Jeff Atwood just took me back to 1991. That was the year that The Sierra Networks (TSN) went live. This was a pioneer in online gaming, leveraging several of the characters from the Sierra Online franchise to create a community. The games were all what’s now dubbed "casual", such as cards, board games and mini-golf.

What’s really fun is the inside knowledge I’ve gained by knowing Guy. He grew up in the area where Sierra was founded, Oakhurst, CA. Sierra Online was the biggest thing in that small mountain town and being a bit of a geek, Guy made it his business to get to know the big names such as Ken Williams and Al Lowe.

I met Guy in college and the bond of King’s Quest and Space Quest and Leisure Suit Larry was quick to form. On summer trips to his home, Guy would take me on the Sierra Online tour including the talking bear featured in Jones in the Fast Lane and the water tower duplicated in the map for TSN.

Mytopia is a modern day casual gaming destination that integrates into all of the social networking sites, web2 style. Damn if they didn’t rip off the design of the TSN map down to the style of buildings. At least the water tower was left out.