Yes he was the father with UO, however, everything he has worked on since then hasnt been revolutionary and to me hasnt been very successful. Lineage and Lineage2 are successful in asia not here. COH/COV while maybe profitable is not in my opinion a success
LOL, that list is wrong.
He had absolutely nothing to do with Lineage and only a tiny bit to do with one of the chronicle updates in Lineage II North America.
Those games were both developed in Korea.
And he had very little to do with CoH/CoV.
If any of those games were his to claim then his name would be all over them.
His only real claim to fame is Ultima and that candle burnt out a while ago.
Just because SWG had skills doesn't mean it was anything like UO.
Lets compare.
Skill based game: UO and SWG
Player based econemy: UO and SWG
Crafters worth a damn: UO and SWG
Heavy community aspect: UO and SWG
PvP just about everywhere: UO, SWG was pvp lite but we have no true pvp games any longer.
Well SWG is about 90% of what UO was minus the theme. Honestly people need to get off thier high horses, I LOVE UO myself, and compare my experiences with all MMO's to UO. But UO wasnt an amazing game, it was just my first and has the most impact on me. The fact stays the same, people want less community, and more convience to play games single player with a multiplayer option. This is the way MMO's are headed sadly.
I wasn't speaking on purely feature similarities. Using the logic you posted, Toku, I could say a Ducati and a Ford Focus are pretty much the same thing.
I was talking more about the feel of the games when you are actually playing them.
Again, just because UO and SWG had a lot of the same features does not mean the actual games or gameplay are anything alike. And they weren't in my opinion.
Also, another opinion of mine, I believe UO was an amazing game & there has been nothing close to the immersion felt when playing it duplicated in any other game to this day.
But, again, I'm just stating my opinion.
"There is as yet insufficient data for a meaningful answer."
TR isnt a bad game.. its jsut not a good mmorpg.. for a game in dev for over 5 years its kinda weird.... classes horribly designed.. lack of depth, lack of content.. faetures added to please players ( pvp) completly useless and not suiting the storyline at all..
its been promised that stuff liek housing and vehicules will be adde later but common ... that was acceptable a decade ago, nowdays that sound jsut like a unfinished game thrown in the towel.
Dont get me wrong, i like the gameplay, i like the lore, and i like the grafics ( full details). BUt there is way too much missing stuff to make it a good game.
Toobad the idea was good, i was hoping for a good SCFI mmorpg with same depth/content as a Anarchy Online.
Ultima III: Exodus 1983 Apple II, Amiga, Atari 8 bit systems, Commodore 64, DOS, FM Towns, Mac OS & NES Project Director
Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar 1985 Apple II, Amiga, Atari 8 bit systems, Atari ST, Commodore 64, DOS, FM Towns, MSX, NES, Sega Master System Project Director
Autoduel 1985 Apple II, Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64 & DOS Programmer & Designer
Ultima V: Warriors of Destiny 1988 Apple II, Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, DOS, FM Towns & NES Designer, Writer & Programmer
Omega 1989 Apple II, Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64 & DOS Designer
Ultima VI: The False Prophet 1990 DOS, Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, FM Towns, SNES Designer, Producer, Sound Effect Worker, Writer & Voice Actor
Tabula Rasa Closed Beta 2007 Windows Executive Producer
Ultima VII: The Black Gate and Ultima VII: The Forge of Virtue, how do they differ?
Are they sequels to one another or standalone games?
On a side note: I got a Commodore 64 at chrismas in '87 yet I never saw any Ultima games for it.
Were they solely on floppy disk and not on cassette?
There were floppy disk drives available for the Commodore 64 (big bulky things) but they did cost a lot of money (probably the same as a Blueray or HD-DVD player in todays prices) so I never got one.
so he's basically done sod all in a real creative way since ultima VII, part 2
all executive producer means is that he was one of the people to stump up the cash, it doesn't mean that he had anything to do with the creative process at all
so he's basically done sod all in a real creative way since ultima VII, part 2 all executive producer means is that he was one of the people to stump up the cash, it doesn't mean that he had anything to do with the creative process at all
I disagree. If I were putting up a bunch of cash, in a business that I am intimately familiar with, I would most definitly want to influence the creative momentum. Yes, he's not making day to day decisions, but you can most definitly bet that he's helping to make large scale decisions of design. No members of a shop - managers, producers, devs, testers - work in a vacuum and they always have to answer to the people with the money. They do sign the paychecks after all .
