Ultima (series)

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Ultima franchise
Ultima Logo.png
The most commonly used logo in the series
Genres Computer role-playing game
Developers Origin Systems
Blue Sky Productions
Looking Glass Studios
Electronic Arts
Bioware Mythic
Publishers Origin Systems
Electronic Arts
Creators Richard Garriott
Platforms Apple II, Atari 8-bit, VIC-20, C64, DOS, MSX, FM Towns, Apple IIGS, NEC PC-9801, Atari ST, Mac OS, Amiga, Atari 800, NES, Master System, C128, SNES, X68000, PlayStation, Windows
First release Ultima I: The First Age of Darkness
1980
Latest release Ultima Online: Stygian Abyss
2009

Ultima is a series of fantasy computer role-playing games from Origin Systems, Inc. Ultima was created by Richard Garriott, a.k.a. Lord British. Several games of the series are considered seminal games of their genre. Today, Electronic Arts holds the brand.

Contents

[edit] Overview

The main Ultima series consists of nine installments (the seventh title is further divided into two parts) grouped into three trilogies, or "Ages": The Age of Darkness (Ultima I-III), The Age of Enlightenment (Ultima IV-VI), and The Age of Armageddon (Ultima VII-IX). The latter is also sometimes referred to as "The Guardian Saga" after its chief antagonist. The first trilogy is set in a fantasy world named Sosaria, but during the cataclysmic events of The Age of Darkness, it is sundered and three quarters of it vanish. What is left becomes known as Britannia, a realm ruled by the benevolent Lord British, and is where the later games mostly take place. The protagonist in all the games is a canonically male resident of Earth who is called upon by Lord British to protect Sosaria and, later, Britannia from a number of dangers. Originally, the player character was referred as to "the Stranger", but by the end of Ultima IV he becomes universally known as the Avatar.

Many innovations of the early Ultimas - in particular Ultima III: Exodus (1983) - eventually became standard among later RPGs in both the console (if somewhat simplified to fit the gamepad) and the personal computer markets, such as the use of tiled graphics and party-based combat, its mix of fantasy and science-fiction elements, and the introduction of time travel as a plot device.[1] The game was also revolutionary in its use of a written narrative to convey a larger story than the typically minimal plots that were common at the time. Most video games - including Garriott's own Ultima I and II and Akalabeth - tended to focus primarily on things like combat without venturing much further.[2] In addition, Garriott would introduce in Ultima IV a theme that would persist throughout later Ultimas - a system of chivalry and code of conduct in which the player, or "Avatar", is tested periodically (in both obvious and unseen ways) and judged according to his or her actions. This system of morals and ethics was unique, in that in other video games players could for the most part act and do as they wished without having to consider the consequences of their actions.[2]

Ultima III would go on to be released for many other platforms and influence the development of such console RPGs as Excalibur and Dragon Quest;[3] and many consider the game to be the first modern CRPG.[1]

[edit] The Age of Darkness

In Ultima I: The First Age of Darkness (1980), the Stranger is first summoned to Sosaria to defeat the evil wizard Mondain who aims to enslave it. Since Mondain possesses the Gem of Immortality, which makes him invulnerable, the Stranger locates a time machine, travels back in time to kill Mondain before he creates the Gem, and shatters the incomplete artifact.

Ultima II: The Revenge of the Enchantress (1982) details Mondain's secret student and lover Minax's attempt to avenge him. Minax launches an attack on the Stranger's homeworld of Earth. Her actions cause doorways to open to various times and locations throughout Earth's history, and brings forth legions of monsters to all of them. The Stranger, after obtaining the Quicksword that alone can harm her, locates the evil sorceress at Castle Shadowguard at the origin of time and defeats her.

Ultima III: Exodus (1983) reveals that Mondain and Minax had an offspring, the titular Exodus, "neither human, nor machine", according to the later games (it is depicted as a computer at the conclusion of the game, and is generally held to be a demonic, self-aware artificial intelligence). Some time after Minax's death, Exodus starts his own attack on Sosaria and the Stranger is summoned once again to destroy it. Exodus was the first installment of the series featuring a player party system, which was used in many later games.

[edit] The Age of Enlightenment

Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar (1985) marked a turning point in the series from the traditional "hero vs. villain" plots, instead introducing a complex alignment system based upon the Eight Virtues derived from the combinations of the Three Principles of Love, Truth and Courage. Although Britannia now prospers under Lord British's rule, he fears for his subjects' spiritual well-being and summons the Stranger again to become a spiritual leader of Britannian people by example. Throughout the game, the Stranger's actions determine how close he comes to the ideal. Upon achieving enlightenment in every Virtue, he can reach the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom and becomes the "Avatar", the embodiment of Britannia's virtues.

