1980s
Space Quest
1986 · Adventure · PC/DOS
Overview
Space Quest is a classic 1980s adventure game developed by Mark Crowe & Scott Murphy for PC/DOS.
Deep Dive
Space Quest is a classic 1980s adventure game developed by Mark Crowe & Scott Murphy for PC/DOS.
Developer Story
Space Quest was designed by Mark Crowe and Scott Murphy at Sierra On-Line in 1986. The duo, known internally as the "Two Guys from Andromeda," created a comic science fiction adventure starring Roger Wilco, a spaceship janitor who accidentally becomes humanity's saviour. The game's self-aware humour, pop culture references, and willingness to kill the player for minor mistakes gave it a distinctive personality.
Did You Know?
- Roger Wilco was deliberately designed as an anti-hero — a janitor, not a warrior, who stumbled into saving the galaxy through accidents.
- Space Quest contained dozens of ways to die, each with a witty narrative obituary — players collected deaths as a perverse achievement.
- Mark Crowe and Scott Murphy wrote the game's script as a comedy duo, often inserting jokes without telling each other.
- The series ran to six games across a decade — the Two Guys from Andromeda became one of gaming's most beloved creative partnerships.
