General: Richard Garriott’s Ultimate Vision

SBFord

Industry legend, Richard Garriott, and his team at Portalarium have been hard at work on Ultimate Collector and Ultimate RPG/New Britannia. We were lucky enough to catch up to him to find out about the projects and much more. Read on and enjoy!

First off we laughed about the mobile and social game markets. Richard said that two or three years ago when all of the hardcore MMOs were being made and all of the hardcore games were coming out no one believed in the mobile or social game platforms. The early offerings at that time were not something hardcore players would pick up. It reminded him of the early days with Ultima Online when they were building the game and no one believed in the idea of a mainstream online game experience. He explained that what social gaming has done really is broaden the game audience tenfold with the addition of casual and new gamers coming into the market who would never dream of playing the hardcore games. Like anything else though this audience is hitting the learning curve and are starting to look for more depth in the games they seek out.

Read more of Garrett Fuller's Richard Garriott’s Ultimate Vision.

Coldren

I'm a big fan of Garriotts (Just had his first child, Kinga!), and what he says in his interviews always makes sense.

I will hold judgement to see what he and the team at Portelarium actually deliver, but I hope he can make good on them. I'm hesitant to see what can be delievered via a web browser, but I hope I will be pleasantly surprised.

Here's to hoping!

Wicoa

Yeh the game will get made but 1 it looks like a pile of dung 2 if I am out, I am out I don't sit there playing games unless I have a DS or Vita with me which is rarely because I go out to spend time with people.  3 mobile phone companies are being more and more tight with their web downloading rules. Sure it got 7 million investment but how on earth is it going to recoup that, thats alot of money for a "facebook" game.  If anyone plays these stupid games and they start spamming my walls I usually then remove that person. I WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THE PEOPLE NOT HOW MANY PIGS THEY JUST FED. GGRRR ANGRY MUCH>

 

Coldren

Originally posted by Wicoa

Yeh the game will get made but 1 it looks like a pile of dung 2 if I am out, I am out I don't sit there playing games unless I have a DS or Vita with me which is rarely because I go out to spend time with people.  3 mobile phone companies are being more and more tight with their web downloading rules. Sure it got 7 million investment but this has tabula rasa written all over it.  If anyone plays these stupid games and they start spamming my walls I usually then remove that person. I WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THE PEOPLE NOT HOW MANY PIGS THEY JUST FED. GGRRR ANGRY MUCH>

[mod edit]

1)The game isn't out, no one knows what it looks like.

2) If you're out, don't play the game.. Who feels obligated to play a game when they're "Out"?

3) Those rules are going to affect ANY MMO. And your browsing this website too.

How about we wait until we see something to begin the flame wars, eh? I think there has been 1 image ever released of the new game, and it isn't here.

 

Wicoa

Originally posted by Coldren

Originally posted by Wicoa

Yeh the game will get made but 1 it looks like a pile of dung 2 if I am out, I am out I don't sit there playing games unless I have a DS or Vita with me which is rarely because I go out to spend time with people.  3 mobile phone companies are being more and more tight with their web downloading rules. Sure it got 7 million investment but this has tabula rasa written all over it.  If anyone plays these stupid games and they start spamming my walls I usually then remove that person. I WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THE PEOPLE NOT HOW MANY PIGS THEY JUST FED. GGRRR ANGRY MUCH>

[mod edit]

1)The game isn't out, no one knows what it looks like.

2) If you're out, don't play the game.. Who feels obligated to play a game when they're "Out"?

3) Those rules are going to affect ANY MMO. And your browsing this website too.

How about we wait until we see something to begin the flame wars, eh? I think there has been 1 image ever released of the new game, and it isn't here.

 

 

Er we do know what it looks like did you look at the screenies? Here is another screenie from another site. http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/07/10/richard-garriotts-portalarium-raises-7-million-in-funding/

 

If I am home I will play games with more substance, like wow, tsw, gw2, ps2 etc. Why would I bother with a facebook game? The future isn't facebook gaming anyway if you have a crap computer you can even now I believe cloud game through a stream at stonking graphics.

 

Heck I dont mind at all these games but I do not see how or where it is worth this much investment and I do not believe the return will meet the investment.  $7 mill + whatever other funding he has gotten.

 

Also facebook used to be very stream lined, now it feels more clunky and the ads are all over the place.  I barely log into it anymore, I would delete it but I think its safer if I kept my name there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

hardicon

if this is the future of games then I will quit playing games.  the only good thing a mobile game is for is something to do while taking a crap since they are all crap anyway.  I dont even have a facebook account and I wont get one for some crappy game just because garriot made it.  sorry, he may be right for the milion of gaming sheep out there but this is one gamer that wont be going to my iphone and facebook page for games.

Beowulfsam

Ah well, one would hope for a new and improved ultima online, but we get this....a glorified FB game? 3rd era of gaming, bah, I'd hoped new era with better PCs and new technologies would go forward...not backwards to late 90's graphics and probably simplified gameplay (no matter what Garriot says, if they want to make FB kind of game, it can in no way be even near complex as a good AAA game).

