"A schism in the body social, will not be resolved by any scheme of a
return to the good old days (archaism), or by programs guaranteed to
render an ideal projected future (futurism), or even by the most
realistic, hardheaded work to weld together again the deteriorating
elements. Only birth can conquer death-the birth, not of the ol...d thing
again, but of something new." Richard Garriot quoting Joseph Campbell from Hero With A Thousand Faces on the question if he could reacquire origin systems from EA 2001
Sounds a lot like us doesn't it? Pining for some semblance of UO in any modern MMO only to be let down at every turn. Sadly I think this quote summarizes any true path for us to pursue when thinking about future gaming.
Anyways, I digress, I was looking at my old CD-Rom collections taken from various magazines such as Next Generation and PC Gamer coupled with demos given out from EB Games, etc. I found these interviews taken 12 years ago and decided to share them with you on youtube along with an interview taken from Richard in 2001 about Ultima and Origin Systems.
Here are the links to those videos..
Vintage Footage:
YouTube - Random Ultima Online Vintage Footage
Ultima Online Commercial:
YouTube - Original Ultima Online Commercial
Richard Garriot interviewed by Next Generation: Topic: Challenges in building an online world
YouTube - Richard Garriot Next Generation Interview 1
Richard Garriot interviewed by Next Generation: Topic: Evolution of communities on Ultima Online
YouTube - Richard Garriot Next Generation Interview 2
Richard Garriot interviewed by Next Generation: Topic: The "Hulkster" Incident
YouTube - Richard Garriot Next Generation Interview 3
Richard Garriot interviewed by Next Generation: Topic: Ultima Online: Support of Social Events
YouTube - Richard Garriot Next Generation Interview 4
Richard Garriot interviewed by Next Generation: Topic: Roman Numeral 2
YouTube - Richard Garriot Next Generation Interview 5
Fun facts:
He is the one person who coined the term MMORPG.
He got his nick name Lord British when he attended college he greated everyone with hello instead of Hi (as was common on the campus) he was quoted to sound proper and British so everyone started calling him British.
Interview:
Lord British, we hardly knew ye
Richard Garriott speaks about his years with Origin and what went wrong
Posted on 4/13/2001
Although you'd never know it by talking with him, Richard Garriott belongs to the truly "old school" of game design. His continued passion belies the duration of time that he's been in the industry, and his boyish exuberance, while just a bit less frenetic than a few years ago, still abounds.
Garriott has been around seemingly since the beginning of time, or at least since the Silicon Dark Ages of the 1970s. During the latter part of the decade, he created his first commercial game, Akalabeth (which he has described as having been "packaged in Baggies and sold out of the trunk of my car"). Eventually he and his brother Robert founded Origin Systems-the "We Create Worlds" folks. Shortly thereafter, Garriott introduced the first Ultima game, which enjoyed eight sequels and which spun off Ultima Online, the first graphically sophisticated (in its time) massively multiplayer online RPG and its satellite products.
Lord British in the flesh...and the flames.
The leading character of the Ultima games is one Lord British, named after a character that Garriott played in his pen and paper Dungeons & Dragons days. Garriott has adopted that moniker for himself and has been known to refer to himself in third person as "Lord British." Said a certain attorney from a certain holiday film of yore that starred young Natalie Wood and a nice old man with whiskers, "You call yourself Judge Harper and no one questions your sanity because you are Judge Harper." In the same vein, no one questions Richard "Lord British" Garriott's sanity either-well, almost no one.
He left Origin last March, with a trail of products behind him and a few in the making. Origin has since cancelled its most recent project Origin (a/k/a Ultima Online 2), and everyone wondered what would become of Origin without Garriott, or he without it.
I met Garriott some years ago, and the energy that surrounded him was contagious. It still is, and will probably always be a part of him (as will that signature braided pigtail). The last time we met, he informed me that his one year NDA with Origin was about to expire, and when that occurred, he was planning to immediately sell his stock and share his thoughts with us about his days at Origin and his future plans-in that order. On that note, here's what Lord British had to say.
Why did you leave Origin?
After years of doing Ultima Next, I was eager to do something not called Ultima. I had been designing a new non-Ultima title for years and even assembled the team to build it, when the unexpected massive success of UO sucked up all the company resources. Eventually, it became clear that no non-Ultima Online product was going to be developed. As obviously interested as I am in Ultima, I needed to be doing something new.
Was it your decision alone?
No. The EA-placed General Manager, Jack Heistand, and I did not see eye to eye, about how to pursue Origin's future. We agreed that a common future was unlikely.
What changes took place at Origin to finalize your decision to leave the company?
After it was clear that I could not build a non-Ultima game, I briefly pitched doing some mid-sized games for EA.com. EA only wanted java ap style mini games-another strategy I do not support. Finally, they suggested I return to UO2. In my mind the UO2 team had worked for years to prove themselves and take UO2 in a new non-Richard Garriott direction. If I had returned to UO2, it would have meant that I would likely want to remake it into a "Richard Garriott game," which would have been a disservice to the team and the ship date.
How do you feel about seeing the company you founded still in operation without you?
Well, seeing UO do so well and the key staff on it flourishing is still a real kick! Alternatively, seeing how the rest of Origin has now been largely dismantled and shut down is disappointing. EA has thrown out a very valuable business unit-which I hope to demonstrate very soon!
Are there any key decisions during your time at Origin that you would have changed?
Yes. EA acquired Origin to be their PC saviors. As such, we grew the company very quickly, too quickly. We did not manage the growth well, and soon after began the downward spiral of EA yearly layoffs and budget reductions-a cycle we never escaped.
Do you have any regrets about you years there?
Few. It was great to be a part of building a new industry from scratch. Origin played a pivotal role in the development of PC games, RPG games and Online games. Who could ask for more than that?
Do you wish that you could regain the helm at Origin once again?
We fantasized about buying Origin back from EA. I feel we could have made it run much better. However as Joseph Campbell says in Hero With A Thousand Faces: "A schism in the body social, will not be resolved by any scheme of a return to the good old days (archaism), or by programs guaranteed to render an ideal projected future (futurism), or even by the most realistic, hardheaded work to weld together again the deteriorating elements. Only birth can conquer death-the birth, not of the old thing again, but of something new." [Yeah. What he said.]
To that end, we will pick up the pieces and start again. I believe that we have the right idea, the right time, and the right people to do it again!
If you did have to do it all over again, would you sell Origin to EA, or try to remain independent?
Origin was too small as the 10th largest game company, to go it alone. It was feast and famine when platform shifts would happen. Origin did well by EA for a time, but in tough times, EA and Origin never figured out how to work well together. It seemed that Origin just became a place that EA would place a new GM for a year as training and then return them back to California. It was difficult to get traction with few GM's lasting more than one year.
Do you think that when Chris Roberts' Wing Commander games were released, that an overly-inflated budget standard was introduced?
No. They were already going up. Chris just led the pack!
What is your new company and what are its plans?
Our new online games company has yet to be announced. I expect we will have full details to disclose soon though. We are finalizing some key business relationships.
A lot has changed in the games industry over the last couple years. Are you worried about not knowing what the market expects these days? Do you feel at all as though you've been "out of the loop?"
I knew that if I stayed out too long that would be the case. Strangely, the "state of the art" thinking seems to have progressed little. (Sadly) However, it has been great for me to sit out and rejuvenate, and think about the craft. I believe devoutly that my thinking has evolved in a healthy way. I feel more confident I can create the right next generation plan.
Ultima Online retrospect fun thread..
Linear Mode
