General News - iOS Utlima Type Game Coming Soon

Really? Want to see me list 20 games that do push the limites of phone/tablet hardware, or did so when they came out?

As you will note I said most, not all. Of course you can name 20 games, and I can probably name 200 that were just basically PC or console games dumped over. I do realize there are some games that really make good use of the mobile formats and I also realize that doesn't always mean simply pushing the limits of the hardware, although since we are paying for the hardware some of that would be nice too.

You're misunderstanding cutting-edge, too. It's not about pushing the technical limits so much as doing new things. Moving to mobile devices full and complete games that were previously only available on PC or console is a new thing. And, yes, it is popular. Not surprisingly so, considering the functions of many devices are being pushed into fewer devices, and the ability to have these functions with you at all times is appealing.

Hypothetically, in the case of Ultima it is basically don't exactly that, shoveling a PC game to the portables. I do think it's possible to make a good game and maybe even a good role playing game that really takes advantage of the portable medium, but it is a very different medium. For one thing a really complex game that takes a while to get going with and that you are going to sit with for hours at a time isn't very well suited for mobile gaming as far as I'm concerned.

I just have a hard time imagining a game that is really well suited for mobile gaming and touch based controls and would still be an Ultima, at least in the way I think of Ultima.
 
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Seriously I'll say it again: Garriott did not ditch Ultima. Ultima belongs to EA, Garriott has no say in the matter. As a matter of fact, he wanted to do a new Ultima game, he contacted EA and they declined, so that's the end of it.

@Motoki - I gotta disagree about the feasability of an Ultima type game on a mobile platforme. For starter geez, now that's not gonna happen but, just take Ultima VII - I see nothing that would prevent it to work on a mobile platform. Also it's likely in time mobile gaming will take over the portable gaming platforms down the roads, and these have plenty of long winded RPG types game. Indeed iOS games are becoming more and more complex (Wtf Dragon on Aiera mentioned a 80h+ 3D RPGs on iOS) so I can see this working in the long run.

On a side note about this news, I'm not sure Garriott is talking about a specific game coming to iOS/Android. I'm thinking he's possibly just referring to the Portalarium framework being porter to iOS/Android since my feeling is that his aim is for Portalarium to offer some form of cloud gaming with games that could work on any browers, or any mobile platform. So it's possible he's just referring to fact that his New Britannia project whenever that comes will also work on mobiles in addition to Facebook and browsers and such...

-Sergorn
 
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He chose to sell Ultima to EA, no one made him do it. In any case, the name aside, he certainly seems to have ditched Ultima-style games, at least as far as single player games go. I don't really consider the MMO type games to be Ultima style. I consider them a different animal. Having played the Ultima single player games and then UO in the early years I really feel the experience is completely different.

Also, if this news does turn out to be basically the Portalarium clients for mobile devices, well again Portalarium != a classic Ultima type game from what I have read so far of Portalarium. I think people that are hoping for a straight up classic Ultima style game for mobiles with this news are going to be disappointed since I suspect this will be multiplayer and probably micotransactions as well.
 
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Yes, I do find this stupid. I used to be mad at Metallica for changing course and making dumb music. I got older and got over it. They can do what they want. Yes, I can have an opinion about it, but being mad at them for "ditching" me, or "asking" for another Ride the Lightning or Master of Puppets? Really? I have no place asking them for anything.

But I can think they're stupid and that they suck.

Acting all angry that Garriott wants to make an iOS game is dumb. Disappointment is more appropriate.

Seriously? You wrote all of that because I'm pissed. Dude, it's not like a deep-seeded anger that keeps me up at night. I'm just pissed he releasing a SP RPG on another platform for god sakes. Firsts I catch shit for using the word "oriental" and now this…..You guys are too funny sometimes.

Thaurin, I normally like what you have to say, but in this case you can keep your disappointment and I'll keep my anger, thank you very much.....Anger is too strong. I'm just pissed, but Skyrim will distract me soon enough ;)

BTW, I agree about Metallica. Plus, Lars needs to STFU. :D

@Sergorn He ditched the RPG singleplayer genre. I would have probably done the same thing if I was in his shoes because the guy really wanted his MMO back then. Still wish he'd make a PC singleplayer RPG since he seems to be going back to SP now.
 
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Seriously? You wrote all of that because I'm pissed. Dude, it's not like a deep-seeded anger that keeps me up at night.

Okay. I just wrote "all of that" because I thought the whole thing was mildly interesting and I had an opinion about it. I still think anger, or "being pissed" is misplaced. Maybe much of this has to do with the direction of the anger; being pissed off at Garriott for any of this is dumb. So who are you pissed off at?

Ah, this entire topic has probably been dragged on for too long. :)
 
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If this is even a fraction of the quality of the U7's I will be a very happy man indeed.

