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Tag Archives: Roberta Williams

The Forgotten Side of 1990s PC Horror

Retro Replay collage of Alone in the Dark, Phantasmagoria, and I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream screenshots with The Forgotten Side of 1990s PC Horror headline

The horror genre is experiencing a renaissance. Games that gave us nightmares have had the remake treatment, with Silent Hill and Resident Evil leading the charge. But underneath the flashiness of Unreal Engine graphics and spine-chilling voice acting, it's easy to forget our roots. As kids growing up in the 90s, we saw the rise of some of the first full-motion video games, which integrated live action to add realism. This realistic vantage… Read more

Roberta Williams Interview: From Mystery House to a Life of Adventure

Smiling Roberta Williams with Mystery House, King’s Quest and Phantasmagoria panels in a red, yellow, black and cream Retro Replay cover

Interview by David Becker, Retro Replay. Roberta Williams couldn't leave Colossal Cave alone. A puzzle would follow her to bed, and she couldn't rest until she'd worked it out. She had loved stories since childhood, but here was one she could move through, question, and get hopelessly stuck inside. After finishing it, she bought large sheets of white poster paper and began working out a mystery of her own. That became Mystery… Read more

The Complete History of Phantasmagoria

The Complete History of Phantasmagoria cover with Adrienne and the mansion in a distressed red yellow and black collage

The house is enormous, the view is lovely, and Adrienne has room to write. Her husband can work on his photography. There is even a little town nearby when they need something. For a few minutes, Phantasmagoria looks like a particularly ambitious property purchase. Then you begin opening doors. Sierra had been putting suspicious houses on computer screens for fifteen years when Phantasmagoria arrived in 1995. This one was different. A filmed… Read more