Interview with Richard Garriott "Lord British"!!!!
Posted March 24 1:40 PM by Graham Wihlidal
If there was one person who you would attribute to where you are today, who would it be and why?
Richard felt that there were too many instrumental people throughout his life that attributed to where he is today, so he listed three people. The first person he mentioned was his mother, who taught him art and took on very large projects which helped inspire him to do big things. The next person he mentioned was Claire Harmon, who was his theatre teacher and who taught Richard to be extroverted and expressive. The final person he mentioned was Bill Budge who, around the time Richard put out Akalabeth, was writing 3D-ish games for the Apple II in asm, so Bill inspired Richard to push the limits of technology in his work.
With Akalabeth, you handled all aspects of development. As the years progress, more and more direct development of your games has been placed in the hands of other people under your direction. What challenges, if any, do you face when trying to deliver your vision?
Richard started off by talking about how Ultima 1-4 were done entirely by himself which was easiest to get his vision across. Surprisingly he said that Ultima 5 was one of the hardest because he had a staff of 5, but most of the people didn’t have the drive or dedication to his vision, so he would be given work that was what the other people wanted, and he often had to revise things many times to get things just right. As time progressed, Richard stated that things got easier, but more complicated at the same time. Everyone is on board with his vision, and is putting everything into it, but technology is progressing at an exponential rate. With his latest games, Richard serves two main roles. His first role is that of design, where he feels that he has a unique skill for back story, language, and culture. The second role is that of communication, where he delivers his primary vision to the development team.
Where do you get your inspiration and drive from?
He started off by describing how he is a synthesizer, and pulls little pieces of information from all over. He says that he collects kernels of thoughts from all these sources such as games, movies, and the real world. One useful information source for him are B movies, because even though they are generally poor movies overall, there is almost always one fundamentally good idea that the movie is based around. After finding these kernels of thought, he then pursues deep research on the subject in order to understand all aspects of the idea. Richard has an extensive library with everything from history or art styles, to costume design and cosmetology.
How does it feel to have been given this year’s Lifetime Achievement award?
As an initial feeling, Richard feels very honored. On the other hand, it points out that he has been doing this stuff for quite a long time. He started writing games when he was 14, and was published by the time he was 19. Around that time there were not many people in the industry, and as time progressed and people entered the industry they were always younger. Now at 44, it seems like it was not that long ago, and gives him cause to reflect on the years.
This year you are doing a draw for a signed copy of 1 of the first 15 Akalabeth games from before you were picked up by a publisher. This is very generous of you, and I was wondering where the decision came from to part with such a sentimental item?
Richard described how he is a packrat, and has every piece of memorabilia dating back to when he got into computers. Pieces like incomplete manuals that were never stapled, disk labels never used, print outs from paper tape machines, design docs, and even a working Apple II machine that he had used to write Akalabeth on. He feels that this particular piece of memorabilia was a suitable offering for business cards that people were dropping off at his booth.
If you could go back in time and alter a decision made on the Ultima series, what would it be and why?
Half way through the development of Pagan, there were scope cuts to meet the shipping date. These omissions resulted in the game being incomplete in terms of storyline and design. This mistake hurt Ultima 8, and also Ultima 9, since the story had to continue into the next game.
With Ultima 8: Pagan, the game got rid of the party concept and went back to the lone hero approach. Why was this game play shift made?
The shift was made to account for the game being oriented around real-time action. This kind of game play would very quite awkward with a party, since the game play was fast paced. The goals for U8 were akin to Diablo, as Pagan was essentially “Diablo before Diablo”.
I’ve always wondered something, ever since I was a kid growing up on the Ultima series. In Ultima 6: The False Prophet, there was a spell you could learn near the end of the game that, when cast, would kill everyone in the game including your party, all friendly NPCs, and all hostile NPCs. In the end you and Lord British were the only people left, and he – you – refused to talk with the player. I was wondering why such a crazy spell was introduced. Was it to make the player feel extremely powerful, yet have to make spell choices wisely, or was there a different reason: game design based or otherwise?
The Ultima games from 4-9 gave people the opportunity to make decisions and live with the consequences. If you stole reagents from the shop keeper you would be able to, but if you ended up getting caught the shop keeper refused to sell you reagents for the rest of the game that’s your problem. The same goes for that spell. Richard feels that humanity has the ability to destroy the Earth, and we recognize this power, and choose not to do so (we hope).
You started with Origin and built the Ultima series. Then with your new venture, cleverly named Destination Games, do you feel that you have learned from past mistakes and successes and you have now arrived at a position where you can start over and do things even better than the very successful Ultima series?
The business is getting much more complicated, and at a rate that developers cannot keep up with. Richard does not feel comfortable in this situation, and does not believe that lessons learned in the past arm him, or anyone for that matter, enough to tackle the future. There is a liability being entrenched in old ways. You may have a young and bright developer that has a better solution, but you are hesitant or unwilling to try it because of how you handle things.
Traditionally, your games have been solo player, whereas Ultima Online and Tabula Rasa are MMOs. In terms of business, what were your motivations to go after this play type; as well, what are the game play opportunities that arise from doing so?
Richard is still very excited about the prospect of solo player, though skill at solo games is minimal. He would be just as happy doing a solo game, though feels that there are more creative and business opportunities with massively multiplayer games.
One of your game design tips is that you must give the actions of your player purpose. Is there anything significant being done to accomplish this in Tabula Rasa that has not been done before, or has been done very little?
Doing anything related to long-term purposeful actions has been done very little. Almost all MMOs have short term memory, but few have any sort of long term memory that is based around actions and reactions (consequences). Ultima Online was 100% about ethical parabolas, and although Tabula Rasa does this in a lot more subtle ways, there is much more of this than done in Ultima Online. No other MMO right now really has this.
I’m fascinated by your concept of symbolic communication, and the potential it has to solve language barriers with MMO players. Now, you started playing with this idea with Ultima Runic, with inspiration from Tolkien. With the new language, where was your inspiration for this concept, and how necessary will learning these symbols be for game play in Tabula Rasa?
The symbolic communication used in Tabula Rasa follows suit with the Ultima series. The language is there, but you do not have to learn it in order to play the game. Though, there are a number of puzzles in the game that must be solved with these symbols. Aside from game play, the symbolic communication also serves to support the backing story and history. This language will be comfortably integrated into the game.
Do you have any advice for people trying to break into the game industry?
Generally people apply at a studio for a very specific role at a very specific time. Many times this role is not available at the time of application and people wait another six months to apply again, at which point that role has already been filled and the studio is looking for a different position to fill. In order to successfully get the job, contact a company often, such as once a month. A company won’t go back six months for applications, as they have been given more up to date applications much more recently. By applying quite often you express continued interest and help to ensure you will be picked when the position you are applying for becomes available.
Do you have any advice for people trying to start up a new indie studio in such an expensive industry?
Don’t; unless you are aiming for a creative product that appeals to a wide audience and has little development cost. Especially don’t try to take on an MMO game without a huge budget (both developmental and support) and an experienced team. Aim for mobile games and arcade games and work your way up from there. Five years ago an indie studio could work on a great game with little budget, but the industry has changed so much since then and it is very hard to get an indie studio off the ground.
Thank you very much for taking the time for an interview Mr.Garriott!
Congratulations on your Lifetime Achievement award, you've earned it.
Unite 2010