I have played and finished U7 at least 6 times and U7p2 even more times and I still occasionaly find something new or find some wierd random series of events. I will probably still be playing it when I am 80 years old. Thanks Richard Garriot.
 
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Garriot making an Ultima type game for iOS is not like Metalica changing music style, it's like they're releasing an album that goes back to their thrash roots exclusively on iTunes.

Actually in a way I find it appropriate. PCs twenty years ago were very primitive compared to what we have now and games of that period, not matter how good, were equally primitive. Today's iGadgets, no matter how good they are, are also very primitive compared to a pc. Therefore, if 'Ultima type' also includes the simplicity of the mechanics of these games, then I find it more appropriate to be on an equaly simple platform.
 
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There are some really good games on igadget but they are rare. So its possible to make them, but mostly whats made is trash like 20-30 years ago for 8bit computers. Many of the games on ipad have roots on classics of that era.

I have like 5 different kickstart variations on ipad. Funnily enough graphics excluded none of them is equal to the original (played it recently):
http://www.mobygames.com/game/kikstart-off-road-simulator

If they cant make a proper kickstart even then hopes for good ultima are hmm…not all that good.
 
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Agree - there is a guy working on an Eye of the Beholder clone on another forum, but at best it is a slightly updated clone of a 25 year old game.

That has always been my argument about iOS and Android game business models - if a AAA game on X360/PC costs $100 million+ to make, and a similar DS/PSP property costs $40 million ... and those sell for $30 - $60 ... do the math, it would be like selling 200 million copies of Battlefield 3 to match the profits on the iPhone that EA made for the console game.
 
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Actually in a way I find it appropriate. PCs twenty years ago were very primitive compared to what we have now and games of that period, not matter how good, were equally primitive. Today's iGadgets, no matter how good they are, are also very primitive compared to a pc. Therefore, if 'Ultima type' also includes the simplicity of the mechanics of these games, then I find it more appropriate to be on an equaly simple platform.

That's funny because I was thinking the same thing. In another thread it is reported that Wasteland and Bards Tale are also getting released on tablets. In effect more "primitive" games going on a "simple" platform. Actually this was all foretold when the wII started releasing it old NES games on its platform. It might not be to far in the future when the tablet is the preferred hand held gaming device. Hmmmm, might be time to dump my Nintendo stock.
 
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Seriously I'll say it again: Garriott did not ditch Ultima. Ultima belongs to EA, Garriott has no say in the matter. As a matter of fact, he wanted to do a new Ultima game, he contacted EA and they declined, so that's the end of it.

That's a bit misleading Sergorn. Yes, he sold Ultima to EA, and yes he did want to do a new Ultima game, but that new game proposal came years after a very, very bitter separation from EA. It's not like when they wrapped up Ultima IX he was clamoring EA to start on the next Ultima.
 
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That has always been my argument about iOS and Android game business models - if a AAA game on X360/PC costs $100 million+ to make, and a similar DS/PSP property costs $40 million … and those sell for $30 - $60 … do the math, it would be like selling 200 million copies of Battlefield 3 to match the profits on the iPhone that EA made for the console game.

And interestingly, Angry Birds has now been downloaded over 500 million times. :) Admittedly, that is across all versions, including the free ones. But yeah, some iOS games have seen incredible sales.

I find that I am much more forgiving on a mobile device than on PC. Presentation issues in games that I would have trouble with on PC, are great on iPhone and somehow seem more fun than if I would place it on a big screen PC. For example, some of the old-school re-releases, retro-games or old point-and-click adventures. I find myself playing old SNES games in an emulator that I would not have spent the time on were I on PC!

So to me there is a lot of potential for fun. I don't believe that Garriott will necessirly use crippling in-app purchases; those are the domain of run-of-the-mill freemium Korean RPG's.
 
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Actually in a way I find it appropriate. PCs twenty years ago were very primitive compared to what we have now and games of that period, not matter how good, were equally primitive. Today's iGadgets, no matter how good they are, are also very primitive compared to a pc.

Not really. There actually are some games that are fully 3D and some of those devices have dual core Nvidia processors (with quad core ones just around the corner). There are actually some games that look almost comparable to some PC games and definitely comparable to some modern console stuff.

It's not that the hardware can't do it, it's that the producers of these games want to go for the lowest common denominator most times and that means catering to older generation hardware and lower end phones and such. It's also because for now, those old 8-bit style games sell and are much cheaper to make so they are riding that gravy train. Eventually I think all the hardware will catch up and we will see games that are increasingly modern looking.

I personally believe that mobile devices (via video out to a TV or monitor) and/or cloud gaming will eventually replace consoles, but we will see. Onlive is coming out with fully functional apps for iOS and Android soon that runs the games server side on their hardware so that may be another option for people with low end hardware.
 
