’t been perfectly revised and conformed by a ghostwriter.

If you haven’t ordered the book yet go ahead, you won’t be disappointed. You can order the paperback here and the Collector Edition Hardback here.

The Sierra Network, first available to the public in 1991, was very much ahead of its time and helped pave the way for modern online experiences.
Ken Williams wasn’t afraid to pioneer new technologies, in fact, he embraced and built products upon them.

Imagination on The Sierra Network, the first online multiplayer gaming network to give subscribers from all across the U.S. a place to enjoy games, make friends, and discuss every thinkable topic.
The virtual community featured a wide variety of games, an electronic post office, numerous bulletin boards, and chat rooms.

The Sierra Network was renamed The ImagiNation Network in 1994 after Sierra partnered up with AT&T, which took over the service.
AT&T sold it off to AOL in 1996, which at the time acquired several other telecommunications companies.
The ImagiNation Network was shut down by AOL in 1998.

Both the paperback and hardback, alongside a digital version of Ken William’s Not All Fairy Tales Have Happy Endings can be purchased from Lulu.com.

Sierra’s Online, a suite of communication tools for computers with modems was released in 1989, the same year the company started developing The Sierra Network.

Steven Levy’s Hackers, Heroes of the Computer Revolution is a must-read. Levy describes the people, the machines, and the events that defined the hacker culture (people who got software and machines to do things otherwise initially not intended), from the early mainframe hackers at MIT to the self-made hardware and game hackers. It tells the story of how people conquered the massive mainframes of the ’60s up till the time when Ken and Roberta Williams conquered the imagination of a generation.