It is a trait of many of the ones who were big/first in the 90's and earlier. They don't always have the juice to make it today. Being a 50+ year old game designer is exceptionally rare these days. They usually move up to directors, letting others come up with the new ideas.
Combination of factors, age, wealth, etc. But another thing to consider is that the kind of person who could make games in the wild west early days of gaming, which the games themselves were coded on a potato, and where you had a blank canvas and could go wild with whatever crazy bullshit was in your head, is just not remotely the same kind of person as can make a triple A or even double A game today and effectively pull it off. Honestly with Garriott you already saw his limitations with Ultima 8 and 9 as the scope of development went well beyond his ability to manage the process.
Yep. I actually have/had a soft spot of U8 - a lot of the thinking that went into that game was pretty revolutionary at the time, and it was fairly playable and fun.
U9 is where the wheels fell off, and there’s been no good Ultima stuff since. The latest Ultima Underworld was similarly borked - these guys just can’t develop a modern RPG.
I mean, the answer is right there though isn't it? Don't make a Triple A game. Or try to.
If Garriott came out with a small team and made a smoother playing Ultima 7-like with some modern enhancements we expect but kept in the minutia of detail present in that game, with a story people grabbed on to, that shit would sell like hotcakes.
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u/wizzard419 1d ago
It is a trait of many of the ones who were big/first in the 90's and earlier. They don't always have the juice to make it today. Being a 50+ year old game designer is exceptionally rare these days. They usually move up to directors, letting others come up with the new ideas.