richardgarriott
Latest
Lord British still likes WoW
Rich Garriott, aka Lord British, aka one of the grandfathers of MMO gaming and even gaming in general through the Ultima series, has fallen on some tough times lately. His latest attempt to re-enter the MMO market, Tabula Rasa, was recently cancelled, and with that, so was his job at NCSoft. Still, according to computerandvideogames.com, he says he's ready to bounce back and get right into the gaming market. But on a more topical note, he says something in the article about World of Warcraft, praising them for their phenomonal growth and saying that they have "shown us all what good game development is about." Certainly, most of us here, I would think, would strongly agree with that statement. But it is fun to compare and contrast this statement to somewhere around a year ago. Back then, he said that he didn't believe WoW would hurt Tabula Rasa's sales, because MMORPGers generally play a game or two at a time and move on after a year or so.
Today's most labyrinthine video: Lord British's house
Fans of real physical spaces inspired by video game logic might enjoy this ten-minute feature on Richard "Lord British" Garriott's home. He calls it "Brittania Manor" (appropriately enough), and the house has enough trap doors and hidden rooms to earn it a feature of Home & Garden's "Secret Spaces" television program.It's an adventurer's dream house, only made possible by the deep pockets of one of the industry's most revered designers. As much as we covet the house, we have to wonder how good the security is, since it has fallen victim to theft in the past.[Via GameSetWatch]
General British wants you for a trivia contest
To celebrate the successful launch of Tabula Rasa, the folks at NCsoft have set up a surprise in-game event ... for tonight! General British / Richard Garriott will be on-hand for the AFS Sci-Fi Trivia Contest to be held in-game throughout the evening, and across the servers. The release alerting us to the event included this quote from the man himself: "I wanted to quickly do something fun in-game as a thank you to the players who have made this such a smooth launch. We have continued NCsoft's track record for incredibly successful launches and player interest and excitement is higher than we expected in both North America and Europe. The battlefields are full of players taking down Bane invaders & we're having a blast kicking alien butt."No word on where in-game you'll be able to play, but one can only assume details will be given out in the public channels. Here are the times for each server: Centaurus 1pm – Central Pegasus – 6pm Central Orion – 8 pm Central Cassiopeia – 9pm Central Bring your trivia caps and you could find yourself winning some credits. Good luck!
Tabula Rasa ends six-year wait with Oct. 19 release
Tabula Rasa is more than just the best episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, it's also the new Richard Garriott MMORPG product being published by NCSoft, which revealed last night that the game will finally arrive on Oct. 19, after being announced in 2001.If you're among those who pre-ordered the game you'll get early entry on October 16. Not only will you get a few days ahead of your buddies in terms of experience, you can also be among the first to create overly-convoluted acronyms for common in-game objects. Could you imagine being the guy who created the next "LFG" or "SoW plz"? It could happen!
NCSoft hints at PSP plans
In an interview with Joystiq Brian Clayton, Executive Producer at NCSoft, gave a vague hint at possible ways that the PSP will be utilised by them in the future. While nothing concrete could be said (NCSoft are keeping very tight lipped about their devlopments for the Sony platforms), he did say that "we see a number of opportunities with the PSP as a standalone MMO or as an extension to our full-blown MMOs on PC and PS3. "Using the PSP to allow users to access certain components of MMOs is a no brainer. Sony are even doing it with Home. Full blown MMORPGs on the PSP, though? That we'd like to see. Clayton goes on to list the problems inherent in creating such a game. Lack of buttons, communication and screen real estate all need to be thought through before it can happen. But it will happen. We're intrigued to see what they come up with. Particularly regarding "communication".
