Shroud of the Avatar - Interview with Garriott

[HiddenX]

Rune_74 has spotted this interview with Richard Garriot at Polygon:

Richard Garriott: the man, the myth, the mischief

Early in his autobiography, Richard Garriott characterizes himself as a storyteller, a lover of yarns. After reading his new book, stuffed with tales of derring-do, I interview him via Skype. True to form, he answers almost all my questions with anecdotes, occasionally waving props into the mini-cam. He's as practiced as a Toastmaster Grand Wizard.

I'm familiar with some of the stories he tells because I've just read them in his book. Others have only a glancing relationship with the actual question asked. But no matter, he's an entertaining old cove. Among video gaming's elite auteurs — the multi-millionaire club of game design innovators — he's probably the one you'd most readily invite to a dinner party.

You're probably thinking of Garriott as that fella who wrote the Ultima games and then bought a ticket to space. But his stock of reminiscences go far beyond merely helping to shape video games and visiting the International Space Station for a fun fortnight. He's explored the Titanic. Hiked the Antarctic. Built amazing ghost houses.

My dad was an astronaut
Garriott is not the sort to hole himself up in a mansion like some 21st Century Charles Foster Kane, secluded with his greenbacks and his toys. He's out there, living it large, splashing about in the joyful puddles of existence. It's enough to make the rest of us feel a twinge of envy, perhaps even a nasty lick of resentment.

[...]

Shroud of the Avatar

I ask Garriott about Shroud of the Avatar. My question is framed along the lines of "people seem to be pretty disappointed and underwhelmed by the game." As evidence, I point towards a raft of bad reviews on the in-development game's Steam Early Access page as well as negative comments on its Kickstarter page. I wonder if things are perhaps not going as well as might be hoped?

He looks genuinely amazed at my prognosis. "I don't think so at all," he says. "We've had naysayers since the beginning. But I think what you're seeing is a side effect from open development from day one."

[...]

More information.

 

[Terry]

What you are seeing is the side effect of lying to your customers. Starting off the kickstarer by selling a Single player Ultima 7 experience and then creating a online cash store which caters to the whales game that is 2+ years late.

 

[rjshae]

Those graphics would have looked decent... fifteen years ago.

 

[DarNoor]

I shouldn't have read that. I lost even more respect for the man.

 

[Ripper]

"He's out there, living it large, splashing about in the joyful puddles of existence."

 

[SpoonFULL]

(He looks genuinely amazed at my prognosis. "I don't think so at all," he says. "We've had naysayers since the beginning. But I think what you're seeing is a side effect from open development from day one.")

Passing this statement through the highly sophisticated, and patented manager bullshit filter, the statement reads:
"I don't care, s**t happens - I have taken people for a ride and their moneies and no one can do anything about it."

 

[Aerth]

Old male british developer. He may be called Garriot or Molyneux but he is basically the same. He attracts people telling them he will do the next Ultima, Fable or whatever and he scorns at them 2 years later because they are a selfish bunch of old idiots with no interest in inclusion and pleasing a larger crowd.
How people can still fall for the old tricks of those 2 buffoons is beyond me.

 

[Saxon1974]

I have grown to really dislike one of my hero's. He has become a pompous a$$. Too many years of being told how great he is I guess

 

[Deleted User]

I actually really enjoyed that.

 

[Moorkh]

Old male british developer.

He's not actually British, you know? It just used to be his nickname.

 

[rune_74]

He's not actually British, you know? It just used to be his nickname.

He was actually born in England raised in the states.


I had to share that article because it was mind numbing just how quick they were to blame the customer. Total disconnect from the real world.

 

[Moorkh]

He was actually born in England raised in the states.


I had to share that article because it was mind numbing just how quick they were to blame the customer. Total disconnect from the real world.

Such a shame, that. I can't bear to look at that trainwreck of a game anymore, and I doubt his reputation will ever recover from it.
And yet, I remain a sucker for any chance at a real sequel to U7.

nitpick: born in England to American parents on a rather short-term stay.

 

[rune_74]

Such a shame, that. I can't bear to look at that trainwreck of a game anymore, and I doubt his reputation will ever recover from it.
And yet, I remain a sucker for any chance at a real sequel to U7.

nitpick: born in England to American parents on a rather short-term stay.

I would kickstart a ultima 7 spiritual successor, by anyone but him.

 

[Stingray]

I would kickstart a ultima 7 spiritual successor, by anyone but him.

I think we already did… Divinity: Original Sin

Would be nice to have a "real" successor though with the same world and characters. Probably will never happen.

 

[Saxon1974]

I would kickstart a ultima 7 spiritual successor, by anyone but him.

Yes weren't you one of the naysayers who they eventually banned from posting? His comment made me think "Yea well the early naysayers were banned so only those gloating and agreeing with you were left."

All I have heard him talk about in the past 15 years is the mmo and online social aspect of games. He would often say the early single player games were only made due to technical limitations at the time. Then in the Kickstarter they talked almost exclusively about the online part so I waited and watched, then when people from the UO team were brought in I decided not to back it. Glad I didn't. Sad really as he really created 4 or 5 of the best RPG ever made.

 

[Saxon1974]

I think we already did… Divinity: Original Sin

Would be nice to have a "real" successor though with the same world and characters. Probably will never happen.

Good game but doesn't feel like Ultimate to me. That feeling and atmosphere of just losing my self in the Ultima world has never been duplicated for me. The virtues, story and theme, mystery of the moongates...The midi music. Maybe its nostalgia as it was new to me at the time but still nothing like it again.

 

[Stingray]

Yep, no arguments there.

Still think the start-of-game intro video of Ultima VI is the best ever in any game.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AT6v7nQsbmo
Just the music alone creates more feelings than you get with the "cinematic" stuff today. "From the inevitable, an impossibility emerges."

 

[rune_74]

Yes weren't you one of the naysayers who they eventually banned from posting? His comment made me think "Yea well the early naysayers were banned so only those gloating and agreeing with you were left."

All I have heard him talk about in the past 15 years is the mmo and online social aspect of games. He would often say the early single player games were only made due to technical limitations at the time. Then in the Kickstarter they talked almost exclusively about the online part so I waited and watched, then when people from the UO team were brought in I decided not to back it. Glad I didn't. Sad really as he really created 4 or 5 of the best RPG ever made.

Yep banned...completely on steam and main forums....not a big fan of the group of people he got together to make that game. Not a good group at all. Everyone left on the main forums loves the game or doesn't last long.

 

[ChienAboyeur]

Another round was fired.

Everyone left on the main forums loves the game or doesn't last long.

So people who did not like it were asked to shut up.
Sounds so different from what people demand on this site.

 

[duerer]

Funny thing happened with me: I've actually enjoyed U8 and especially U9!
Totally not Ultima, yes, but as a quirky Zelda ripoff for adults, they are d*mn good games (when patched/modded/etc).

So, the bottom line is: we'll see. There is a chance that Shroud could turn out to be an excellent game, in the year 2525.