Ultima VII: The Black Gate and Ultima VII: The Forge of Virtue, how do they differ? Are they sequels to one another or standalone games? On a side note: I got a Commodore 64 at chrismas in '87 yet I never saw any Ultima games for it. Were they solely on floppy disk and not on cassette? There were floppy disk drives available for the Commodore 64 (big bulky things) but they did cost a lot of money (probably the same as a Blueray or HD-DVD player in todays prices) so I never got one.
But he didn't put up any of his own cash. For the past six years, he's been Living Large on the Korean's dime and planning his trip into space. All he brought to the table was his visionary signature creative legendary vision thing. Oh, and LOTS of hard, hard work.
Until you spread your wings, you have no idea how far you can walk.
and he's not really in tune with today's MMORPG marketplace.
I completely disagree. T.R. is the most in tuned game I've played since LotRO (which I still play). The step away from the typical combat elements and lore is very refreshing as well as inspiring to know that R.G. is not stuck and tucked into one mmo genre and has the ability to create games outside of the box , so to speak. Think it is a great learning exp. for him.
I read there are planets to explore, and how many time in any mmo have you seen the top end architecture and level design on the first game area ? 0 , like so many games before it, people play for 5 monutes and think they have grasped the concept of what is trying to be achieved, think most people this game will go straight over there heads just like UO did for that areas noob core.
Originally posted by Dameonk Also, another opinion of mine, I believe UO was an amazing game & there has been nothing close to the immersion felt when playing it duplicated in any other game to this day. But, again, I'm just stating my opinion.
I concur completely. Even when I was playing SWG when it first came out, or Earth and Beyond, or CoX, I STILL compare (as do most of my friends, but not all by any means) any MMORPG that I'm playing at that time to how it felt to play UO back before there was a Trammel/Felucia split. Don't want PvP? Simple, run like hell or avoid crossroads or the Orc Camp.
IMO there is NOTHING that has immersed me as totally as did UO. After 5 years of playing it thought I got bored and left, but that immersion was still there.
Unless TR does something phenominal, I don't think it's going to last long or do too well in the U.S.
I completely disagree. T.R. is the most in tuned game I've played since LotRO (which I still play). The step away from the typical combat elements and lore is very refreshing as well as inspiring to know that R.G. is not stuck and tucked into one mmo genre and has the ability to create games outside of the box , so to speak. Think it is a great learning exp. for him.
I read there are planets to explore, and how many time in any mmo have you seen the top end architecture and level design on the first game area ? 0 , like so many games before it, people play for 5 monutes and think they have grasped the concept of what is trying to be achieved, think most people this game will go straight over there heads just like UO did for that areas noob core.
I still don't understand why people are of the opinion that TR is a game 'outside of the box'. Not ragging on your opinion, but unless it has changed since the last Beta I played in, the combat system is basically a polished version of SWG NGE combat (I know, I said a swear word ), and though I did get a kind of fun hoo-ah! feeling with the lore and quests, it didn't inspire me terribly. I also rather like the guns and holstering idea. Nice little detail. And to be fair, the little waves of bad guys that would drop in on you here and there was a nice touch, that helped make it feel a bit like a war. Meh..still not quite here though in my opinion. Personally, I think real-time targetting and combat, ala Planetside, would have kept me interested for longer, but that's all relative to my personal likes and dislikes.
Still, I believe in whatever floats one's boat, so I hope it's a success for those that like it.
The list misrepresents the fact that RG had very little to do with any of the games listed since 2000. His name was added more as a figurehead and not based on his actual contributions to games such as Lineage 2 or COX. His baby the past 4 or 5 years has been TR....and thats what his current performance needs to be measured on. RG had some success back in the 80's and 90's, (trust me, not all the games on that list were good, or even financially successful) but it would appear he might be past his prime (much like old rock stars, sports atheletes and coaches) and he's not really in tune with today's MMORPG marketplace.
