BioWare Resurrects Richard Garriott's Classic RPG

Written by: Jason Winter (@winterinformal) | July 13, 2012 5:30 am

31 Comments

If you’re longing for a return to Britannia and the roots of Western RPGs then you’re in luck, as BioWare has announced the newest incarnation of Richard Garriott‘s original classic.

Ultima Forever: Quest for the Avatar is the title of the this new potential obsession, where players will be able to take on the role of a Fighter or Mage, traveling the lands and righting wrongs in what’s being described as a free-to-play “cross-platform action RPG.” There’s a piece of concept art, and a map, and…

Well, not much else. Massively poked Creative Director Paul Barnett, who let spill that the game’s “cross-platform” functionality includes PC and iPad, that it’s not a true MMO, and that its cash shop won’t be intrusive. He also said that it would keep to the spirit of the franchise, and that long-time fans shouldn’t be put off by the game’s more casual focus:

“We look at it like how Peter Jackson had to re-imagine Lord of the Rings for the screen, or how Christopher Nolan had to imagine Batman. We’re not going to please everyone, but hopefully when players finish kicking the tires, they’ll come back and go, ‘OK, that’s pretty cool.’”

Ultima Forever would be the first true entry in the Ultima franchise since 1999′s Ultima IX: Ascension, though Lord of Ultima, a browser-based MMORTS, was released by Germany-based EA Phenomic in 2010.

You can sign up for the beta right now on the game’s website.

So, what do you think, Ultimaniacs? Are you going to give Ultima Forever a shot?

BioWare Resurrects Richard Garriott's Classic RPG

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23 comments

http://twitter.com/NevronSoA Shane

Since it’s not an MMO BioWare might be able to pull it off.
Eggers

Ultima coming back would be cool if it didn’t have BioWares’s and therefore the devil’s
EA’s name on it. I will not buy anything with EAs name on it.
- http://www.facebook.com/people/Alex-Mac/777995513 Alex Mac
  
  EA published Ultima 9 in 1999 and were the publisher of Ultima Online. You shouldn’t be shocked that EA’s the publisher here.
MMO_Doubter

Paul Barnett can go to hell. He couldn’t tell the truth about a game he was working on to save his life.
- DoctorOverlord
  
  I followed WAR during its development. I listened to Paul Barnett and while he does entertaining hype, most of what he spouted regarding WAR had little to do with reality.
  
  His credibility is non-existent as far as I’m concerned. He’ll need to work to show that has changed.
- http://profile.yahoo.com/Z36GPOU3Q2QIQYBIDVNQAVGNGE Raul
  
  aGREED.
http://twitter.com/Succorbenothi Christopher

…..Who 7 years ago would have though that we would be sitting here talking about how a Bioware game might be horrible.

As a person who played UO for years, im praying this is fun(mmo or naught). I just have this suspicion it wont be.
- MMO_Doubter
  
  It might be – IF you spend enough.
Revanhavoc

If Dragon Age 3 doesn’t deliver we could find ourselves in the midst of one of the most spectacular falls from grace in video game history.
- http://www.facebook.com/jonathan.hornsby.7 Jonathan Hornsby
  
  It won’t, sadly. Basically it has already been confirmed to be a Skyrim rip off. The peoblem being that Dragon Age was made to be about story, that is why the first one was so much better than the seconds. And with the thrid focusing on open world exploration….may as well not even call it Dragon Age; the core of the series has been abandoned already.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Feyd-Darkholme/100000194391744 Feyd Darkholme

I wish first off that people would stop with the Bioware hate. It’s the execs and EA that are at fault for their recent missteps, not “Bioware”. The developers tow the party line or they get fired, and all the execs care about is lining their pockets with money.

Secondly, EA is solely responsible for Ultima Online become the aberration that it is today, the destruction of the IP and the destruction of the company that created the IP and designed the games, Origin Systems Inc. So to think this is going to be anything but complete sh** is just silly… I wish it wasn’t the case because I love the IP, but it died for me over a decade ago.

