Tabula Rasa - GDC Impressions @ FiringSquad, GameInformer

FiringSquad has posted the latest GDC preview of Tabula Rasa:

The game's concept has gone through some changes between the original announcement and today (indeed Tabula Rasa was supposed to be a working title but later the team decided to adopt it as its real name). At the time Garriott said that it would be developed completely as a digital download title and that it wouldn't be a science fiction based game. When details of the game were finally revealed in 2004 it was shown at E3 as a sci-fi game with more than a few fantasy elements. Shortly after E3, Garriott announced on the game's web site that they decided to go in a different direction and at E3 2005 that direction was revealed as a more traditional sci-fi game with lots of action. That concept seemed to have clicked for Garriott and the designers; they have stuck with that concept for the rest of Tabula Rasa's develpment.

GameInformer's preview has input from Richard Garriott:

“In Tabula Rasa, we create missions where receiving a mission is in a fairly traditional way, talking with NPCs, but missions are far more sophisticated, and you actually have to pay attention to what you’re doing. You’ll often receive missions that are by multiple subfactions that run counter to each other. You can complete one, but at the cost of being able to complete the other. You have to not only pay attention to what you’re doing, but there are many ethical parables built into that, and depending on how you choose to finish those missions, they’ll affect the way people respond to you further into the game. These mission threads—these arcs—ultimately build up to climaxes that we conclude inside of instances.”