Two Guys from Andromeda
Encyclopedia
"Two Guys from Andromeda
" is an alias for the designers of the Space Quest
series, a popular series of adventure games published by Sierra On-Line
. The two guys consisted of Mark Crowe, who created most of the music and visual art in the early games, and Scott Murphy, who was the bearded programmer.
, and was able to get in touch with the people that made Sierra's games. When he saw the programmers working on The Black Cauldron he knew immediately that he wanted to be a programmer. After some pleading, Ken Williams
added Scott to the Black Cauldron team.
Since his departure from Sierra On-Line, Scott had been reclusive and rarely (if at all) spoke to the media or press about his past with Sierra. Little is known about his current status, though it is known he no longer works in the game industry. He had virtually been silent in the past 10 years. His last known interview was in 2006, in which he spoke quite candidly about his volatile relationship with Sierra and at-times difficult partnership with Mark in creating Space Quest.
and King's Quest II. in 1985 He teamed up with Scott Murphy to co-create the Space Quest Series (I through IV). Mark was also the director for Police Quest I and III.
After Space Quest 4 Mark moved to Eugene Oregon to work Sierra's subsidiary Dynamix, Inc. where he lead the development of Space Quest 5. Mark worked at Dynamix for 9 years creating such notable PC titles as Metaltech:Earth Siege (1 and 2) BattleDrome, Sierra Sports Ski Racing, and others.
Mark continues a long and successful career in the games industry making a transition from PC to console game development in 2001 when he joined the fledgling Pipeworks Studios as Creative Director- reuniting with fellow ex-Dynamix employees who founded the new studio. There he was the creative force behind the Godzilla brawler series (1, 2 and 3), Night at the Museum: Battle for the Smithsonian (an action adventure game)along with several other games before becoming the Studio's Design Director.
Little Known Facts:
, the "Two Guys from Andromeda" enter the Space Quest universe as internal game characters. They appear as unwilling employees of a game company where they created the games Astro Chicken and its sequel Ms. Astro Chicken. They are forced to work at ScumSoft by the Pirates of Pestulon until Roger Wilco rescues them. Roger brings them to Earth
where Ken Williams
hires them to work at Sierra, creating the Space Quest series. The characters also appeared in Space Quest 1 VGA and Space Quest 4 as cameo characters.
After Black Cauldron was finished the "Two Guys" wanted to work on an idea of their own, a science fiction
story starring a janitor
named Roger Wilco. After proving their idea could be fun, by creating a four room demo, Ken Williams let them finish the game. That short demo became the beginning of Space Quest I: The Sarien Encounter. Space Quest I was the first game that Scott and Mark used their pseudonym
.
The first four games in the series were designed by both Crowe and Murphy. After Space Quest IV, the team split up, and Space Quest V was designed solely by Mark Crowe. Space Quest 6 was designed by Josh Mandel, although later work on the project was done by Scott Murphy, making Mandel the "third guy from Andromeda".
There were also rumours of a "Gal from Andromeda", Leslie Balfour (a.k.a. Apollonia Jones), who was the co-designer with Scott Murphy on the cancelled Space Quest VII project at Sierra.
When appearing as the "Two Guys", Crowe and Murphy wore mohawk wigs, sunglasses and animal-like snouts (which were presumably Andromedan attributes). The game package for Space Quest III included a cardboard Andromedan snout. Neither Crowe nor Murphy appeared in the Andromedan disguise in the last two games' packaging; it may be that they no longer considered themselves "guys from Andromeda" since the team had disbanded.
Andromeda (constellation)
Andromeda is a constellation in the northern sky. It is named after Andromeda, the princess in the Greek legend of Perseus who was chained to a rock to be eaten by the sea monster Cetus...