I think the problem is he's actually *too* in tune with today's MMORPG marketplace. Like that 10,000 Maniacs song, he's givin' 'em what they want. Trouble is, what the myopic public wants doesn't do a thing to further the genre, it just waters it down and makes it less interesting, but in small, easy-to-swallow pieces.
The MMORPG genre could grow in a manner that would dwarf the growth it's seen over the past several years, if someone just had the stones to develop a title that is truly compelling rather than just offering cheap thrills (read: "accessibility").
The old adage, "Anything worth having is worth working for" holds true here, just like anything else.
Originally posted by Quasimojo I think the problem is he's actually *too* in tune with today's MMORPG marketplace. Like that 10,000 Maniacs song, he's givin' 'em what they want. Trouble is, what the myopic public wants doesn't do a thing to further the genre, it just waters it down and makes it less interesting, but in small, easy-to-swallow pieces. The MMORPG genre could grow in a manner that would dwarf the growth it's seen over the past several years, if someone just had the stones to develop a title that is truly compelling rather than just offering cheap thrills (read: "accessibility"). The old adage, "Anything worth having is worth working for" holds true here, just like anything else.
I don't think that this is an either/or situation. WoW, love it or hate it, showed the major game companies that if you make an MMO accessible, people who would never have touched EQ/UO will play. These companies are all owned by corporations who want to maximize sales/subscriptions.
MMO developers need to seek the same balance that makers of games in other genres do. The goal should always be Easy to play, but difficult to master. TR fails that test. The skill choices at later levels are pretty irrelevant because for almost any class at level 50 a shotgun is still better than anything else you could use. There is no depth to the game.
The "next big thing" aka "the WoW killer" will be the game that is easy to get into and easy to play, but rewards the skillful. There needs to be a careful balance between the casual and the hardcore so that it doesn't become an us vs them situation. Soloing in an MMO IS a perfectly valid form of gameplay. Soloists should not be deprived of a game's best gear, IF they have mastered their class well enough to take on the toughest challenges. Some people enjoy massive raids. Many more don't. When someone devises a system that allows PvE raiders/small groupers/soloists and PvPers to attain equal quality gear with similar time/skill investment.
WoW endgame fails because the first people to beat the Black temple deserve to have better gear than people who haven't. They put in massive time and effort and deserve to be well rewarded. However, once more than one or two guilds have a raid on "farm status", they start bringing along members who don't do the hard work. When a guild can beat a 25 man with 20, five people can essentially /follow and get the rewards. By the time that happens, people in smaller groups should have a way to get equittable gear if they have been working that hard. And once most of them are equipped enough to take along poorly geared friends, the soloists should have been able to put the time and effort in to get equitable gear. All 3 playstyles are valid.
People who have busy lives and can't play on the schedule of a 16-18 year old raid leader should not be punished if they they have the skill and put in the time and effort at their own pace around their own scedule. Their sacrifice is that they never see some of the really cool raid encounters.
This is a lot for a game to accomplish, but it IS possible. The game that delivers what WoW promised before the EQ guys took over will be the one to steal its crown.
TR won't be that game.
BTW, give yourself brownie points for the 10,000 maniacs reference (that is from Our Time in Eden-the last Natalie Merchant Maniacs album- wasn't it?).
