Richard Garriott calls for MMO devs to innovate

Speaking at the Develop Conference, game designer Richard "Lord British" Garriott (Ultima series) called for innovation in the field of MMO games.

"Game design has not changed over 10 years. Fundamentally the gameplay is unchanged," he said, referring to his 1997 Ultima Online title that arguably laid the framework for modern-day MMOs. He later added, "We owe it to consumers to provide new kinds of gameplay."

Garriott lamented on the prevalence of level grinding in current titles and emphasized the importance of artificial intelligence as the genre moves forward. We can think of at least nine million people who enjoy the current state of MMOs. Garriott has laid down the gauntlet; time will tell if his latest project, the oft-delayed Tabula Rasa, will advance the genre.