In Ultima V: Warriors of Destiny (1988), the Avatar returns to Britannia to find that after Lord British had been lost in the Underworld, Lord Blackthorn, who rules in his stead, was corrupted by the Shadowlords and enforces a radically twisted vision of the Virtues, deviating considerably from their original meaning. The Avatar and his companions proceed to rescue the true king, overthrow the tyrant and restore the Virtues in their true form.

Ultima VI: The False Prophet (1990) details the invasion of Britannia by Gargoyles, which the Avatar and his companions have to repel. Over the course of the game it is revealed that the Gargoyles have valid reasons to loathe the Avatar. Exploring the themes of racism and xenophobia, the game tasks the Avatar with understanding and reconciling two seemingly opposing cultures.

[edit] The Age of Armageddon

Ultima VII: The Black Gate (1992) sees the Avatar entangled in the plan of an ostensibly virtuous and benevolent organization named the Fellowship (inspired by Scientology) to create a gateway for the evil entity known as the Guardian to enter Britannia.

An expansion pack was released named Forge of Virtue that added a newly arisen volcanic island to the map that the Avatar was invited to investigate. The tie-in storyline was limited to this island, where a piece of Exodus (his data storage unit) had resurfaced. To leave the island again, the Avatar had to destroy this remnant of Exodus. In the process of doing so, he also created The Black Sword, an immensely powerful weapon possessed by a demon.

Ultima VII, Part Two: Serpent Isle (1993) was released as Part 2 of Ultima VII because it used the same game engine as Ultima VII. According to interviews, Richard Garriot felt it therefore did not warrant a new number. Production was rushed due to deadlines set to the developers, and the storyline was cut short; remains of the original, longer storyline can be found in the database. Following the Fellowship's defeat, its founder Batlin flees to the Serpent Isle, pursued by the Avatar and companions. Serpent Isle is revealed as another fragment of former Sosaria, and its history which is revealed throughout the game provides many explanations and ties up many loose ends left over from the Age of Darkness era. Magical storms herald the unraveling of the dying world's very fabric, and the game's mood is notably melancholic and sad, including the voluntary sacrificial death of a long-standing companion of the Avatar. By the end of the game, the Avatar confronts the Guardian but is overpowered and thrown into another world, which became the setting for the next game in the series.

The Silver Seed was an expansion pack for Ultima VII Part 2 where the Avatar travelled back in time on Serpent Isle to plant a silver seed to balance the forces that hold Serpent Isle together. Like Forge of Virtue, it created an isolated sub-quest that was irrelevant to the original game's storyline, but provided the Avatar with a plethora of useful and powerful artifacts.

In Ultima VIII: Pagan (1994), the Avatar finds himself exiled to a world of the same name by the Guardian. The Britannic Principles and Virtues are unknown here. Pagan is ruled by the Elemental Titans, god-like servants of the Guardian. The Avatar defeats them with their own magic, ascending to demi-godhood himself, and finally returns to Britannia. A planned expansion pack, The Lost Vale, was canceled after Ultima VIII failed to meet sales expectations.

Ultima IX: Ascension (1999), the final installment of the series, sees Britannia conquered and its Virtues corrupted by the Guardian. The Avatar has to cleanse and restore them. The Guardian is revealed to be the evil part of the Avatar himself, expelled from him when he became the Avatar. To stop it, he has to merge with it, destroying himself as a separate entity. The unreleased version of the plot featured a more apocalyptic ending, with the Guardian and Lord British killed, Britannia destroyed, and the Avatar ascending to a higher plane of existence.

Because it was only released with a truncated storyline and contained many plot holes and inconsistencies with the established Ultima universe, some fans refuse to accept Ultima IX in its released form as the series' conclusion.

[edit] Worlds of Ultima spin-off

The spin-off Worlds of Ultima series uses the game engine of Ultima VI and describes the Avatar's adventures after its conclusion.

In Worlds of Ultima: The Savage Empire (1990), a failed experiment transports the Avatar to the Valley of Eodon, a jungle world populated by thirteen primitive tribes whom he unites against a common enemy, the insectoid Myrmidex.