I don't think that this is an either/or situation. WoW, love it or hate it, showed the major game companies that if you make an MMO accessible, people who would never have touched EQ/UO will play. These companies are all owned by corporations who want to maximize sales/subscriptions. MMO developers need to seek the same balance that makers of games in other genres do. The goal should always be Easy to play, but difficult to master. TR fails that test. The skill choices at later levels are pretty irrelevant because for almost any class at level 50 a shotgun is still better than anything else you could use. There is no depth to the game. The "next big thing" aka "the WoW killer" will be the game that is easy to get into and easy to play, but rewards the skillful. There needs to be a careful balance between the casual and the hardcore so that it doesn't become an us vs them situation. Soloing in an MMO IS a perfectly valid form of gameplay. Soloists should not be deprived of a game's best gear, IF they have mastered their class well enough to take on the toughest challenges. Some people enjoy massive raids. Many more don't. When someone devises a system that allows PvE raiders/small groupers/soloists and PvPers to attain equal quality gear with similar time/skill investment. WoW endgame fails because the first people to beat the Black temple deserve to have better gear than people who haven't. They put in massive time and effort and deserve to be well rewarded. However, once more than one or two guilds have a raid on "farm status", they start bringing along members who don't do the hard work. When a guild can beat a 25 man with 20, five people can essentially /follow and get the rewards. By the time that happens, people in smaller groups should have a way to get equittable gear if they have been working that hard. And once most of them are equipped enough to take along poorly geared friends, the soloists should have been able to put the time and effort in to get equitable gear. All 3 playstyles are valid. People who have busy lives and can't play on the schedule of a 16-18 year old raid leader should not be punished if they they have the skill and put in the time and effort at their own pace around their own scedule. Their sacrifice is that they never see some of the really cool raid encounters. This is a lot for a game to accomplish, but it IS possible. The game that delivers what WoW promised before the EQ guys took over will be the one to steal its crown. TR won't be that game. BTW, give yourself brownie points for the 10,000 maniacs reference (that is from Our Time in Eden-the last Natalie Merchant Maniacs album- wasn't it?).
That was a very well-thought-out and well-written post! There are some excellent points you touched on!
The "next big thing" aka "the WoW killer" will be the game that is easy to get into and easy to play, but rewards the skillful. ..... TR won't be that game.
News flash - everyone including the developers agree. They have never said they are trying to make a wow killer.
What they have said is they are making a game for casual players - who want to log on for an hour or so and be able to have fun and feel like they have accomplished something.
All I can say is that this game is great. I am in the beta and love it. I have played ALL of the biggies and find TR to be a refreshing change. Say what you want, but I WILL be subscribing to this game. I am addicted and love it! Lol.
Originally posted by Quasimojo I think the problem is he's actually *too* in tune with today's MMORPG marketplace. Like that 10,000 Maniacs song, he's givin' 'em what they want. Trouble is, what the myopic public wants doesn't do a thing to further the genre, it just waters it down and makes it less interesting, but in small, easy-to-swallow pieces. The MMORPG genre could grow in a manner that would dwarf the growth it's seen over the past several years, if someone just had the stones to develop a title that is truly compelling rather than just offering cheap thrills (read: "accessibility"). The old adage, "Anything worth having is worth working for" holds true here, just like anything else.
I don't think that this is an either/or situation. WoW, love it or hate it, showed the major game companies that if you make an MMO accessible, people who would never have touched EQ/UO will play. These companies are all owned by corporations who want to maximize sales/subscriptions.
Therein lies the problem. The primary motivation is maximizing the subscriber base, not making the best game. One would think that one goes along with the other, but consider this: there are a hell of a lot more people in the world playing checkers and card games than all MMORPG's combined, but I would never consider paying a monthly fee to play. Player base does *not* equal game quality.
MMO developers need to seek the same balance that makers of games in other genres do. The goal should always be Easy to play, but difficult to master. TR fails that test. The skill choices at later levels are pretty irrelevant because for almost any class at level 50 a shotgun is still better than anything else you could use. There is no depth to the game.
The "next big thing" aka "the WoW killer" will be the game that is easy to get into and easy to play, but rewards the skillful. There needs to be a careful balance between the casual and the hardcore so that it doesn't become an us vs them situation. Soloing in an MMO IS a perfectly valid form of gameplay. Soloists should not be deprived of a game's best gear, IF they have mastered their class well enough to take on the toughest challenges. Some people enjoy massive raids. Many more don't. When someone devises a system that allows PvE raiders/small groupers/soloists and PvPers to attain equal quality gear with similar time/skill investment.
I disagree with you there. An encounter that *require* multiple players to complete *should* offer better rewards. I'm all for soloability, but I really don't see how that particular point could even be debated. If you can do it solo, there is no reason to group beyond having some people to chat with while you do it. That just can't be the only reason for a grouping mechanic.
WoW endgame fails because the first people to beat the Black temple deserve to have better gear than people who haven't. They put in massive time and effort and deserve to be well rewarded. However, once more than one or two guilds have a raid on "farm status", they start bringing along members who don't do the hard work. When a guild can beat a 25 man with 20, five people can essentially /follow and get the rewards. By the time that happens, people in smaller groups should have a way to get equittable gear if they have been working that hard. And once most of them are equipped enough to take along poorly geared friends, the soloists should have been able to put the time and effort in to get equitable gear. All 3 playstyles are valid.
