Information AboutUltima |
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''Ultima'' is a series of Fantasy Computer Role-playing Game s 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. With more than twenty-five titles, it is considered the longest running RPG franchise, as well as one of the longest running - if not the longest - video game series. OVERVIEW ''Ultima'' tells the story of a hero who would be summoned by the ruler of a fantasy world, known first as Sosaria , later as Britannia , whenever troubles would arise. The ruler of that world is called Lord British , and his pleas would be answered by a stranger coming from another world known only as Earth through a magical portal. As time passed, that hero would overcome several obstacles and fight several entities (both in Britannia and in other planes), and gain the title of Avatar , becoming the embodiment of the Virtues. The ''Ultima'' series is divided in three parts. The first three games (''Ultima I-III''), the ''Age of Darkness'' trilogy, are the typical "kill the evil overlord" fantasy games. The antagonists of the first three games reside in their castles, but have summoned forth legions of monsters that make prey of the land; the protagonist must defeat them, but does have the option of stealing and murdering. The next three games (''Ultima IV-VI''), the ''Age of Enlightenment'' trilogy, add a revolutionary moral element into the fantasy game genre. The character had to attain the eight virtues of honesty, compassion, valor, justice, sacrifice, honor, spirituality and humility. The eight virtues are loosely based on the Hindu concept of Avatarhood, which involves sixteen paths of purification, with the final (sixteenth) path being to become one with God (according to ''The Official Book of Ultima'' by Shay Addams). The three principles of Truth, Love, and Courage echo the quests of the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion from '' The Wizard Of Oz '', though Garriott denies that they were the original source. The three principles are also linked in the game to the symbols of the bell (Bell of Courage), book (Book of Truth) and candle (Candle of Love), which are the objects that were expended in the Catholic Excommunication Ceremony . In general, the ''Ultima'' games take symbolism from many different religious and philosophical sources. The third and final trilogy (''Ultima VII-IX''), the ''Age of Armageddon'' (also known as ''The Guardian Saga''), pits the Avatar against an anti-virtue deity known as the Guardian . ''Ultima I-V'' were originally developed on and released for the Apple II Family of computers. All the games from ''Ultima VI'' on were developed on IBM PC Compatible machines. The earlier ''Ultima'' games were ported to many computer types, including 8-bit Atari (''Ultima I-IV''), Atari ST (''Ultima II-VI''), Commodore 64 (''Ultima I-VI''), Commodore Amiga (''Ultima III-VI, VII Part 1'') and IBM PC (''Ultima I-V''). The ''Ultima'' games were also famous for the trinkets included in the game boxes. From ''Ultima II'' on, every main ''Ultima'' game 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. Originated in Infocom games, these trinkets were called " Feelies ". The creator, Richard Garriott , no longer owns the rights to the game, nor participates in the development, however he still owns the rights to several of the characters from the game. Due to this, it is impossible for either Richard Garriott or EA to create a new ''Ultima'' game without first getting permission from the other, which is unlikely. THE GAMES The original series The Age of Darkness The Age of Enlightenment The Age of Armageddon (The Guardian Saga)
Other ''Ultima'' games
Unreleased ''Ultima'' games
Ultima Online series (1997) See the main article Ultima Online A 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 cancelled before release: ''''. 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.
Major and recurring characters
RELATED MEDIA Novels
Manga
ULTIMA DRAGONS The Ultima Dragons Internet Chapter is a large fanclub of Ultima devotees. Some members have been honored with tributes to them in various games in the ''Ultima'' series, and the ''Dragon Edition'' of ''Ultima IX'' was named in their honor. RELATED PROJECTS Many communities of dedicated programmers have taken it upon themselves to patch the old ''Ultima'' games to run under modern operating systems, or to remake and/or revise their cherished series with modern gaming engines. This is a partial listing of them: Engine rewrite projects
Remakes and new games
SEE ALSO
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