1971 - Gary Gygax and Jeff Peren create Chainmail, a fantasy miniatures game implementing rules from standard medieval gaming, adding elves, giants, halflings, and other elements borrowed from sources such as Tolkien's Lord of the Rings.

1972 - Dave Arneson visits Gygax in order to demonstrate the game that would become Dungeons & Dragons.

1973 - Gygax and Don Kaye found Tactical Studies Rules - TSR.

1974 - TSR publishes the first edition of Dungeons & Dragons.

1976 - Willie Crowther, an early D&D player, creates a text-based game called Crowther's Colossal Cave, which would eventually morph into Adventure, which was a direct influence on the creators of the ultimate text-based game, Zork.

1977 - Young Richard Garriott attends a sumer computer camp, where he earns the nickname Lord British and is exposed to Dungeons & Dragons for the first time. Soon he would be hosting popular D&D weekends at his parents house.

1978 - Roy Trubshaw and Richard Bartle create the first MUD - Multi-User Dungeon. It is the precursor to the modern MMO.

1980 - Richard Garriott releases one of the first computer role-playing games, Akalabeth: World of Doom. This year also sees the release of Dungeons & Dragons Computer Labyrinth Game, the first computer game using the D&D license. as well as Garriott's Ultima I: The First Age of Darkness - a game that influences the RPG genre to this day.

1982 - The first Dungeons & Dragons console game is released for the Intellivision, simply titled Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. Dragonstomper is released for the Atari 2600, widely considered to be the first console RPG. Dragonstomper included gathering experience points and gold, random battles, and multiple ways to solve problems in the game.

1985 - TSR lets developers know that the AD&D license is up for grabs, with big names like Electronic Arts, Origin, and Sierra being beaten out by SSI (Strategic Simulations, Inc.). SSI would go on to create 30 AD&D games.

1988 - SSI releases Pool of Radiance, the first in the Gold Box series of D&D games, which allowed you to import your characters into subsequent games to continue your adventure.

1991 - The first graphical MMORPG is released via America Online - Neverwinter Nights. Based on the Dungeons & Dragons setting The Forgotten Realms, the concept of clans and PVP in online role-playing started here.

1996 - Ultima Online is released, its popularity paving the way for the enormous glut of MMORPG games we're experiencing today.

1998 - A small company called BioWare gets put on the map when it releases the Forgotten Realms game Baldur's Gate - incidentally the first computer game I ever reviewed on a professional basis.

2002 - BioWare releases a new version of Neverwinter Nights, featuring the ability for players to create their own modules and run them via the internet, effectively bringing the tabletop experience online.

2006 - Gary Gygax lends his voice as the Dungeon Master to Turbine for certain quests in Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach, bringing the whole thing full circle.

While certainly not a complete listing, you can easily see how the creation of Dungeons & Dragons influenced the video game industry. Every time you gain hit points, or generate your numeric attributes, or choose what type of elf you want to be in the latest fantasy MMO, you're dealing with concepts that spawned from that weekend in 1972. Even when you play a game that isn't an RPG, there's a good chance that someone involved in the creation of that game wouldn't be here today if the works of Gary Gygax hadn't inspired them to dream up their own fantastical worlds. He will be missed, but more importantly - he will forever be remembered.

Portions of this article were referenced from Brad King and John Borland's excellent 2003 book Dungeons and Dreamers. The book explores gaming from those early days in Wisconsin up to today's massive online communities, and is a must read for anyone interested in the roots of gaming.

I love when you chided everyone [at GDC Austin]. I watched Sulka Haro [of Habbo Hotel] talk, and ... I could feel this slightly electric vibe of tension between the MMO guys in the audience and Haro. I don't want to overgeneralize, but... I got this "We don't like you, and you don't like us," kind of feeling, because they feel like he's doing something different.

RK: Sulka has been coming to GDCs for years! He's a guy who has been bridging the gap all along. Honestly, it's more cases like... Nexon never comes out and talks, because they really do think that they're just a different industry, as far as they're concerned. I don't want to ascribe motives — I don't really know — but they just don't do the talks! Because honestly, how relevant would many of the talks here this year be to them? Not very! I think it's really, really, really important that people in any industry get out of their village and go anywhere else and check out what's going on. Travel is broadening.