I say that any game that is designed such that additional time spent playing provides no added benefit is doomed to short subscription terms. Everyone shouldn't get a trophy, regardless of how they finish. That removes a significant motivation for playing in the first place.
People who have busy lives and can't play on the schedule of a 16-18 year old raid leader should not be punished if they they have the skill and put in the time and effort at their own pace around their own scedule.
You said it yourself right there - "time and effort" - yet you claim that rewarding that time and effort is wrong. You can't have it both ways, no matter how much you feel no one should have anything someone else can't get with less time spent.
Their sacrifice is that they never see some of the really cool raid encounters.
There is no reason that whatever makes that raid content "cool" shouldn't be applied to solo content in your line of reasoning. You're suggesting that they provide a lower quality experience for the solo player right out of the box, as in you only get to see this particular stunning visual environment or you only get to play against a particularly clever AI system if you raid. That can't be a good idea.
BTW, give yourself brownie points for the 10,000 maniacs reference (that is from Our Time in Eden-the last Natalie Merchant Maniacs album- wasn't it?).
All I can say is that this game is great. I am in the beta and love it. I have played ALL of the biggies and find TR to be a refreshing change. Say what you want, but I WILL be subscribing to this game. I am addicted and love it! Lol.
See...every game has people who enjoy it... those who don't will play something else.....
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
Just wanted to add to my thoughts on this point...
Originally posted by starbead
Originally posted by Quasimojo I think the problem is he's actually *too* in tune with today's MMORPG marketplace. Like that 10,000 Maniacs song, he's givin' 'em what they want. Trouble is, what the myopic public wants doesn't do a thing to further the genre, it just waters it down and makes it less interesting, but in small, easy-to-swallow pieces.
The MMORPG genre could grow in a manner that would dwarf the growth it's seen over the past several years, if someone just had the stones to develop a title that is truly compelling rather than just offering cheap thrills (read: "accessibility"). The old adage, "Anything worth having is worth working for" holds true here, just like anything else.
People who have busy lives and can't play on the schedule of a 16-18 year old raid leader should not be punished if they they have the skill and put in the time and effort at their own pace around their own scedule.
Their sacrifice is that they never see some of the really cool raid encounters. This is a lot for a game to accomplish, but it IS possible. The game that delivers what WoW promised before the EQ guys took over will be the one to steal its crown.
That certainly looks good on paper in a "world peace is achievable" sort of way. However, just "seeing the really cool raid encounters" isn't nearly enough reward for what is required to get there, especially when the same material rewards are available by much more trivial means. It's just not. I've never had the luxury of the amount of free time required to reach the end-game of any MMORPG. However, those smaller tastes of higher end raiding I *was* able to get were quite sweet. The *last* thing I would want is to see that aspect removed from the games.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with a certain segment of the player base enjoying greater reward for a greater investment of time and effort. The fact that you don't get a trophy, shouldn't mean that the game isn't worth playing.
This just in: Northwest South Dakota State University is shutting down their football program because they never get to play for the NCAA National Championship. (Yeah, I may be reaching a bit there, but it illustrates my point.)
Richard Garriot is just another dev who think he knows better than the mmo players (havent we seen that a lot already ?) Just because he was succesful with one game doesnt mean he will be succesfull in everything other games is making.
All I can say is that this game is great. I am in the beta and love it. I have played ALL of the biggies and find TR to be a refreshing change. Say what you want, but I WILL be subscribing to this game. I am addicted and love it! Lol.
See...every game has people who enjoy it....
Everything can be sold now.
TR is the 1st RG's game i'll never buy. Never. Boring repetitive lack content, graphics are under we can expect from a 2007's game, lack content, only killing and bashing...
His only real claim to fame is Ultima and that candle burnt out a while ago.
That's why Tabula Rasa was getting so much hype for being developed by him. He was one of the main selling points of the game when it was first annoucned with the original 'dream-team' of developers.
Tabula Rasa was going to prove whether Garriott still has any ideas to offer the gaming industry that are newer than a decade old. We'll see in a month, won't we?
