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Space Quest: The Sarien Encounter

Last updated: January 16, 2026

Overview

Space Quest: Chapter I – The Sarien Encounter is a graphic adventure game developed and published by Sierra On-Line, released in October 1986 for MS-DOS with subsequent ports to Apple II, Apple IIgs, Amiga, Atari ST, and Macintosh12. Designed by Mark Crowe and Scott Murphy—who became known as “The Two Guys from Andromeda”—the game casts players as Roger Wilco, a lowly janitor aboard a research spaceship who must stop an alien race from using a stolen superweapon for evil purposes13. Space Quest was an instant hit, selling in excess of 100,000 copies and earning the SPA Gold Medal from the Software Publishers Association in fall 198841. The game’s combination of science fiction setting, sardonic humor, and frequent humorous death scenes established a distinct identity that set it apart from Sierra’s fantasy-themed adventures5.

Story Summary

Within the Earnon galaxy, Roger Wilco is a janitor aboard the scientific spaceship Arcada, which holds a powerful experimental device called the Star Generator16. Roger emerges from an on-duty nap in a broom closet to find the ship has been boarded and seized by the sinister Sariens, who have stolen the Star Generator—a device that could cause untold disaster in their hands16.

Acquiring a keycard from a dead crew member’s body, Roger flees the ship in an escape pod moments before the Arcada self-destructs1. The pod crash-lands on the planet Kerona, a dry, barren wasteland1. Roger defeats a spider-droid that the Sariens dispatched to eliminate him and is greeted by a mysterious figure in a cave system who offers help if he kills a monstrous creature called Orat1.

After Roger succeeds in the task, the figure supplies him with a skimmer craft to help him reach the town of Ulence Flats, where he can find a new ship1. There, Roger gambles on slot machines in a cantina to acquire the money needed to buy a spaceship, along with a navigation droid to pilot it1. During this time, he learns from a bar customer the location of the Sariens’ spaceship, the Deltaur1.

Roger boards the Deltaur and secures a Sarien disguise1. He programs the Star Generator to self-destruct and escapes the ship just before it explodes1. At the end of the game, Roger’s efforts are rewarded when he receives the Golden Mop as a token of eternal gratitude from the people of Xenon1.

Gameplay

Space Quest was created using Sierra’s AGI engine and featured a pseudo-3D environment, allowing the character to move in front of and behind background objects16. The game uses 16-color graphics at 160×200 resolution41.

Interface and Controls

  • The primary means of input is through a text parser for entering commands and arrow keys for moving Roger around the screen1
  • The Amiga, Apple IIgs, Atari ST, and Mac versions offer basic mouse support for movement1
  • The original 1986 version lacks pull-down menus; all options must be typed manually or accessed through function keys1
  • The 1987 rerelease added pull-down menus implemented in later AGI games1

Structure and Progression

  • The game takes place across multiple locations: the Arcada spaceship, the desert planet Kerona, the town of Ulence Flats, and the Sarien ship Deltaur1
  • Players collect items and use them in correct situations or with specific characters4
  • The game awards points for most actions Roger performs, with a maximum of 202 points7
  • Some tasks have multiple solutions, though the game may grant fewer points for simpler solutions7

Puzzles and Mechanics

  • Copy protection requires coordinates found only in the manual for the escape pod and ship navigation8
  • The original AGI version used key disk protection requiring insertion of the original floppy on startup8
  • The game features numerous death scenes, many presented with sardonic humor and witty commentary from the narrator5
  • Players can name their character, though “Roger Wilco” became the de facto name used in later games1

Reception

Contemporary Reviews

Space Quest was a significant commercial success upon release, selling in excess of 100,000 copies—believed to be around 200,000 copies total not including compilations41. The game earned the SPA Gold Medal from the Software Publishers Association in fall 19884. The original game retailed for $49.994.

Modern Assessment

Adventure Gamers rated the game “Good,” calling it “undeniably flawed, yet undeniably fun” and “perfect for classic adventure lovers and sci-fi fans,” praising its humor, charm, and the way dying becomes part of the fun, while noting the game is very short with multiple dead-end opportunities9. Retro Freak Reviews recommended the remake over the original, citing improved humor, art, animation, and music10. Hardcore Gaming 101’s retrospective praised the series’ off-kilter sense of humor and sardonic death scenes, noting that “at least if you do something wrong, it tends to garner a chuckle”5.