It's an enjoyable interview to read with some different ideas on a number of aspects of the industry.

Defining Games: Raph Koster's Game Grammar [Gamasutra]

EA Celebrates 10 Years Of Ultima Online

A Decade of Groundbreaking MMO Gaming Celebrated with In-Game Activities, Special Items and "Return to Britannia" Campaign for Past Players

Redwood City, CA, September 25, 2007 - Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS), the world's leading interactive entertainment company, today celebrated the 10th anniversary of the classic massively-multiplayer online game (MMO), Ultima OnlineTM. Launched on September 25, 1997, Ultima Online broke new ground in the multiplayer game space and ushered in the modern MMO era. Anniversary celebrations include special in-game activities and rewards, plus a new amnesty program that invites former players back to experience the major game update, Ultima Online Kingdom Reborn, for free.

"Ultima Online has thrived for 10 years and achieved the status of an MMO classic, thanks in large part to the devoted player community," said Mark Jacobs, VP and general manager, EA Mythic. "We are very excited to celebrate this special anniversary with players."

In celebration of the 10th anniversary, EA is kicking off the "Return to Brittania" campaign, an amnesty program that welcomes former players to discover the gameplay and graphics upgrades implemented in Kingdom Reborn. Past subscribers in good standing will be able to play for free through October 9, 2007 by visiting www.uo.com/kingdomreborn/gamefiles, downloading Ultima Online Kingdom Reborn and logging in using their former account name and password.

During the in-game 10th anniversary celebration, players will be able to take part in a monster hunt with special prizes including an ankh pendant necklace, map of Brittania, Ultima Online commemorative sculpture and virtue armor set. Additionally, all players will receive 10 décor tokens and a wand of fireworks in their characters' inventory.

EA MYTHIC'S ULTIMA ONLINE: KINGDOM REBORN LAUNCHES IN NORTH AMERICA

Pioneering MMORPG Receives Massive Graphic and Gameplay Update Via Free Downloadable Expansion - New 14-day Trial Available

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. - August 27, 2007 - Electronic Arts Inc (NASDAQ: ERTS), the world's leading interactive entertainment company, today announced that Ultima Online(TM): Kingdom Reborn, the latest expansion to Ultima Online, is now available for free download at UO.com and IGN's popular game download site FilePlanet. Ultima Online: Kingdom Reborn introduces a stunning graphic update, all-new user interface and updated new player experience to Ultima Online, the MMO that ushered in the modern MMO era. Ultima Online: Kingdom Reborn is available for free to all players at:

UO.com
www.uoherald.com/kingdomreborn/gamefiles

FilePlanet
http://www.fileplanet.com/promotions/uo

For newcomers to Ultima Online, a free 14-day trial of Kingdom Reborn is now available for download at: http://www.uoherald.com/kindomreborn/trial

With Ultima Online: Kingdom Reborn, the legendary kingdom has been redrawn, reengineered and rebuilt for the next decade of players seeking an epic, fantasy MMO experience. The revamped new player content welcomes those who have never adventured through the celebrated lands of Ultima Online. Additionally, enhanced visuals and brand-new user interface present the game in a whole new light to veteran players.

"As the tenth anniversary of Ultima Online's launch approaches, Kingdom Reborn introduces an entirely new experience while preserving the spirit of the classic MMO," said Mark Jacobs, VP and General Manager of EA Mythic. "Kingdom Reborn represents EA's ongoing commitment to MMOs and Ultima Online's dedicated and loyal community, some of whom have been playing the game since its launch almost ten years ago."

To learn more about Ultima Online: Kingdom Reborn, visit www.uo.com/kingdomreborn. This game is rated "T" (Teen) by the ESRB.

###

"I think it (AI) has a lot more to offer the MMO genre than a lot people has given it credit for. The richness it offers in helping create the world and making sure that players are not the only moving part in that world is really important for the MMO category."

He certainly has a point there. I'd love to see NPC interaction move past scripted events and the old 'if faction = X then' formula into something much more dynamic. Even now, ten years after the first MMO games began popping up they aren't much more complicated than graphical MUDs.