His only real claim to fame is Ultima and that candle burnt out a while ago.
That's why Tabula Rasa was getting so much hype for being developed by him. He was one of the main selling points of the game when it was first annoucned with the original 'dream-team' of developers.
Tabula Rasa was going to prove whether Garriott still has any ideas to offer the gaming industry that are newer than a decade old. We'll see in a month, won't we?
Sadly, the dream team is long gone and the original project they worked on was flushed.
This new version, slapped together on the Auto Assault engine, is certainly not the revolutionary product it was hyped up to be.
3 weeks to go, my money is on big time flop.
I also would like to add that I think Mr. Garriott's little jaunt into space is a self serving piece of tripe that he only deserves if he pays for it with his own money.
I really think he is taking advantage of his fanbase by asking them to help pay for a frivolous trip to space after he has wasted so much time and money putting out this substandard product.
The fanboys have blown so much smoke up his ass that he really thinks he deserves a 30 million dollar trip to space after wasting millions upon millions of dollars of NCsoft's money.
Frankly, I think he needs to have some of the sissy pajama partyboy slapped out of him to put his feet back on the ground.
Maybe this game failing miserably will be the wake up call he needs so badly.
Comments
LOL, that list is wrong.
He had absolutely nothing to do with Lineage and only a tiny bit to do with one of the chronicle updates in Lineage II North America.
Those games were both developed in Korea.
And he had very little to do with CoH/CoV.
If any of those games were his to claim then his name would be all over them.
His only real claim to fame is Ultima and that candle burnt out a while ago.
Just because SWG had skills doesn't mean it was anything like UO.
Lets compare.
Skill based game: UO and SWG
Player based econemy: UO and SWG
Crafters worth a damn: UO and SWG
Heavy community aspect: UO and SWG
PvP just about everywhere: UO, SWG was pvp lite but we have no true pvp games any longer.
Well SWG is about 90% of what UO was minus the theme. Honestly people need to get off thier high horses, I LOVE UO myself, and compare my experiences with all MMO's to UO. But UO wasnt an amazing game, it was just my first and has the most impact on me. The fact stays the same, people want less community, and more convience to play games single player with a multiplayer option. This is the way MMO's are headed sadly.
I have no life.
I wasn't speaking on purely feature similarities. Using the logic you posted, Toku, I could say a Ducati and a Ford Focus are pretty much the same thing.
I was talking more about the feel of the games when you are actually playing them.
Again, just because UO and SWG had a lot of the same features does not mean the actual games or gameplay are anything alike. And they weren't in my opinion.
Also, another opinion of mine, I believe UO was an amazing game & there has been nothing close to the immersion felt when playing it duplicated in any other game to this day.
But, again, I'm just stating my opinion.
"There is as yet insufficient data for a meaningful answer."
TR isnt a bad game.. its jsut not a good mmorpg.. for a game in dev for over 5 years its kinda weird.... classes horribly designed.. lack of depth, lack of content.. faetures added to please players ( pvp) completly useless and not suiting the storyline at all..
its been promised that stuff liek housing and vehicules will be adde later but common ... that was acceptable a decade ago, nowdays that sound jsut like a unfinished game thrown in the towel.
Dont get me wrong, i like the gameplay, i like the lore, and i like the grafics ( full details). BUt there is way too much missing stuff to make it a good game.
Toobad the idea was good, i was hoping for a good SCFI mmorpg with same depth/content as a Anarchy Online.
Ultima VII: The Black Gate and Ultima VII: The Forge of Virtue, how do they differ?
Are they sequels to one another or standalone games?
On a side note: I got a Commodore 64 at chrismas in '87 yet I never saw any Ultima games for it.
Were they solely on floppy disk and not on cassette?