Ultima: Worlds of Adventure 2: Martian Dreams (1991) takes place after The Savage Empire and sees the Avatar travel back in time to the Victorian era and eventually land on Mars to rescue humans stranded on it by accident and to restore the native Martian civilization. The third game, Ultima: Worlds of Adventure 3: Arthurian Legends, was planned to be set in the times of King Arthur but was canceled in 1993.

[edit] Ultima Underworld spin-off

The second spin-off series, Ultima Underworld, consisted of two games.

Set after Ultima VI, Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss (1992) sees the Avatar descending into the Great Stygian Abyss to rescue a Britannian baron's kidnapped daughter and prevent the summoning of a powerful demon.

Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds (1993) is set between the two parts of Ultima VII and starts with the Guardian trapping Lord British, the Avatar and his companions within an impenetrable barrier in their castle. To free them, the Avatar has to travel through several parallel universes looking for a way to undo the spell.

[edit] Ultima Online MMORPG

Ultima Online (1997), a MMORPG spin-off of the main series, has become an unexpected hit, making it one of the earliest and longest-running successful MMORPGs of all time. Its lore retconned the ending of Ultima I, stating that when the Stranger shattered the Gem of Immortality, he discovered that it was tied to the world itself, therefore its shards each contained a miniature version of Britannia. The player characters in Ultima Online exist on these "shards". Eight expansion packs for UO have been released (The Second Age, Renaissance, Third Dawn, Lord Blackthorn's Revenge, Age of Shadows, Samurai Empire, Mondain's Legacy and Stygian Abyss) . The aging UO graphic engine was renewed in 2007 with the official Kingdom Reborn client. Ultima Online 2, later renamed to Ultima Worlds Online: Origin and canceled in 2001, would have introduced steampunk elements to the game world, following Lord British's unsuccessful attempt to merge past, present, and future shards together.

[edit] Canceled sequel

The canceled MMORPG Ultima X: Odyssey (2004) would have continued the story of Ultima IX. Now merged with the Guardian, the Avatar creates a world of Alucinor inside his mind, where the players were supposed to pursue the Eight Virtues in order to strengthen him and weaken the Guardian. Ultima X was developed without participation of the original creator Richard Garriott and he no longer owns the rights to the series. However, he still owns the rights to several of the game characters so it is impossible for either him or Electronic Arts to produce a new Ultima title without getting permission from each other.

[edit] Packaging

Ultima game boxes often contained so-called "feelies"; e.g. from Ultima II on, every game in the main series came with a cloth map of the game world. Starting with Ultima IV, small trinkets like pendants, coins and magic stones were found in the boxes. Made of metal or glass, they usually represented an important object also found within the game itself.

Not liking how games were sold in zip lock bags with a few pages printed out for instructions, Richard Garriott insisted Ultima II be sold in a box, with a cloth map, and a manual.[4][5] Sierra was the only company at that time willing to agree to this, and thus he signed with them.

[edit] Anti-piracy measures

Ultima VI began the use of copy protection in the form of in-game questions, preventing the player from progressing any further if the questions were answered incorrectly. In Ultima VII, this practice was continued, although in both games the player had an unlimited number of tries to answer the questions correctly. Answers could be obtained by consulting the manual or cloth map, although the manual released with the Ultima Collection contained all copy protection answers for every game.

In Ultima VII Part 2: Serpent Isle, the copy protection was changed slightly. Players were asked questions at two points in the game, and if they could not answer after two attempts, all NPCs said nothing but altered versions of famous quotes, such as "My kingdom for a hammer!", "Honor thy father and thy hoe, babycakes" and "Oh my, twig, I don't think we're in Britannia anymore". Everything would also be labeled "Oink!", preventing the game from being playable. From Ultima VIII onward, copy protection questions were discontinued.

[edit] Media

[edit] Games

[edit] Main series

[edit] Collections

[edit] Ultima Collection

The Ultima Collection is a CD-ROM collection of the first eight Ultima computer games (MS-DOS versions only), including their respective expansion packs. It was released on February 17, 1998 for Windows 95/98 and DOS. The disk will not work as such on Windows 2000 or newer; a DOS Emulator such as DOSBox and some manual work is required to get all the games working on modern versions of Windows. The included version of Ultima II is incomplete; see its own article for details.

Along with Ultima's I-VIII this collection also included:

[edit] Other games

[edit] Unreleased games

[edit] Ultima Online

Main article: Ultima Online

An MMORPG version of the world of Britannia. In Ultima Online, thousands of players interact online in Britannia. See Ultima Online for more information.