  • Adventure Gamers: Good9
  • MobyGames: 69% critics2
  • GOG: 4.3/5 (577 ratings, collection)11
  • Steam: Very Positive (312 reviews, collection)12
  • HowLongToBeat: 3 hours main story13

Development

Origins

Mark Crowe and Scott Murphy teamed up while working on The Black Cauldron project at Sierra314. During that project, they discovered their shared love of science fiction and decided to develop a space adventure14. Crowe had been working in Sierra’s Art Department since 1983, designing packaging and manuals, while Murphy was a programmer interested in more creative work314.

Other adventure games at Sierra featured noble heroes, but Crowe and Murphy wanted something different: “What if this guy was just your average Joe, forced into the hero role? He gets lucky sometimes, and does the right thing, but he’s nobody special”14. The premise may have been inspired by Infocom’s Planetfall, whose player-character is also a lowly crew member performing menial labor aboard a spaceship5.

Crowe created four rooms of graphics while Murphy wrote a basic storyline, and they pitched the concept to Ken Williams14. They showed Ken just the first four rooms—the library and elevator sequence—and he approved the project15. The game was originally developed under the working title “Star Quest,” but the name was already in use by another company and was changed before release4.

Major influences included Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey (Murphy said it “changed how I thought about a lot of things”), Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke, Rocky and Bullwinkle, Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide, Gary Larson’s Far Side, and B. Kliban1516. The “Two Guys from Andromeda” moniker came from two sources: Crowe was inspired by “Two Guys from Italy” restaurant chain, while Murphy drew from a department store name16. Ken Williams gave them latitude on parodies, reportedly telling them: “If you guys don’t mind paying lawyers’ fees, you can put whatever you want in your game”15.

The desert planet Kerona was named after the designers’ favorite beer at the time17. Mark Crowe composed the original theme song in addition to creating all the graphics17. A printing error on the original box had the film inserted backwards, mirroring the Sierra half-dome logo in the background—Murphy later noted “there are only a few thousand of them out there, collectors items maybe?”17

Technical Achievements

  • Used Sierra’s AGI (Adventure Game Interpreter) engine with 160×200 resolution and 16 colors41
  • Pseudo-3D environment allowing characters to move in front of and behind objects1
  • Sound through PC internal speaker; Tandy 1000, PCjr, and Amiga computers heard a three-voice soundtrack41
  • Apple IIgs version featured a fifteen-voice soundtrack with notably richer sound18
  • First Space Quest game to contain digitized voice in the form of the alarm system at the beginning1
  • Along with King’s Quest III, was the first Sierra game to feature pull-down menus (in the 1987 rerelease)19
  • Released October 1986 for MS-DOS, with ports to Tandy 1000, PCjr, Apple II, Apple IIgs, Amiga, Atari ST, and Macintosh126
  • The Amiga version used an extended color palette compared to other platforms6
  • Fully supported in ScummVM since version 0.10.06

Unused Content

Data mining has revealed several cut elements from the game20:

  • Debug mode: Pressing Alt+D enables developer functions including teleportation, inventory manipulation, and variable editing
  • Unused graphics: Three static Sarien guards with a beefier design than the final version; early frames showing Orat examining the dehydrated water can before eating it (suggesting a “GIVE CAN” command was planned); an older Star Generator keypad lacking the enter button
  • Cut items: A “Life Detector” (removed entirely in version 2.2); “Pocket Lint” as a joke item (this gag later appeared in Leisure Suit Larry, where Larry’s lint description asks “why is this stuff in every adventure game?“)
  • Coding bug: Guards were supposed to appear 21% of the time in the starting room but never spawn due to a coordinate check error
  • Version differences: Multiple releases (1.0x, 1.1a, 2.2) contain different content, with some unused code and items removed in later versions
  • Hidden easter egg: A Sarien guard near the elevators on the Deltaur will eventually ask if you own King’s Quest II; typing “yes” awards 6 bonus points. This was secretly programmed by Ken Williams himself while Scott Murphy was staying at his house to finish the game—Murphy was reportedly upset that Ken awarded points for what was essentially a plug for another Sierra game21
  • Removed easter eggs: In early versions (pre-2.2), typing “ken” on the Arcada would make Ken Williams walk onto the screen complaining the game was behind schedule; typing “scott” or “scott murphy” displayed a personal message from Scott Murphy asking players to write him at Sierra17
  • Hidden easter eggs: Behind Droids-B-Us in Ulence Flats, typing “take leak” rewards 5 buckazoids with a humorous message (not in version 1.0X); traveling to a specific desert location (E,E,N,N,E,E from the escape pod) and waiting causes a meteor to crash directly on Roger22

Legacy

Space Quest spawned five sequels and a VGA remake, establishing one of Sierra’s most beloved adventure game franchises5. The series became known for its satirical take on science fiction tropes, with references and parodies of works ranging from Star Trek to Star Wars5. The narrator became one of the most amusing elements, offering sarcastic commentary on Roger’s every action5.