Joystiq interviews NCSoft's Brian Clayton and Richard Garriott
Whilst at the Develop Conference last month we, unfortunately, managed to miss our meeting with NCSoft's Richard Garriott. Thankfully we have still been able to get our questions answered via email. The majority of the following are responses by Brian Clayton, Executive Producer at NCSoft, who was directly involved with the Sony partnership. Richard Garriott answers the final two questions on MMO design. Why choose to develop exclusively for Sony in the console market? Brian: Sony has shown a commitment to developing robust console hardware with strong longevity which is crucial to any viable MMO console strategy. In addition, Sony understands that our MMO business model is different than the traditional console model and is giving us the flexibility to develop and publish AAA MMOs. We feel that together our strategic partnership will offer console gamers an experience that can't be matched anywhere else.
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.
Does the industry need to give WoW competition?
Right now WoW stands as the big boy on the online gaming scene. It will take quite a bit to close the gap between it and the other -- some could argue the inferior -- titles. Mark Ward at BBC News wrote an article on the subject of competition to World of Warcraft last week, and it raises some interesting issues. Mark interviewed Funcom game director Gaute Godoger, the man responsible for the upcoming Age of Conan MMO. Gaute believes that competition is needed for WoW because it has such a stranglehold on the market right now. Normally, I would have to agree with him, since competition breeds innovation. But in the case of Blizzard, they are competing with themselves for innovation, which is why WoW constantly comes up with new and fresh concepts and content that other games strive to copy. From where I sit, the company appears to be driven by the internal desire to put forth the best game possible, and so I see little in the market today that would have the potential to actually compete with their ethic.
Lord British likes WoW
Well, okay, maybe he doesn't *like* it like it, but Richard Garriott (aka Lord British) certainly appreciates the existence of the World of Warcraft. In an article I came across over at the WoW Vault on IGN, the creator of the Ultima series, and the Ultima Online MMO, discusses his feelings on the juggernaut that is WoW. The article quotes an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, where Garriott states, "We commonly get the question, is World of Warcraft a big competitor that might hurt our sales? It really turns out to be quite the opposite." He then goes on to comment that MMO players typically will only play a game or two at a time, but then move on after a year. I've been happily playing WoW since February of 2004, so I'm into my third year of the game, and nothing else has caught my eye in the MMO market. There are a couple of games on the horizon, but of the folks I'm playing WoW with, the majority have been around from the get-go. Are we just crotchety old-timers who won't admit that the average player only sticks around for a year? Is what Lord British says true? Did any of you ditch other MMO's to come to WoW, or have you ditched WoW for other MMO's after playing for a year?
Lord British Defies Blizzard's Throne
Longtime gamers will immidiately recognize the name of Richard Garriott, a.k.a. Lord British, creator of the original Ultima series & MMO pioneer. After several years out of the spotlight, Garriott has teamed up with NCSoft, makers of CIty of Heroes & Lineage, for a new MMO called Tabula Rasa. In this audio interview from TGDaily.com, the Lord talks about his vision for a next-generation MMO and why he doesn't fear competing with Blizzard's juggernaut.I've played Garriott's games for around 20 years now, in one form or another, and I'd love to see him at the forefront of online gaming again, but a lot of things have changed since Ultima Online, and it will be curious to see how Garriott's new venture fares. The interview can be found here.
MMO design: the job of creating worlds
Decisions over how long burning rivers should stay aflame for can have a profound impact upon the atmosphere and enjoyment factor of a virtual landscape. This, and many other decisions like it, is how Richard Garriott spends his time these days -- as executive producer for Tabula Rasa, he has to help craft a variety of planets. World-building isn't a new hobby; fantasy authors and tabletop GMs have been facing questions like this for years, and often throwaway comments cause a lot of trouble for those making film adaptations or video game versions of the world. Creating a world from scratch for gaming means that all the important questions need to be answered at once, however, or the players will ask them. It doesn't stop at the design stage; game companies are providing governments, too, by creating laws and rules on the fly.Universes created primarily by users, like the world of Second Life, still operate within boundaries and constraints set down by the developers and providers of that world. If the Metaverse idea is really the future of online gaming, there's going to be a lot of influence exerted by some early decisions, just as early networking protocols and standards still influence today's Internet.[Via Walkerings]
