Posts tagged “origin systems”

In the basement of an unassuming suburban home just outside Washington, D.C., you'll find one of the largest collections of documents, data, images and props from Origin Systems, the company behind the Ultima and Wing Commander game series of the 80s and 90s. The Origin Museum is owned and curated by Joe Garrity, and has been running since 1999, when Garrity lived in Virginia. Over…

Tagged with feature, interview, origin systems, richard garriot, wing commander, Wing Commander II: Vengeance Of The Kilrathi, Wing Commander III: Heart Of The Tiger, Wing Commander: Privateer.

I'll never forget where I was when I heard that Lord British had been killed. The character, Ultima creator Richard Garriott's alter-ego and in-game avatar, burned to a crisp during a beta test of Ultima Online on August 9th, 1997. The game officially launched a month and a half later, twenty years ago today, and I loved it in a way that has kept me…

Tagged with anniversary, feature, lord-british, origin systems, Ultima-Online.

Later this year, Ultima Online [official site] will turn 18 years old. In the genre of MMOs, that makes the game positively ancient - and it's even more remarkable when you consider that it's still funded via a subscription model. I’ve never played an Ultima game, much less one that’s nearly my age. I wanted to find out what the game is like to play…

Tagged with Electronic Arts, feature, mythic entertainment, origin systems, Raph-Koster, retrospective, richard garriot, Ultima-Online.

I was only young when I played Ultima VII but I had already ventured to the depths of dungeons that dripped with dread, partaken in interstellar war and defended my home planet from invaders. Like Roy Batty and all people who grew up with games, I had seen and done so much. Between adventures in space, I’d rezone my commercial districts or build a new…

Tagged with feature, gaming made me, origin systems, richard garriot, RPG, Ultima VII.