Is Bioware still capable of making great games? Of course they are! Are Bioware still capable of making great games with EA calling the shots? Almost 100% the answer is no… and for the love of God please don’t insult anyone’s intelligence trying to pull the “Oh but EA doesn’t make design decisions” bull…
- http://twitter.com/NevronSoA Shane
  
  You’re right. EA are the ones that developed SWTOR as a co-op game, used stock photos from the internet in ME3, so on and so forth. You can’t just lump BW’s design/development decisions into the fault category of EA. BW is still a development studio and they are still responsible for a lot of their mistakes. They make some good games, but they also make some sub-par games.
  
  So why then are they capable of releasing good games under EA, but the moment they botch a game or slip-up it’s suddenly EA’s fault? That doesn’t make sense. I think EA is a money-grubbing pile of stink just as much as the next guy, but I’m not going to blame them for every development failure.
  - Warfox Mihomiti
    
    Exactly. EA just provides money and resources, Bioware is responsible for paying them back, that is their relationship.
  - http://profile.yahoo.com/Z36GPOU3Q2QIQYBIDVNQAVGNGE Raul
    
    Haste makes waste,
    Shareholders want results.
    Yesterday.
- http://pulse.yahoo.com/_R35J5EUERGS3E6JRIQMBCDTRRY Nathan I
  
  Uhh, considering BW has publicly said that EA more or less lets them do what they want and does not micromanage them, no it’s not necessarily EA’s fault. As others said it’s not EA’s decision to use a stock photo for Tali, and all the other stuff they’ve done. They half-assed their work because they thought they were untouchable.
- pc11
  
  Bioware as already publicly admited EA funds their projects and has a total “no hands on” approach to their business.
  
  Your point is destroyed by your ignorance.
  - MMO_Doubter
    
    Devs lie.
    
    The head of Mythic said EA didn’t force them to release WH Online early.
    
    The man who pays the piper – calls the tune. At SOME point the boss will start kicking ass about delays.
  - http://profile.yahoo.com/Z36GPOU3Q2QIQYBIDVNQAVGNGE Raul
    
    I highly doubt any game developer has full control over release dates.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Michael-Johnson/1353890372 Michael Johnson

Why can’t EA just let good franchises die with dignity?
Do they have to milk EVERY FUCKING IP they have?
- http://profile.yahoo.com/ITHF7XKYGVXFAPCDMDJTKHLBBU Lian Wan
  
  EA’s purpose is to make money. Not milking every IP would be wrong!
- http://twitter.com/ItsatrapLOL itsatrapLOL
  
  Except for the part where Lord British pushed for this himself. And he was probably a snot-nosed brat while he did it too.
http://twitter.com/DaveyDiablo Davey Diablo

Paul Barnett. What a nob…
TacoBaal

Just wish it wasn’t Bioware
Old Ben

> We look at it like how Peter Jackson had to re-imagine Lord of the Rings for the screen

In other words: “We know we’re going to murder it.”

If you’re going to make something different, call it something different. Stop trying to use someone else’s achievements as your crutch.
- MMO_Doubter
  
  LOL. Thank you for that.
  
  Nice to know I am not the only one.
- http://profile.yahoo.com/Z36GPOU3Q2QIQYBIDVNQAVGNGE Raul
  
  +2
http://www.facebook.com/oneniisama Bear Powell

Ultima X: Odyssey was the last Ultima game most of us cared about and it was cancelled long ago. These latest and upcoming Ultima related games are trash and should be treated so. Ultima VII (Part 1 “The Black Gate”, Part 2 “Serpent Isle”, and the Expansion “The Silver Seed”) was the last Ultima game that I personally think should be required for gamers to play so people can see what a wonderful RPG looks like. Ultima IX would have been great if they had stuck to the original ending.
http://twitter.com/Vazzaroth Josh Hagood

I’m still confused. Is this a revival of Ultima Online, or the old SNES and other systems’ games? Whenever I hear people say Ultima they mean Online, but I think of the numbered ones.
GettCouped

We’ll let you know when we see the gameplay.
pc11

The name “Paul Barnett” is in this. Never going to look at it again.

Fuck you for WAR!
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_INBXCM4CZFVSPC2ZYINQJAK77Y Methadose

I beta tested for Ultima Online, they actually sent me the disc in the mail… Shows my age, but Ultima online was a hardcore pvp game. It was SOOOO good for the time and very indepth the player housing skills taming crafting full loot on death the death system. I mean its not for the light at heart, but awesome game.

BioWare Resurrects Richard Garriott's Classic RPG

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