Richard Garriott
Richard Garriott is a person that is credited in 40 games
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Richard Garriott was born in Cambridge, England on July 4, 1961. Soon after he was born, Garriott moved with his family to Nassau Bay, Texas. His father is Owen K. Garriott, a world famous astronaut who spent 2 months in Skylab, the first American space station. Garriott attended Clear Creek High School where he took an interest in computers and started designing video games. It was here that he gained the nickname Lord British because he was from England.
Just a few months after Akalabeth, Garriott released Ultima. Like Akalabeth, Ultima was a series of RPGs and was a pioneer for RPGs on the PC. Garriott released Ultima for the Apple II and it was published, like Akalabeth, by California Pacific Computer Company. Ultima II was released in 1982 again for the Apple II and published by Sierra On-Line. When Ultima III was released in 1983, Garriott founded his own publishing company Origin Games. Origin Games would eventually evolve into one of the most influential game developers of all-time.
Origin Games took over full publishing for Ultima games with Ultima IV in 1985, Ultima V in 1988, Ultima VI in 1990 and Ultima VII in 1992. After Ultima VII, Electronic Arts bought Origin Games, though game development wasn't effected. The Ultima games continued until Ultima IX, when the series finally ended.
In 1999, EA canceled all of Origin Games forthcoming games, including Privateer Online and Harry Potter Online. This caused Garriott to resign from Origin Games. Garriott went on to found Destination Games in 2000. Destination Games then partnered with MMO developer NCsoft where Garriott became the lead developer of MMORPGs at NCsoft. During this time, Garriott developed MMOs Lineage II, City of Heroes, and Tabula Rasa.
On October 12, 2008, Garriott flew to the International Space Station. Part of his duties was to transfer logs of humans' DNA to the station. In July 2008, NCsoft held a contest where the winners would have digital versions of their DNA stored on a hard drive and stored in space.
From Gamespot: "Garriott also now holds the distinction of being the first American to follow a parent into space. His father, 77-year-old Owen Garriott, spent 60 days aboard Skylab in 1973 and 10 days aboard the space shuttle Columbia in 1983."
For more information on the mission, visit his website.
Not long after his return to Earth, Garriott announced his departure from NCsoft.
Richard Garriott is the creator of the classic RPG franchise Ultima. After releasing online RPG Tabula Rasa, Garriott notably made a 12-day trek into space. Soon after his return, he resigned his position at NCsoft.
Early Life
Richard Garriott was born in Cambridge, England on July 4, 1961. Soon after he was born, Garriott moved with his family to Nassau Bay, Texas. His father is Owen K. Garriott, a world famous astronaut who spent 2 months in Skylab, the first American space station. Garriott attended Clear Creek High School where he took an interest in computers and started designing video games. It was here that he gained the nickname Lord British because he was from England.
Game Development
Garriott toyed with game development until 1980 when he designed his first commercial game, Akalabeth. Akalabeth was released for the Apple II and was one of the first RPGs to ever be developed for computers. The game was published by California Pacific Computer Company. From the sales of Akalabeth, Garriott was able to pay to enter the University of Texas at Austin, where he joined the fencing team and the Society for Creative Anachronism, a historical reenactment club.Ultima
Just a few months after Akalabeth, Garriott released Ultima. Like Akalabeth, Ultima was a series of RPGs and was a pioneer for RPGs on the PC. Garriott released Ultima for the Apple II and it was published, like Akalabeth, by California Pacific Computer Company. Ultima II was released in 1982 again for the Apple II and published by Sierra On-Line. When Ultima III was released in 1983, Garriott founded his own publishing company Origin Games. Origin Games would eventually evolve into one of the most influential game developers of all-time.
Origin Games took over full publishing for Ultima games with Ultima IV in 1985, Ultima V in 1988, Ultima VI in 1990 and Ultima VII in 1992. After Ultima VII, Electronic Arts bought Origin Games, though game development wasn't effected. The Ultima games continued until Ultima IX, when the series finally ended.
NCsoft
In 1999, EA canceled all of Origin Games forthcoming games, including Privateer Online and Harry Potter Online. This caused Garriott to resign from Origin Games. Garriott went on to found Destination Games in 2000. Destination Games then partnered with MMO developer NCsoft where Garriott became the lead developer of MMORPGs at NCsoft. During this time, Garriott developed MMOs Lineage II, City of Heroes, and Tabula Rasa.
Tabula Rasa
Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa was the first game to feature Garriott's name in its title, and he appeared in game as General British, leader of the Allied Free Sentients (AFS), the player faction in the game. Despite this outward stamp of authorhood, Garriott only became involved in the title later on in its development, after it had been through several design iterations.Space Mission
On October 12, 2008, Garriott flew to the International Space Station. Part of his duties was to transfer logs of humans' DNA to the station. In July 2008, NCsoft held a contest where the winners would have digital versions of their DNA stored on a hard drive and stored in space.
From Gamespot: "Garriott also now holds the distinction of being the first American to follow a parent into space. His father, 77-year-old Owen Garriott, spent 60 days aboard Skylab in 1973 and 10 days aboard the space shuttle Columbia in 1983."
For more information on the mission, visit his website.
Departure from NCsoft
Not long after his return to Earth, Garriott announced his departure from NCsoft.
Richard Garriott games
Edit
| Name | Platforms | Developer | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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|
Akalabeth: World of Doom |
APL2 | California Pacific Computer |
|
|
Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa released on Aug. 9, 2007 |
PC | NC Interactive, NCsoft Austin, NCsoft Santa Monica |
|
|
Auto Assault |
PC | NetDevil |
|
|
City of Villains released on Oct. 28, 2005 |
PC | Cryptic Studios |
|
|
City of Heroes released on April 28, 2004 |
MAC, PC | Cryptic Studios |
|
|
Lineage II: The Chaotic Chronicle released on April 27, 2004 |
PC | NCsoft Corporation |
|
|
Ultima IX: Ascension |
PC | Origin Systems |
|
|
Realms of Arkania: Blade of Destiny + Star Trail released on Jan. 1, 1998 |
PC | Attic Entertainment Software GmbH |
|
|
Ultima Online released on Sept. 25, 1997 |
PC | Origin Systems |
|
|
Ultima Collection |
PC | Origin Systems |
| Full Name: | Richard Garriott |
| Gender: | Male |
| Birthday: | July 4, 1961 |
| Death: | n/a |
| Credited In: | 40 games |
| 1st Game Credit: | Akalabeth: World of Doom |
| Currently Working For: | NCsoft Corporation |
| Hometown: | Cambridge |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Website: | |
| Email Address: | |
| Aliases: |
Richard Garriott