Good concept to appeal to masses though, prolly good profit in it too. But 3rd era...yeh, lolilol, 3rd era in squeezing money from ppl.

Illyssia

I think the only real reason why this story gets any attention is because of the name Richard Garriott. But sadly his first new game is just a Facebook one based on garage sales. Well, that may or may not work on facebook, we shall see. The second planned game, with no release window, is a similar one for RPG. However, if the one on garage sales doesn' do so well in social gaming then you could be talking cancellation...and that fits all to well with the later history of Ultima and Tabula Rasa.

Coldren

Originally posted by Wicoa

Er we do know what it looks like did you look at the screenies? Here is another screenie from another site. http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/07/10/richard-garriotts-portalarium-raises-7-million-in-funding/

 

I'm fairly certain that is a screenshot of Ultimate Collector, and not New Britannia.

 

Gruug

I have not found ANY Facebook or Ipad game that is ultimately worth playing. NONE. Of course, I have many many years in gaming and am not someone new to digital gaming. My tastes are more "advanced". To those that never play computer or console games, this type of game might have some appeal. However, after they play a while they will get bored OR see that there are better platforms and better games to play on other platforms.

Falike

Originally posted by Wicoa

Originally posted by Coldren

Originally posted by Wicoa

Yeh the game will get made but 1 it looks like a pile of dung 2 if I am out, I am out I don't sit there playing games unless I have a DS or Vita with me which is rarely because I go out to spend time with people.  3 mobile phone companies are being more and more tight with their web downloading rules. Sure it got 7 million investment but this has tabula rasa written all over it.  If anyone plays these stupid games and they start spamming my walls I usually then remove that person. I WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THE PEOPLE NOT HOW MANY PIGS THEY JUST FED. GGRRR ANGRY MUCH>

[mod edit]

1)The game isn't out, no one knows what it looks like.

2) If you're out, don't play the game.. Who feels obligated to play a game when they're "Out"?

3) Those rules are going to affect ANY MMO. And your browsing this website too.

How about we wait until we see something to begin the flame wars, eh? I think there has been 1 image ever released of the new game, and it isn't here.

 

 

Er we do know what it looks like did you look at the screenies? Here is another screenie from another site. http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/07/10/richard-garriotts-portalarium-raises-7-million-in-funding/

 

If I am home I will play games with more substance, like wow, tsw, gw2, ps2 etc. Why would I bother with a facebook game? The future isn't facebook gaming anyway if you have a crap computer you can even now I believe cloud game through a stream at stonking graphics.

 

Heck I dont mind at all these games but I do not see how or where it is worth this much investment and I do not believe the return will meet the investment.  $7 mill + whatever other funding he has gotten.

 

Also facebook used to be very stream lined, now it feels more clunky and the ads are all over the place.  I barely log into it anymore, I would delete it but I think its safer if I kept my name there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The game in the screenshot you posted is NOT Portalarium, that is Ultimate Collector that is on FB now and lots of people are playing (and probably spending money on it).

Please check before posting things that just are not true .

Games don't need to look amazing to have a really good story, quest, tradeskill, whatever systems that's just what we are use to in MMOs currently.  I for one would give it a shot and if the game itself is amazing then I'm not going to really worry about the looks as much.  I like graphics as much as the next gamer, but if the game is crap no amount of pretty is going to make it better.  If the game is great on the other hand, the graphics can always be improved upon...

KenFisher

I didn't know Garriott was behind Portalarium.  A developer I know of uses their plugin to get the client running in a browser.  Works well enough.

Unknown

As long as it'll be a real game that doesn't look like it was made in the early 90s?

MumboJumbo

 

 "The first was to launch the series of casino style games on the App market to test the stability of the system. These games have been established, now the company is preparing for Ultimate Collector which will follow some of the format for current social games. The game contains your own avatar, housing, trade system, shops, and brings collecting to life for the player. Your goal is to travel and find objects with different attributes to collect for your homestead. Everything has different values and impacts on your own area."

 

*Retch emote*  I want perma-death, destruction and chaos in online games... all the things worth power-tripping in a fantasy about... if I want to collect things I can go to an antiques fair or carboot sale anytime. Still he thinks it's the 3rd age of computer games:

http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/356909/Richard-Garriotts-Portalarium-secures-7-million-funding-for-iOS-social-RPG.html

Just sounds like another zynga garbage "casino/gambling" title to me..

 

The Third Grand Era of Games – Social & Mobile gaming

 

Today, with my new company Portalarium, and with the talents and skills of many who made Ultima an Ultimate RPG, we set forth to forge a “New Britannia,” a new world from scratch, internally self-consistent, deep and refined. We have lofty goals as an Ultimate RPG. An Ultimate RPG does not fear going where others fear or have failed....

