And the only way to really win the game was to behave in a reasonably virtuous way according to the rules of the game.

If you’re an Ultima fan, you must remember that Ultima Four was the first time that-especially in the Ultima series, but frankly, I think in any role-playing games on the computer-they went from just being a slog of fighting monsters and collecting treasure to being a game that both espoused virtuous behavior, and also judged you as you played the game as to whether you were playing in a virtuous manner. Do any stories stand out in your mind about your games having that sort of big influence on people?Īctually, it does, and there are a couple of stories, one in particular that I love the occasion to be able to retell, which was shortly after Ultima Four. I imagine that you must hear a lot of stories like that. In college, I actually studied mostly law and ethics, and I really trace my interest in those subjects back to my years spent playing Ultima. Your Ultima games are absolutely my all-time favorite video games, and they really had a big effect on me as a kid. Visit to listen to the entire interview and the rest of the show, in which the host and guests discuss various geeky topics. This interview first appeared on ’s The Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy podcast, which is produced by John Joseph Adams and hosted by David Barr Kirtley. His latest project, the crowd-funded Shroud of the Avatar, is the spiritual successor of Ultima set within a new, engaging world. Garriott went on to create the Ultima series, considered by many the high-water mark of interactive entertainment, as well as Ultima Online, the world’s first MMO. Richard Garriott’s Akalabeth, which he programmed in high school, is one of the first computer role-playing games ever published. People of Colo(u)r Destroy Science Fiction!.

Ultima online spiritual successor