" is an alias for the designers of the Space Quest
Space Quest
Space Quest is a series of six comedic science fiction computer games that follow the adventures of a hapless janitor named Roger Wilco, as he campaigns through the galaxy for "truth, justice and really clean floors"....
series, a popular series of adventure games published by Sierra On-Line
Sierra Entertainment
Sierra Entertainment Inc. was an American video-game developer and publisher founded in 1979 as On-Line Systems by Ken and Roberta Williams...
. The two guys consisted of Mark Crowe, who created most of the music and visual art in the early games, and Scott Murphy, who was the bearded programmer.
Scott Murphy
Scott Murphy was first hired in "dealer returns" and eventually ended up running Sierra's entire support department. During the mid-80s, Scott spent some time working QAQuality Assurance
Quality assurance, or QA for short, is the systematic monitoring and evaluation of the various aspects of a project, service or facility to maximize the probability that minimum standards of quality are being attained by the production process...
, and was able to get in touch with the people that made Sierra's games. When he saw the programmers working on The Black Cauldron he knew immediately that he wanted to be a programmer. After some pleading, Ken Williams
Ken Williams (gaming)
Ken Williams is an American game programmer and co-founded On-Line Systems, which later became Sierra On-Line, together with his wife Roberta Williams. Roberta and Ken married at the age of 19 and have two children...
added Scott to the Black Cauldron team.
Since his departure from Sierra On-Line, Scott had been reclusive and rarely (if at all) spoke to the media or press about his past with Sierra. Little is known about his current status, though it is known he no longer works in the game industry. He had virtually been silent in the past 10 years. His last known interview was in 2006, in which he spoke quite candidly about his volatile relationship with Sierra and at-times difficult partnership with Mark in creating Space Quest.
Mark Crowe
Mark Crowe was hired in 1983 and first used his illustration skills creating packaging and game documentation before moving onto early Sierra releases like Winnie the Pooh in the Hundred Acre WoodWinnie the Pooh in the Hundred Acre Wood
Winnie the Pooh in the Hundred Acre Wood was a single player adventure game created by Sierra On-Line. It is based on the character Winnie the Pooh.-Plot:...
and King's Quest II. in 1985 He teamed up with Scott Murphy to co-create the Space Quest Series (I through IV). Mark was also the director for Police Quest I and III.
After Space Quest 4 Mark moved to Eugene Oregon to work Sierra's subsidiary Dynamix, Inc. where he lead the development of Space Quest 5. Mark worked at Dynamix for 9 years creating such notable PC titles as Metaltech:Earth Siege (1 and 2) BattleDrome, Sierra Sports Ski Racing, and others.
Mark continues a long and successful career in the games industry making a transition from PC to console game development in 2001 when he joined the fledgling Pipeworks Studios as Creative Director- reuniting with fellow ex-Dynamix employees who founded the new studio. There he was the creative force behind the Godzilla brawler series (1, 2 and 3), Night at the Museum: Battle for the Smithsonian (an action adventure game)along with several other games before becoming the Studio's Design Director.
Little Known Facts:
- Mark designed Sierra's distinctive halfdome logo.
- Was co-designer of the original Leisure Suit Larry In The Land of the Lounge Lizards: Mark conceived and created of all of the background art, animation and visual gags.
- Designed and created the paper sculpture artwork for the Leisure Suit Larry I, II and III box covers- which visually solidified Larry's persona for the rest of the series.
- Also designed and illustrated the original Space Quest I and II box covers.
In Space Quest
In Space Quest IIISpace Quest III: The Pirates of Pestulon
Space Quest III: The Pirates of Pestulon, the third game in Sierra Entertainment's Space Quest series, was released on March 24, 1989, and was developed using an early version of Sierra's SCI engine.-Plot:...