Of course he then went on to explain how his new game, Tabula Rasa, would be addressing all of these issues, giving the whole proceeding an air of, 'look at me, I am innovating, just like I did ten years ago,' but when you get right down to it the man has every right to come off like that. The genre has been swinging from his rat tails for years now and the time for innovation is upon us. To arms!

'MMO design has not changed in a decade' - Garriott [Developmag.com]

How do game developers spend their Saturdays? They probably gather at Richard Garriott's lakeside estate, feast on BBQ, listen to live music, engage in padded sword fights, toss water balloons, and start very small bonfires.

You are driving down a road. Ahead of you are two immense wrought iron gates. Normally they are closed. Today, they stand open and deserted. On either side, the rock walls are dripping water. The canyon descends at the end of the road, the road itself appears to drop off into space. Slowly, you drive through the gates...

This isn't some role-playing game. This is, in fact, Richard Garriott's real-life estate in Austin, Texas. The Ultima designer has built a little piece of Britannia-on-earth. And on this Saturday, it's hosting the local International Game Developer's Association BBQ picnic.

The road winds and descends impossibly for some time. It narrows and turns to gravel. On the left is a sheer wall of rock. Finally, volunteers in bright yellow shirts can be seen up ahead. They're directing cars to parking spaces on the flat bottomland, under enormous pecan trees. "Hey!" one of them calls, "The party's down here."

Once parked, the first thing to explore is the miniature village. There's a jail, lighthouse, tavern, church, watermill, town hall, and endless houses. Across a brook, there's a lawn with a castle facing off against a ship. In the distance is one small house, nestled by a large rock.

At the edge of the woods, there's a sign warning of the haunted forest, and noting the witch's castle is one mile away: I'D TURN BACK IF I WERE YOU.

Richard Garriott told Kotaku the full story behind the buildings. "A lot of the early Ultima characters - Iolo, Dupre, Sentri, Mariah - they were all my college buddies here at the University of Texas, which is where I wrote the first few Ultimas."

He'd borrowed their personalities, likenesses, and Society for Creative Anachronism names. "Years later when I bought this property, a lot of them were still pretty active in the SCA, so I built these cabins in homage to the history we have together."

"The first one that I hand-built myself with my girlfriend Kelly was for Iolo," Garriott said. "Then, this gypsy wagon you see over here was for Mariah. Iolo was really a guy who makes crossbows here in town. Mariah is my assistant Michelle who's worked with me since Origin, and now NCsoft."

Garriott builds another cabin every three months or so. And the bigger structures, such as the theater, the castle, the ship, those are built once per year. "Based on whatever party theme we're throwing that year, I'll add another structure for that event," he says.

That infrastructure comes in handy when Garriott has various parties, from his big Fourth of July event, to company parties, to the SCA, or, like today, the IGDA event, where the developers got cold drinks, spots in the shade, and talked shop while waiting for BBQ.

While a Frisbee was seen, the most popular pastime was Chanbara, which is a very fancy way of saying "hitting each other with padded sticks." Or, fencing with non-metal swords. Which is all a very therapeutic way to challenge co-workers to a duel, and still be able to work when Monday rolls around.

Things took a surreal turn when a dozen-and-a-half costumed crusaders arrived. They happened to be in town to audition for the Sci-Fi original series "Who Wants to Be a Superhero?" One of them was good enough to make the cut (we can't tell you who), and will appear in the July 26th premiere. And when it came to super powers, all of them had Chanbara skills.

Moments before lunch was served, a small speech was given to the crowd of 300. Rodney Gibbs, a studio head of Amaze Austin who acts as the IGDA-Austin front man, thanked the vendors - barbeque from the Saltlick, drinks from Opal Devine's, and ice-cream from Amy's - as well as the sponsors and volunteers.

Richard Garriott said a few words, joking about being the "old fogey" of the Austin game industry, having worked with some of the assembled developers before, adding "if I haven't worked with you, it's a pretty small community, and I'm sure I will in the next decade or two."

Garriott then introduced the event sponsor by saying, "I don't know about you guys, but at NCsoft, we're a 100% Dell shop. In addition to being a great sponsor, these guys really do make great products."

Glen Robson, Dell's director of gaming was brought up in a small town in Scotland. He joked that, were it not for the game industry and coming to work in it, his career choices were limited. "I'd be tossing a caber, or worse, I'd be knitting."