There were floppy disk drives available for the Commodore 64 (big bulky things) but they did cost a lot of money (probably the same as a Blueray or HD-DVD player in todays prices) so I never got one.
so he's basically done sod all in a real creative way since ultima VII, part 2
all executive producer means is that he was one of the people to stump up the cash, it doesn't mean that he had anything to do with the creative process at all
I disagree. If I were putting up a bunch of cash, in a business that I am intimately familiar with, I would most definitly want to influence the creative momentum. Yes, he's not making day to day decisions, but you can most definitly bet that he's helping to make large scale decisions of design. No members of a shop - managers, producers, devs, testers - work in a vacuum and they always have to answer to the people with the money. They do sign the paychecks after all
Had a C64 aswell after my vic20
but also can't recall knowing it for those systems. But ...it seems it was developed for them: http://www.mobygames.com/game/ultima-i-the-first-age-of-darkness/screenshots, maybe at the time i did play it but might not have liked it much, soooooo many games have passed 
UO2.... with the fun I had in UO one the first two years it was live, I think I would like a second.
Do I think it will ever happen? No.
Until you spread your wings, you have no idea how far you can walk.
I read there are planets to explore, and how many time in any mmo have you seen the top end architecture and level design on the first game area ? 0 , like so many games before it, people play for 5 monutes and think they have grasped the concept of what is trying to be achieved, think most people this game will go straight over there heads just like UO did for that areas noob core.
IMO there is NOTHING that has immersed me as totally as did UO. After 5 years of playing it thought I got bored and left, but that immersion was still there.
Unless TR does something phenominal, I don't think it's going to last long or do too well in the U.S.
Still, I believe in whatever floats one's boat, so I hope it's a success for those that like it.
I think the problem is he's actually *too* in tune with today's MMORPG marketplace. Like that 10,000 Maniacs song, he's givin' 'em what they want. Trouble is, what the myopic public wants doesn't do a thing to further the genre, it just waters it down and makes it less interesting, but in small, easy-to-swallow pieces.
The MMORPG genre could grow in a manner that would dwarf the growth it's seen over the past several years, if someone just had the stones to develop a title that is truly compelling rather than just offering cheap thrills (read: "accessibility").
The old adage, "Anything worth having is worth working for" holds true here, just like anything else.
I don't think that this is an either/or situation. WoW, love it or hate it, showed the major game companies that if you make an MMO accessible, people who would never have touched EQ/UO will play. These companies are all owned by corporations who want to maximize sales/subscriptions.
MMO developers need to seek the same balance that makers of games in other genres do. The goal should always be Easy to play, but difficult to master. TR fails that test. The skill choices at later levels are pretty irrelevant because for almost any class at level 50 a shotgun is still better than anything else you could use. There is no depth to the game.
The "next big thing" aka "the WoW killer" will be the game that is easy to get into and easy to play, but rewards the skillful. There needs to be a careful balance between the casual and the hardcore so that it doesn't become an us vs them situation. Soloing in an MMO IS a perfectly valid form of gameplay. Soloists should not be deprived of a game's best gear, IF they have mastered their class well enough to take on the toughest challenges. Some people enjoy massive raids. Many more don't. When someone devises a system that allows PvE raiders/small groupers/soloists and PvPers to attain equal quality gear with similar time/skill investment.
WoW endgame fails because the first people to beat the Black temple deserve to have better gear than people who haven't. They put in massive time and effort and deserve to be well rewarded. However, once more than one or two guilds have a raid on "farm status", they start bringing along members who don't do the hard work. When a guild can beat a 25 man with 20, five people can essentially /follow and get the rewards. By the time that happens, people in smaller groups should have a way to get equittable gear if they have been working that hard. And once most of them are equipped enough to take along poorly geared friends, the soloists should have been able to put the time and effort in to get equitable gear. All 3 playstyles are valid.
People who have busy lives and can't play on the schedule of a 16-18 year old raid leader should not be punished if they they have the skill and put in the time and effort at their own pace around their own scedule. Their sacrifice is that they never see some of the really cool raid encounters.
This is a lot for a game to accomplish, but it IS possible. The game that delivers what WoW promised before the EQ guys took over will be the one to steal its crown.
TR won't be that game.
BTW, give yourself brownie points for the 10,000 maniacs reference (that is from Our Time in Eden-the last Natalie Merchant Maniacs album- wasn't it?).
That was a very well-thought-out and well-written post! There are some excellent points you touched on!
News flash - everyone including the developers agree. They have never said they are trying to make a wow killer.
What they have said is they are making a game for casual players - who want to log on for an hour or so and be able to have fun and feel like they have accomplished something.