The “Two Guys from Andromeda” became Sierra’s most recognizable design duo after Roberta Williams, and their self-referential humor would become a hallmark of the series—particularly in Space Quest III, where players rescue the actual game designers from captivity5. By March 1996, combined sales of the Space Quest series surpassed 1.2 million units4.

Collections

This game has been included in the following collections:

  • Space Quest: Collector’s Edition (a.k.a. Roger Wilco Unclogged)23
  • Space Quest: Collection Series23
  • Space Quest 1+2+311

Downloads

Purchase / Digital Stores

Download / Preservation

Manuals & Extras

Series Continuity

References

Footnotes

  1. Sierra Fandom Wiki – Space Quest: The Sarien Encounter (AGI) – plot, technical details, versions ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11 ↩12 ↩13 ↩14 ↩15 ↩16 ↩17 ↩18 ↩19 ↩20 ↩21 ↩22 ↩23 ↩24 ↩25 ↩26 ↩27 ↩28 ↩29

  2. MobyGames – Space Quest I – Oct 1986; 69% critics; DOS/Amiga 1986, Atari ST/Mac/Apple II 1987; Sierra On-Line developer/publisher ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7

  3. Dynamix Fandom Wiki – Mark Crowe – designer biography, development history ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  4. SpaceQuest.net – Space Quest 1 Game Information – sales figures, original packaging, release details ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11 ↩12 ↩13

  5. Hardcore Gaming 101 – Space Quest – retrospective analysis ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8

  6. ScummVM Wiki – Space Quest – platforms include MS-DOS, Tandy 1000, PCjr, Apple II, Apple IIgs, Amiga, Atari ST, Mac; AGI support since ScummVM 0.10.0; Amiga used extended palette ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9

  7. WiW – Space Quest Point List – complete point list ↩ ↩2

  8. PCGamingWiki – Space Quest: The Sarien Encounter – technical specs, fixes, copy protection (AGI uses CPC Copy Protection DRM, floppy disk check, manual lookup) ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  9. Adventure Gamers – Space Quest I – review, “Good” rating, pros/cons ↩ ↩2

  10. Retro Freak Reviews – Space Quest I DOS – modern retrospective, recommends VGA remake over original ↩

  11. GOG – Space Quest 1+2+3 – purchase, user reviews ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  12. Steam – Space Quest Collection – purchase, user reviews ↩ ↩2

  13. HowLongToBeat – Space Quest I – completion times ↩ ↩2

  14. WiW – Two Guys from Andromeda Interview – development history, design philosophy ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  15. Virtual Broomcloset – Mark Crowe Interview – development origins, influences, Ken Williams quote on parodies ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  16. Virtual Broomcloset – Scott Murphy Interview – influences, Two Guys name origin, development history ↩ ↩2

  17. Space Quest FAQ – Kerona naming, theme song composer, box art error, removed easter eggs ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  18. VGMPF Wiki – Apple IIGS – Ensoniq 5503 DOC chip with 32 oscillators, 15 stereo independent voices ↩

  19. Sierra Fandom Wiki – King’s Quest II – 1987 re-release added pull-down menus based on KQ3 AGI engine ↩

  20. The Cutting Room Floor – Space Quest I (1986) – debug mode, unused graphics, cut items, version differences ↩

  21. Space Quest Historian – 11 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Space Quest – Ken Williams easter egg, development trivia ↩

  22. SpaceQuest.net – Space Quest I Easter Eggs – hidden content, “take leak” reward, meteor crash location ↩ ↩2

  23. Sierra Chest – Space Quest I – Sierra history, collections, platforms ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  24. Internet Archive – Space Quest: The Sarien Encounter – preservation, historical versions ↩

  25. My Abandonware – Space Quest I – platforms, availability ↩

  26. Sarien.net – Space Quest I – JavaScript AGI interpreter, browser-based gameplay with multiplayer ↩

  27. Virtual Broomcloset – Publications Archive – manuals, hint books, pack-in feelies ↩ ↩2

  28. Wikipedia – Space Quest I – encyclopedia article (linked in Downloads section) ↩

  29. Sierra Help – Space Quest 1 AGI – patches, technical help ↩

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