An indescribable BBQ lunch was followed by a lazy afternoon of talking, water balloon fights, and ice-cream. As evening settled in, torches were lit, and people began to gather in the replica Shakespearean theatre for a musical performance by The Captains of the Chess Team.

The band is a spontaneous game-industry ensemble consisting of famous audio guru George Sanger, his intern on keyboard, game designer Josh Hamrick on drums, Linda Law on bass, guitar by W. Scott Synder, and fronted by Midway Austin's audio director, Marc Schaefgen.

"You've all been beautiful," Schaefgen told the audience between songs, adding, "We are the captains of the chess team, and we will pwn you!" The set list included Safety Dance, a rousing performance of Video Killed the Radio Star, the ever popular Numa Numa (originally "Dragostea din tei"), and the Star Wars-centric parody Yoda.

There would be a warming fire later on, following the encore, and people would slowly go home. But the band was the culmination of a good day. The audience was into it, and the feeling prevailed upon one developer so hard he just had to mount up on the stage and get to gigging with the band.

The ones that get into it are definitely the kings of the party.

Special thanks to Clay Hillhouse and John Henderson for additional photographs.

I tried contacting the UO player community for comment, but they were all busy helping a friend move. Free pizza and beer, you know how that goes.

All kidding aside, you have to hand it to the UO folks for keeping the game running in the face of the much larger, more successful MMO games that have come along since 1997. Here's hoping that the expansion doesn't put too much stress on their players' 486s. Michael Fahey

Ultima OnlineTM: Kingdom Reborn Website Launches With A Look At The Stunning New Graphics Update

Every Stone, Monster, and Dungeon Rebuilt According to Original Concept Designs - Before and After Shots Available

EA Mythic today unveiled the official website for Ultima Online: Kingdom Reborn, the expansion that ushers in a new decade of fantasy role-playing for the iconic MMORPG. Kingdom Reborn, scheduled for release this summer as a free download, provides players with an unprecedented graphics update, improved user interface, and renovated tutorial system aimed at imparting new players with a richer understanding of the world.

To learn more about Kingdom Reborn and see the transformation first-hand through before and after screenshots, visit: www.uo.com/kingdomreborn

Released in September 1997, Ultima Online features an epic storyline incorporating elements of magic and fantasy. With devoted followers around the world, Ultima Online has thrived for a decade. The game has spawned seven expansions and dozens of free content updates, making it one of the deepest, largest MMORPGs ever created.

Ultima and Ultima Online are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries.

###

With the New Year just around the corner, MMO players are going to need a new calendar to monitor how many days they can safely go without sleep before succumbing to death's icy embrace. MMO Portal has exactly what they need in the form of their 2007 MMORPG calendar, featuring art from a different game every month, signed by members of their respective dev teams. It'll cost you $14.95, and 100% of all proceeds go towards the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Tennessee.

Featured games include:

• Dark Age of Camelot
  
• Dungeons & Dragons Online
  
• Eve Online
  
• EverQuest II
  
• Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising
  
• Lord of the Rings Online
  
• Star Wars Galaxies
  
• The Chronicles of SpellBorn
  
• Ultima Online
  
• Vanguard: Saga of Heroes
  
• Warhammer Online
  
• World of Warcraft
  

MMO Calendar 2007 [MMO Portal, via GamePolitics]

It seems that one of the MMO's that popularized the genre will continue to receive some life support, this time in the form of a totally new client. Yep, massively multiplayer online role playing game Ultima Online will see a considerable graphics overhaul and a reworked UI.

Some of the changes players can expect courtesy of producer Aaron Cohen (aka Darkscribe):

1. We are completely re-building the Ultima Online client with new graphics and a new easier-to-use interface.
2. It is an in-place upgrade. That means you will be able to keep your characters, items, houses and everything else you've earned over the past nine years.
3. We are committed to maintaining extremely low system specs. They will be higher than what UO launched with in 1997, but will still be far lower than almost any other MMORPG on the market.
4. The launch will happen in 2007.
5. There are many, many more surprises in store.

