Jim Walls

Jim Walls
Occupation(s)	Game designer, writer, programmer, voice actor
Years active	1987–2003
Known for	Police Quest series

Jim Walls is an American game designer renowned for developing the acclaimed Police Quest series of adventure games for Sierra On-Line.

Walls served as a California Highway Patrol officer from 1971 until 1986. During this period, he connected with Sierra president Ken Williams, who aimed to create a police procedural adventure game. Although Walls was initially inexperienced with computers, he leveraged his law enforcement background to contribute significantly. At Sierra, he was responsible for designing the first three installments of Police Quest as well as Codename: ICEMAN.

After leaving Sierra in the early 1990s, Walls collaborated with other studios such as Tsunami Media in 1992 and Westwood Studios in 1996 before retiring in 2003. In 2013, he sought to revive the franchise through Precinct, a spiritual successor to Police Quest, but the crowdfunding effort did not meet its goal.

Early life

Walls grew up in California and spent seven years working as an optician before graduating from the California Highway Patrol academy in December 1971. In 1984, he was involved in a shootout during a traffic stop that resulted in post-traumatic stress symptoms and led to administrative leave in 1985. After fifteen years of service, he retired from the CHP in 1986.

Sierra On-Line

While on administrative leave in 1985, Walls was introduced to Ken Williams, co-founder and president of Sierra On-Line, through his then-wife Donna. Williams wanted to develop a police procedural adventure game with genuine input from someone with law enforcement experience. Although Sierra had produced various adventure titles such as the fantasy-themed King's Quest and the sci-fi Space Quest series, they had few games set within contemporary police environments. After Walls retired from the CHP in 1987, he and Williams transformed their concept into a short story that ultimately became the storyline for the inaugural Police Quest, which was then expanded into a detailed game design document.

Despite his initial unfamiliarity with computers, Walls overcame this challenge with assistance from Sierra designers including Ken and Roberta Williams, Mark Crowe, Scott Murphy, and Al Lowe. The Police Quest games were heavily influenced by Walls' experiences with the CHP; its main character Sonny Bonds was loosely inspired by Walls' son, and many scenarios were based on real-life events from Walls' career.

The first title, released in 1987 as Police Quest: In Pursuit of the Death Angel, prioritized authenticity and accurate police procedures. Walls regarded fan letters from both active law enforcement officers and aspiring police personnel as an important indicator of success. He continued to develop subsequent titles including Police Quest II: The Vengeance (1988), Codename: ICEMAN (1989), and Police Quest III: The Kindred (1991). Throughout the series, Walls made cameo appearances via in-game database entries and cutscenes.

After completing Police Quest III, Walls left Sierra. The franchise continued under former LAPD Chief Daryl F. Gates, who relocated its setting from the fictional city of Lytton to Los Angeles.

Post-Sierra

In 1992, Walls joined Tsunami Media, a company mainly composed of ex-Sierra employees located in Oakhurst. His time there was brief; he contributed solely to the 1993 release Blue Force, which served as a spiritual successor to the Police Quest series. Subsequently, Walls worked on projects for Tachyon Studios and Philips Interactive Media that ultimately were not published.

In 1996, Walls was hired by Las Vegas-based Westwood Studios to assist with the development of the 1997 title Blade Runner. He later obtained a full-time design position at Westwood and contributed to the creation of Pirates: The Legend of Black Kat and Earth & Beyond, both released in 2002. Following Westwood's acquisition by Electronic Arts in 2003 and its subsequent merger into EA Los Angeles, Walls along with most employees were laid off.

Precinct

On February 2, 2013, Walls revealed intentions to create a follow-up to Police Quest, with plans to finance the project through Kickstarter. By July 16, 2013, the initiative was officially introduced as Precinct, a 3D adventure title spearheaded by Walls alongside Sierra veteran Robert Lindsley under the banner Jim Walls Reloaded. The storyline follows police officer Maxwell Jones operating in Fraser Canyon, California.

The Kickstarter campaign aimed to raise $500,000 but was terminated prematurely on August 6 due to inadequate funding. A later open-ended fundraising effort also failed to attract significant support, eventually collecting under $7,000 before being discontinued.

Games

Year	Game title	Developer/publisher	Role(s)
1987	Police Quest: In Pursuit of the Death Angel	Sierra On-Line	Designer, writer
1988	Police Quest II: The Vengeance	Sierra On-Line	Designer, writer
1989	Codename: ICEMAN	Sierra On-Line	Designer
1991	Police Quest III: The Kindred	Sierra On-Line	Designer
1993	Blue Force	Tsunami Media	Designer
1997	Blade Runner	Westwood Studios/Virgin Interactive	Designer, programmer, voice actor
2002	Pirates: The Legend of Black Kat	Westwood Studios/Electronic Arts	Designer
2002	Earth & Beyond	Westwood Studios/Electronic Arts	Designer