, the "Two Guys from Andromeda" enter the Space Quest universe as internal game characters. They appear as unwilling employees of a game company where they created the games Astro Chicken and its sequel Ms. Astro Chicken. They are forced to work at ScumSoft by the Pirates of Pestulon until Roger Wilco rescues them. Roger brings them to Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
where Ken Williams
Ken Williams (gaming)
Ken Williams is an American game programmer and co-founded On-Line Systems, which later became Sierra On-Line, together with his wife Roberta Williams. Roberta and Ken married at the age of 19 and have two children...
hires them to work at Sierra, creating the Space Quest series. The characters also appeared in Space Quest 1 VGA and Space Quest 4 as cameo characters.
The "Two Guys" are formed
Scott and Mark's first project together was the Black Cauldron. Mark was already creating graphics for the game when Scott was added as a programmer. Scott slowly became the only programmer on the project: "I put in a lot of free time over a summer spending nights out at his house debugging Black Cauldron. And then I ended up being the only one working on it. After a while, Ken and Al Lowe bailed out on me. So I got Black Cauldron shipping, and I was hooked."After Black Cauldron was finished the "Two Guys" wanted to work on an idea of their own, a science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
story starring a janitor
Janitor
A janitor or custodian is a professional who takes care of buildings, such as hospitals and schools. Janitors are responsible primarily for cleaning, and often some maintenance and security...
named Roger Wilco. After proving their idea could be fun, by creating a four room demo, Ken Williams let them finish the game. That short demo became the beginning of Space Quest I: The Sarien Encounter. Space Quest I was the first game that Scott and Mark used their pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
.
The first four games in the series were designed by both Crowe and Murphy. After Space Quest IV, the team split up, and Space Quest V was designed solely by Mark Crowe. Space Quest 6 was designed by Josh Mandel, although later work on the project was done by Scott Murphy, making Mandel the "third guy from Andromeda".
There were also rumours of a "Gal from Andromeda", Leslie Balfour (a.k.a. Apollonia Jones), who was the co-designer with Scott Murphy on the cancelled Space Quest VII project at Sierra.
When appearing as the "Two Guys", Crowe and Murphy wore mohawk wigs, sunglasses and animal-like snouts (which were presumably Andromedan attributes). The game package for Space Quest III included a cardboard Andromedan snout. Neither Crowe nor Murphy appeared in the Andromedan disguise in the last two games' packaging; it may be that they no longer considered themselves "guys from Andromeda" since the team had disbanded.
Sightings
The "two guys from Andromeda" made a few cameo appearances here and there in other Sierra games. For example, in Quest for Glory I, the guild master mentions that he had received help fighting antwerps from "two strange foreigners" who "said they were from Andromeda, and they sure were strange." In the Sierra game Conquests of the Longbow: The Legend of Robin Hood, the two guys are present at the Fair, trying to think of a good name for themselves ("two guys from Notingham? nah")See also
- Space QuestSpace QuestSpace Quest is a series of six comedic science fiction computer games that follow the adventures of a hapless janitor named Roger Wilco, as he campaigns through the galaxy for "truth, justice and really clean floors"....
- Ken WilliamsKen Williams (gaming)Ken Williams is an American game programmer and co-founded On-Line Systems, which later became Sierra On-Line, together with his wife Roberta Williams. Roberta and Ken married at the age of 19 and have two children...
- Roberta WilliamsRoberta WilliamsRoberta Williams is an American video game designer. She is most famous for her pioneering work in graphical adventure games, particularly the King's Quest series.-Career:...
- Al LoweAl LoweAl Lowe is an American musician and game designer/programmer who developed several adventure games, mostly for Sierra On-Line. He is best known for his creation of Leisure Suit Larry and the long-running series it spawned....
- Jim WallsJim WallsJim Walls is a retired police officer, who in 1971 joined the California Highway Patrol. He retired after 15 years on the force after a shooting incident that left him traumatized....
- Lori Ann ColeLori Ann ColeLori Ann Cole is a game designer, often in cooperation with her husband, professional game programmer Corey Cole. Their team was later named Transolar Games. Lori also maintains a photography and Web design studio known as FAR Studio....