Hopefully they'll continue to address the problematic cheating and gold farming issues in UO, despite the massive hilarity both can cause. Michael McWhertor

Ultima Online: Kingdom Reborn

There's some decent games coming in the upcoming EA retro compilation for the PSP... some decent games slopped together in some of the worst ports in gaming history.

Coming October 3rd, the EA Replay back for the PSP will feature some truly excellent games like Syndicate, Wing Commander and Ultima VII? The problem? Syndicate is the Jaguar version (I wouldn't want to try to play this game without a mouse) and the Wing Commander games and Ultima VII are the SNES ports.

But there's one title that makes this compilation a much purchase. Yes, Mutant League Football is coming to the PSP. That's worth $29.99 by its lonesome. Florian Eckhardt

Retail Radar: PSP to get EA retro comp [Gamespot]

Ultima Online just did some major housecleaning. A few weeks after the game started to use cheat detector PunkBuster, Electonic Arts announced that they have closed down 180 accounts and permanently deleted about 15 trillion gold pieces. That's a 15 with god knows how many zeros.

Raph Koster points out that using the exchange rate, pre-deletion, that's about $21 million dollars in real cash. If that doesn't have a mammoth impact on the economy of Ultima Online I don't know what will. One would think that it would cause a huge upswing in the value of gold, but it is probably too early to tell. Brian Crecente

The Money Pit [Edge Online]

These are exciting days for MMORPG fans here at EA. With the acquisition of Mythic, the UO team will be working with the creative folks who brought us Dark Age of Camelot and are hard at work on the spectacular-looking Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. I'm thrilled that the UO team and Mythic will work together to forge Britannia's future.

There is much to talk about with our new partners, and it will take some time to review and finalize our plans. Because we need to take that time, we are postponing the announcement that we were going to make this week. The in-game fiction cycle will take a break for a bit and will return soon.

Tantalizing, I just wish they were a little more specific about just what Mythic and Team UO will be forging.... a 3D Ultima MMO that won't get canned, a major make-over for Britannia, a server off-switch? Brian Crecente

Mythic Teaming With Ultima Online [Camelot Vault]

Master MMO designer and Ultima Online graduate, Raph Koster points out the emergent artificial life simulation created by a Second Life user in the non-game.

While the thing itself is very interesting (our very own Wagner James Au has a terrrific write-up over on his site), what I find even more fascinating is Koster's reaction to it.

He calls this sort of self-sufficient world, where bee's beget plants and clouds beget rain, the future of dynamic world enviroments.

Natural resources and natural shifts in them offer plausible reasons for AIs to behave differently over time. Add in users affecting abundance or scarcity, and you get systems with changing dynamics. If it doesn't spin out of control, that is. But you can curb that with balancing mechanisms.

Going to a simulation level also allows players to interact with the world and actually affect it.

In other words, developers may begin to program ecosphere's as opposed to static graphics and AI-embedded characters. Better still, Koster says based on what he's done and seen, this way would be way cheaper. Brian Crecente

Way Cool [Raph Koster]

EA also plans to give away some UO posters (autographed, if you like) and other sweet schwag. Since it s a bit of a long commute for team Kotaku, someone needs to go and take pictures and notes for us.

Ultima Online Town Hall Meeting [UO]

Crecente is probably stoked and if he could take his computer to the bathroom he probably would for some required reading while he thumbed (moused?) through the pages of an Ultima VII comic book on the good ol' internet. The comic is a fan project and it's pretty slick. Now I need to figure out how to drag my computer up to the washroom.

Ultima VII Comic Book [Fantasi]

Consider it a Christmas present.

A team of hardworking volunteers have put together an amazing rework of Origin Systems Ultima V from 1987. The new version is in fact a mod built on the Dungeon Siege engine and features an enhanced storyline, characters and settings all based on the original game. It also includes new side quests, a deeper richer plot and enhanced dialogue, according to the site. Most importantly, the game looks freakin awesome.

The mod is a whopping 500 megabytes with 300 unique NPCs and hundreds of hours of play and it s free.

You can get it for your PC or Mac in English with French and German versions coming soon.

It took the team of 30 five years to put this free masterpiece together, so run out and buy a copy of the original Dungeon Siege or Legends of Aranna and then hop on over to the link to download the mammoth mod.

Congrats Team Lazarus and thanks for the pressie.

Ultima Lazarus [Official Site]