All I can say is that this game is great. I am in the beta and love it. I have played ALL of the biggies and find TR to be a refreshing change. Say what you want, but I WILL be subscribing to this game. I am addicted and love it! Lol.
Therein lies the problem. The primary motivation is maximizing the subscriber base, not making the best game. One would think that one goes along with the other, but consider this: there are a hell of a lot more people in the world playing checkers and card games than all MMORPG's combined, but I would never consider paying a monthly fee to play. Player base does *not* equal game quality.
I disagree with you there. An encounter that *require* multiple players to complete *should* offer better rewards. I'm all for soloability, but I really don't see how that particular point could even be debated. If you can do it solo, there is no reason to group beyond having some people to chat with while you do it. That just can't be the only reason for a grouping mechanic.
I say that any game that is designed such that additional time spent playing provides no added benefit is doomed to short subscription terms. Everyone shouldn't get a trophy, regardless of how they finish. That removes a significant motivation for playing in the first place.
You said it yourself right there - "time and effort" - yet you claim that rewarding that time and effort is wrong. You can't have it both ways, no matter how much you feel no one should have anything someone else can't get with less time spent.
There is no reason that whatever makes that raid content "cool" shouldn't be applied to solo content in your line of reasoning. You're suggesting that they provide a lower quality experience for the solo player right out of the box, as in you only get to see this particular stunning visual environment or you only get to play against a particularly clever AI system if you raid. That can't be a good idea.
Don't know, but I love the song.
EDITED: Fixed the quote blocks I screwed up.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
Just wanted to add to my thoughts on this point...
That certainly looks good on paper in a "world peace is achievable" sort of way. However, just "seeing the really cool raid encounters" isn't nearly enough reward for what is required to get there, especially when the same material rewards are available by much more trivial means. It's just not.
I've never had the luxury of the amount of free time required to reach the end-game of any MMORPG. However, those smaller tastes of higher end raiding I *was* able to get were quite sweet. The *last* thing I would want is to see that aspect removed from the games.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with a certain segment of the player base enjoying greater reward for a greater investment of time and effort. The fact that you don't get a trophy, shouldn't mean that the game isn't worth playing.
This just in: Northwest South Dakota State University is shutting down their football program because they never get to play for the NCAA National Championship. (Yeah, I may be reaching a bit there, but it illustrates my point.)
Richard Garriot is just another dev who think he knows better than the mmo players (havent we seen that a lot already ?) Just because he was succesful with one game doesnt mean he will be succesfull in everything other games is making.
See...every game has people who enjoy it....Everything can be sold now.
TR is the 1st RG's game i'll never buy. Never. Boring repetitive lack content, graphics are under we can expect from a 2007's game, lack content, only killing and bashing...
no interest at all.
That's why Tabula Rasa was getting so much hype for being developed by him. He was one of the main selling points of the game when it was first annoucned with the original 'dream-team' of developers.
http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20060323/huebner_02.shtml
Tabula Rasa was going to prove whether Garriott still has any ideas to offer the gaming industry that are newer than a decade old. We'll see in a month, won't we?
That's why Tabula Rasa was getting so much hype for being developed by him. He was one of the main selling points of the game when it was first annoucned with the original 'dream-team' of developers.
http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20060323/huebner_02.shtml
Tabula Rasa was going to prove whether Garriott still has any ideas to offer the gaming industry that are newer than a decade old. We'll see in a month, won't we?
Sadly, the dream team is long gone and the original project they worked on was flushed.
This new version, slapped together on the Auto Assault engine, is certainly not the revolutionary product it was hyped up to be.
3 weeks to go, my money is on big time flop.
I also would like to add that I think Mr. Garriott's little jaunt into space is a self serving piece of tripe that he only deserves if he pays for it with his own money.
I really think he is taking advantage of his fanbase by asking them to help pay for a frivolous trip to space after he has wasted so much time and money putting out this substandard product.
The fanboys have blown so much smoke up his ass that he really thinks he deserves a 30 million dollar trip to space after wasting millions upon millions of dollars of NCsoft's money.
Frankly, I think he needs to have some of the sissy pajama partyboy slapped out of him to put his feet back on the ground.
Maybe this game failing miserably will be the wake up call he needs so badly.