Garriott: "open" to working on a new Ultima @ Eurogamer

Frozen Fireball sends in these comments from Richard Garriott at Eurogamer, saying he would be "open" to working on a new Ultima with EA and had held discussions but they didn't "seem to be particularly interested":

"I hope that Ultima does survive forever, yet I also, of course, have my own very particular ideas for what Ultima can and should become over time and so we'll see if they do things quite the way I would do them… since I'm not there at the moment," he said.
When asked whether he'd consider working with EA on a possible game, he revealed that talks had in fact already taken place but so far proved fruitless.
"We would be open to that. In fact, we've had some discussions at what I'll call very high levels, but the individuals who are currently shepherding the property don't seem to be particularly interested in that, so we'll see," explained Garriott.

More information.

Not interested in Ultima Online, Ultima the RTS game, or Ultima the social media game. Would like a core game that is single player who's inspiration is U7.

I agree, single player game I have zero interest in play any online or social game.
Though with all the chatter out there with Ultima games it has me hoping for something…Would be happy if a team took on and redid all the ultima's with the same engine….

Ugh, the last thing I'd want to see Garriott do is work with EA. He just needs to become an indie developer again and create a new IP, only bigger and better than Ultima.

This doesn't really excite me as I have finally given up hope that Garriot will every make another game that I like. He isn't interested in single player games, only online and social media type games.

Garriot made some nice Ultimas, but he really messed up U9, so, no, I don't want to see how much more he ruins Britannia. And of course I don't have any interest in something …Online. I was really disappointed that there was no real Kotor3, for example.

I think the Ultima name should be allowed to rest in peace… I don't know what happened to Garriott, but his creative talent is only a shadow of what it was when he made the Ultima series. Ultima deserves to keep its legacy intact instead of becoming a "Farmville/Facebook" social media casual-fest that Garriott likely envisions these days.

I'm all for a 3D single player game, it's not like they are pouring in. The more the Better. U9 may have been a disappointment but it's was pretty early in the use of Full 3D rendered worlds as well. The new tech available should prove to Bring Garriott's visions to fruition. Sounds good to me.

I don't think Garriott messed up U9, I think EA was largely to blame. I think if Garriott had had his way and been in complete control, without EA telling him what he could and could not do(causing him to cut features and change the game in a way he was unhappy with), I think U9 would have turned out far better. In fact, I still wish that Garriott had never agreed to sell out to EA, and had been able to remain in total control of Origin Systems with plenty of capital to make games the way he wanted. If so, Ultima 8 would have turned out better too, and he'd probably have made an Ultima 10 as well, one that probably would have gotten good reviews.

stay.away.from. EA. (hey that rhymes!)

Cant we fire Garriott back into space,thats about the only good idea he's had in years…

no thanks.
he lost his touch decades ago.

I'd like Garriott make another Ultima game about as much as I'd like George Lucas make another Star Wars movie.

I missed out on the Ultimas. I hope someone does a 1-7 port to a more modern engine, even the Infinity engine would do. We don't need Dragon Age tech for this.

The huge unspoken question is how can you have an Ultima without Lord British. And what about the copyright for the names of the companions? Do those belong to EA or their respective people? (Especially Shamino and Iolo).

Garriot is a genious when it comes to game design, if he was given the correct resources and time, I am sure he'd make masterpiece again.

ToddMcF2002, the problem is that Ultima 7 uses one of the most advanced 2.5D game engines I know of, even until now. The Infinity Engine wouldn't do it justice.

As for u9 it was a really good game after a fan's site( i can't remember the name). Tore it down and rebuilt it…all the EA bugs were out of it and played very nicely.
I agree Richard lost his touch long ago, and I have been one to say enough is enough…but if he was given the chance to build a single person RPG it couldn't be any worst than DA2….I think having him over see all 9 games redone at the same time with a new engine would be the first step…then maybe a 10th Ultima after that….The story lines still are great and released as one hugh box set where it was like a gaint expansion set…..I miss seeing origin systems we create worlds

Originally Posted by GothicGothicness
Garriot is a genious when it comes to game design, if he was given the correct resources and time, I am sure he'd make masterpiece again.

I agree.

I've never really felt that Garriot lost his touch. I think after making 9 core Ultima games, 2 Ulitima Underworld games, and 2 Ultima spin-offs (martian dreams and savage empire) over a span of 20 years more than earned the right to go off and try other things (going into space, making an mmo and whatnot) - even if such endevours seem eccentric or misguided.

To complain that the guy wanted to try other things or declare he is now terrible in one way or another just makes the gaming community look like spoiled brats.

That said, I still hope that at some point enough time will go by that Garriot might feel compelled to revisit the whole single player RPG concept whether it be the Ultima IP or a new IP in the spirit of Ultima. I believe he could still make a great single player fantasy RPG.

Originally Posted by GothicGothicness
Garriot is a genious when it comes to game design, if he was given the correct resources and time, I am sure he'd make masterpiece again.

So what's stopping him? He's got the resources and time AFAIK.