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I think you guys are missing the point. It's not if he can make a prettier game, or whatever, its if he can push the platform in a way it hasn't been done before. Ultima wasn't that original until he started doing things others weren't in Ultima III and particularly in Ultima IV, and even then the graphics weren't state of the art. He found a unique way to use the technology at hand to present a unique experience that exploded across the industry.

Can he make a similar breakthrough on the mobile platform? So far everything I've seen on my android phone is just a rehash of what you see on PC's or consoles.
 
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I think you guys are missing the point. It's not if he can make a prettier game, or whatever, its if he can push the platform in a way it hasn't been done before.

No, I understand that point. I was responding specifically to the comment that the hardware on all mobile devices being supposedly vastly inferior to that of PCs and consoles, which is a misconception.

Can he make a similar breakthrough on the mobile platform? So far everything I've seen on my android phone is just a rehash of what you see on PC's or consoles.

Agreed for the most part. There's a few exception but most of it is shovelware because there's now a place where people will buy games with archaic graphics in mass quantities.

It's obviously not the most substantial game ever, but I think Angry Birds is an example of a game well suited to the mobile platform. It makes really good use of the touch input, it's easy to learn and get into, you can play it in short bursts or for long stretches just as easily. In fact, when I tried playing it on the PC with a mouse it just felt odd. It really is a mobile game but 99% of the stuff out there isn't.
 
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That's a bit misleading Sergorn. Yes, he sold Ultima to EA, and yes he did want to do a new Ultima game, but that new game proposal came years after a very, very bitter separation from EA. It's not like when they wrapped up Ultima IX he was clamoring EA to start on the next Ultima.

Like... he had any say in the matter?

After Ultima IX EA's only interest in Ultima was to make Ultima Online 2 and more online games. Period.

EA had already turned Origin into an online only company by the time U9 was released so there was not to be any new single player Ultima game ever. As a matter of fact we have it on good authority (ie. Andy Hollis) that there was a strong push amongst EA and even Origin to have Ultima IX cancelled so that the company could focus on UO2 and other onlines and that the only reason this did not happen (while this happened to basically every other SP game OSI had in development including Wing Commander stuff) is because EA felt that Ultima IX could potentially help bring new players to UO. That and Garriott had to fight bit and nails to be allowed to finish the game.

The thing is, Garriott had little decisional power at Origin by this time. Sure he was very excited about online games, but he didn't seem very pleased either to have the company not doing single player games anymore. And you gotta remember that he left the company a mere few month after U9's release. Sure he could have stayed and worked on more Ultima Online stuff (which is what EA wanted him to do), but that certainly wouldn't have changed anything as far as single player games do and I can certainly not blame it for wanting to leave to do a different thing elsewhere since EA didn't allowed him to do so.

So basically if there's someone to blame about the lack of a new single player Ultima after Ultima IX, that's EA because this was all out of Garriott's hands by then. And while he'd likely still have went to do his "X" online game at EA at OSI not turned into an online company, that would likely had not prevented more single players Ultima where he had a less hands-on roles, since it certainly happened before. But the ghist of it is that the fate of Ultima all bodes down to the fact that EA turned OSI into an "all online" company which completly wrecked the company in the end.

-Sergorn
 
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I'm not saying EA is not at fault, they destroyed Origin and I am as pissed as everyone else about it, I'm just saying that the way you presented it made it sound like it Garriott was trying to get EA to do another Ultima before he left, and that is not the case. He was no longer with EA when he made that proposal.
 
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No, I understand that point. I was responding specifically to the comment that the hardware on all mobile devices being supposedly vastly inferior to that of PCs and consoles, which is a misconception.
I didn't say that the hardware of all mobile devices is vastly inferior. I said that these devices are primitive compared to a pc. Maybe 'primitive' wasn't exactly the right word, but what I meant was that they have not yet reached a level of sophistication equal to that of a home computer, not only as far as the quality and variety of their hardware is concerned, but also the quality and variety of their software (including both their OSs and apps), peripherals, design and the overall services they provide.
 
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I'm not saying EA is not at fault, they destroyed Origin and I am as pissed as everyone else about it, I'm just saying that the way you presented it made it sound like it Garriott was trying to get EA to do another Ultima before he left, and that is not the case. He was no longer with EA when he made that proposal.

Oh, no it wasn't my intent so it must have come out badly. I was reacting to people feeling he "ditched" Ultima - my point is that he really didn't have a choice back when he left, and he's been expressing his interest in doing a new Ultima for many years now.

To be fair though, when he left OSI they DID have a new Ultima in the works even if this was an online game albeit they ended cancelling it a year later.

-Sergorn
 
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