 

 ...will be an Ultimate RPG. You will have customized Avatar homesteads and real roles to play in a deep, beautifully realized highly interactive virtual world. It will have virtues and the hero’s journey reflected back to the player. It will have the best of synchronous and asynchronous features in use. Fiction will support your arrival from earth into this new world. I even hope to make maps, coins and other trinkets available to players of the game.

 

But, please be understanding. It took 25 years to craft all the detail in Ultima. The new world will start smaller, thinner and lighter. It will have fewer features than some or most MMOs. Critical elements of the story I have just told may be missing upon launch. But fear not, this is where we are headed. Come play with us in the brave new world. Help us grow it. Teach us about what you have learned in your years of playing. Invite in your new friends who are new to gaming. They will be a new spirit and provide new ideas about what to do. They will likely not tolerate bad instructions, bad interface or huge upfront fees, which is a good thing! We will teach and learn from them as well.

 

Meltdown

*reads Garriott's interview* Woooo

*sees screenshots* BARF!!!

 

I understand the two are not the same, and I blame MMORPG.com for making it more confusing than it had to be. It's like applying for a job working at a nuclear power plant and putting baby-sitting jobs on your resume. Get that !@#$ outta there!

Eivi

oh how the mighty have fallen

BillMurphy

Just to make it clear folks, the screens in this article are from "Ultimate Collector", which is the next game from Portalarium, and a casual collection game at that. "New Brittannia" or "Ultimate RPG" as it's being called is due AFTER Ultimate Collector and we don't have screens of it yet. Though it is sounding like a full-on social-network enabled MMORPG. We'll see!

 

Caldrin

Just have to wait and see i guess... the current crop of games he is working on look and sound like utter crap lol..

 

 

CujoSWAoA

Everyone knows that when you get older you get less "edgey" in everything you do.

Look at Eddie Murphy.

Talonsin

I think Garriott is incredibly talented but I also feel he has changed considerably after his early success with UO.  I think that success gave him a big head much like what happens when people win the lottery or come into a large sum of money.  They lose touch with reality and stop caring about the small stuff. 

kishe

So big ole grandaddy of RPGs have been reduced to this...sad.

 

I remember when people used to hold their breeath over his next game because of how good they were, not because of how bad they stink.

Fadedbomb

Just to be clear, I don't personally believe "Social Gaming" on mobile devices, or the PC for that matter, will ever become anything great. It's cheap and meant for a quick thrill while you're at work or can't get to your PC at home.

Sorry Garriot, but when I was in the Alpha & Beta for Tabula Rasa you were more interested in the story of the game than making a proper FUN game. I felt more secluded in Tabula Rasa from the world than i ever have in any product since.

 

Forshame sir, and I used to idol you .

 

 

Social Gaming? What happened?!

Fadedbomb

Originally posted by CujoSWAoA

Everyone knows that when you get older you get less "edgey" in everything you do.

Look at Eddie Murphy.

To be fair Eddie Murphy has always been like that. The only thing that changed were the times. He came in at a good time, but the world has snice left him behind.

 

I don't think that's the same deal with Mr.Garriott though.

Amaranthar

FTP on Mobile? I'm still laughing at the idea that he isn't forgetting the ol' hardcore players. Maybe he should, we're dust in the wind now.

Rednecksith

Originally posted by Fadedbomb

Just to be clear, I don't personally believe "Social Gaming" on mobile devices, or the PC for that matter, will ever become anything great. It's cheap and meant for a quick thrill while you're at work or can't get to your PC at home.

Sorry Garriot, but when I was in the Alpha & Beta for Tabula Rasa you were more interested in the story of the game than making a proper FUN game. I felt more secluded in Tabula Rasa from the world than i ever have in any product since.

 

Forshame sir, and I used to idol you .

 

 

Social Gaming? What happened?!

Which is funny, because Tabula Rasa still stands out to me as the most fun I've ever had in an MMORPG.

I for one will wait and see what the new game is like before passing judgement like an ass (not directed at anyone in particular).

Fadedbomb

Originally posted by Rednecksith

Originally posted by Fadedbomb

Just to be clear, I don't personally believe "Social Gaming" on mobile devices, or the PC for that matter, will ever become anything great. It's cheap and meant for a quick thrill while you're at work or can't get to your PC at home.

Sorry Garriot, but when I was in the Alpha & Beta for Tabula Rasa you were more interested in the story of the game than making a proper FUN game. I felt more secluded in Tabula Rasa from the world than i ever have in any product since.

 

Forshame sir, and I used to idol you .

 

 

Social Gaming? What happened?!

Which is funny, because Tabula Rasa still stands out to me as the most fun I've ever had in an MMORPG.

I for one will wait and see what the new game is like before passing judgement like an ass (not directed at anyone in particular).

I don't pass judgdement on a product before I have some experience with it. However, Social Gaming as a whole is a joke so the overall feel so far is a bad one.

Not sure if I got that point across or not without explicitly stating it?

 

That aside, so far Mr.Garriott doesn't look to be pushing out anything to be excited about anytime soon.