Through the Moongate: The story of Richard Garriott, Origin Systems Inc. and Ultima – Part II: From Ultima VII and Wing Commander to Portalarium

Richard Garriott is one of the most well-known personalities in the video game industry and one of the last pioneers still working. Ultima, his revolutionary series of computer role-playing games, and Origin Systems Inc, the company he co-founded in 1983, are inextricably linked to the evolution of the video game industry. This is their story.

 

Through the Moongate is my most ambitious project yet. Based on dozens of original interviews, it details the birth of Ultima, one of the longest-running computer role-playing game series; the founding and closing of Origin Systems Inc, one of the most influential North American companies; and the career of Richard Garriott, a name that needs no introduction.

 

The two-volume non-fiction book was crowdfunded and is now available for sale.

The Age of Armageddon

 

  • Eclipse
  • Ultima Underworld
  • Wing Commander II
  • Ultima VII: The Black Gate
  • Electronic Arts
  • Ultima VII: Serpent Isle
  • Origin end Electronic Arts culture
  • Out of Control
  • Ultima VIII: Pagan
  • The end of the Golden Age of Origin
  • Development Hell
  • Ultima IX: Ascension

 

The Age of Internet

 

  • OMEGA
  • From MUDs to Meridian 59
  • Ultima Online
  • Lord British must die
  • The end of Ultima
  • Destination Games
  • Tabula Rasa
  • Per aspera sic itur ad astra
  • Point of no return
  • Portalarium and Shroud of the Avatar

 

Bonus chapters

 

  • Last Words
  • Wing Commander 2: The Tale of a Trailer