Police Quest

1987 · Adventure · PC/DOS

Overview

Police Quest (1987) is Sierra's police adventure by former officer Jim Walls: patrol Lytton as Sonny Bonds, where following procedure is the puzzle.

Deep Dive

Police Quest: In Pursuit of the Death Angel casts the player as officer Sonny Bonds, working patrol and then narcotics to bring down a drug dealer in the town of Lytton, California. Designer Jim Walls, a former California Highway Patrol officer, built real procedure into the puzzles: checking the patrol car, reading suspects their rights and handling evidence correctly are essential, and carelessness can end the game. It was one of the first adventures to aim for realism rather than fantasy.

Developer Story

Police Quest was designed by Jim Walls and Ken Williams at Sierra On-Line in 1987. Walls was a retired California Highway Patrol officer who brought authentic police procedure into game design — players had to follow actual law enforcement protocols or the game would end. Forgetting to buckle your seatbelt, failing to check your weapon, or violating procedure could all kill the player indirectly.

Did You Know?

Jim Walls was a real police officer before designing Police Quest, and authentic police procedure was enforced — ignoring protocol ended the game.
Players who forgot to buckle their seatbelt before driving could be killed in an accident — realistic consequence taken to an extreme.
The game required players to holster and unholster their weapon correctly — gun safety procedure as puzzle mechanic.
Walls left Sierra during work on Police Quest 3; the fourth game, Open Season, was made with former Los Angeles police chief Daryl Gates.

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