UO spawned two sequel efforts that were canceled before release: Ultima Worlds Online: Origin (canceled in 2001, though the game's storyline was published in the Technocrat War trilogy.) and Ultima X: Odyssey (canceled in 2004). However, several expansions were released for Ultima Online, adding new features and areas to be explored. They are The Second Age, Renaissance, Third Dawn, Lord Blackthorn's Revenge, Age of Shadows, Samurai Empire, Mondain's Legacy and Stygian Abyss.

[edit] Console games

Console versions of Ultima have allowed further exposure to the series, especially in Japan where the games have been bestsellers and were accompanied by several tie-in products including Ultima manga. In most cases, gameplay and graphics have been changed significantly.

[edit] Remakes and new games

[edit] Novels

[edit] Manga

[edit] Other Ultima merchandise

In Japan an Ultima soundtrack CD, two kinds of wrist watches, a tape dispenser, a pencil holder, a board game, a jacket, and a beach towel were released. There was also an Ultima cartoon.[6]

[edit] Characters

See List of Ultima characters.

[edit] Artificial scripts

The Ultima series of computer games employed several different artificial scripts.

The people of Britannia, the fantasy world where the games are set, speak English, and most of the day-to-day things are written in Latin alphabet. However, there still are other scripts, which are used by tradition.

[edit] Britannian runes

A sign from Ultima VII in Britannian runes, saying "The Wayfarer's Inn".

Britannian runes are the most commonly seen script. In many of the games of the series, most of the signs are written in runes, with no actual transcription for them given. Some could see this as part of Origin's clever anti-piracy ploy, where people who do not have the manual would be far more confused while playing the game. Many players of the games learned to read runes without aid.

The Britannian runes and Latin equivalents.

The runes are based on Germanic runes, but are slightly different. In actual games, the runes have been in use since the early games. They gained steadier use in the games proper since Ultima V, which was the first game in series to feature a runic font and use it for most of the display of various signs. Earlier games featured runes only in other graphics; For example, in Ultima IV, visions got from meditating use runic letters.

By the time of Ultima VII, the runes had started to fall in somewhat of a disuse: Old establishments still used runes in the signs, while new ones, such as The Fellowship, used Latin characters. Curiously, they're also used in the cloth map of Ultima VIII, even though it is set in a world with no ties to Britannia.

[edit] Gargish alphabet

Gargish is the language of the gargoyles of Britannia and the language used in spellcasting within the game. The language is complex and flexible, but the vocabulary is prohibitively small, limiting its use. The Gargish language has its own alphabet, although it can also be written in the Latin alphabet. The difference between nouns, verbs, and adjectives is expressed through intonations and gestures. Because of this, written Gargish uses suffixes to denote part of speech, grammatical tense, and grammatical aspect. In some cases, these suffixes are also used as independent words. Gargoyles avoid using pronouns or verb tense unless it is crucial to comprehension; therefore the language is often spoken in the infinitive.

The Gargish alphabet is featured in Ultima VI, though it is seen in the games very rarely. Ultima VII and onward does not feature anything written in the alphabet, with the sole exception of some books to be found in the gargoyle colony in the underwater city of Ambrosia in Ultima IX.

The Gargish language and alphabet were designed by Herman Miller.

[edit] Ophidian alphabet

The ophidian alphabet, featured in Ultima VII Part Two: Serpent Isle, was used by the ophidian civilization that inhabited the Serpent Isle. It is based on various snake forms.

Ophidian lettering was quite difficult to read, so the game included a Translation spell that made the letters look like Latin letters.

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b Barton 2007, p. 4
  2. ^ a b King & Borland 2003, pp. 72-78
  3. ^ Vestal 1998, p. "The First Console RPG" "A devoted gamer could make a decent case for either of these Atari titles founding the RPG genre; nevertheless, there's no denying that Dragon Quest was the primary catalyst for the Japanese console RPG industry. And Japan is where the vast majority of console RPGs come from, to this day. Influenced by the popular PC RPGs of the day (most notably Ultima), both Excalibur and Dragon Quest "stripped down" the statistics while keeping features that can be found even in today's most technologically advanced titles. An RPG just wouldn't be complete, in many gamers' eyes, without a medieval setting, hit points, random enemy encounters, and endless supplies of gold. (...) The rise of the Japanese RPG as a dominant gaming genre and Nintendo's NES as the dominant console platform were closely intertwined."
  4. ^ Richard Garriott interview on G4TV
  5. ^ The Official Book of Ultima
  6. ^ The Official Book of Ultima, page 78

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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