You've been logged out of GDC Vault since the maximum users allowed for this account has been reached. To access Members Only content on GDC Vault, please log out of GDC Vault from the computer which last accessed this account.

Click here to find out about GDC Vault Membership options for more users.

close

The Number One Educational Resource for the Game Industry

Session Name: Classic Game Postmortem: Ultima Online
Speaker(s): Raph Koster, Starr M. Long, Rich Vogel
Company Name(s): Playdom, San Diego, The Walt Disney Company, Independent
Track / Format: Design

Did you know free users get access to 30% of content from the last 2 years?


Get your team full access to the most up to date GDC content

Overview: At first, it was mostly a team of newbies. For a while, the office space was a few rooms on a floor that was gutted for construction -- you could literally walk off the 5th floor of building and plunge to your death if you weren't careful. The artists sat in the hallway. And the team was out to change everything. Ultima Online was not only one of the first graphical MMORPGs, it also set the standard for player vs player combat and sandbox/emergent gameplay in online titles for many years to come. Three of the UO team's chief members -- Raph Koster, Rich Vogel, and Starr Long (all of whom went on to shape the online gaming landscape) -- will deliver a postmortem on the landmark title, reflecting on the challenges they faced from early development to maintaining the game well after its launch. Come learn how a combination of insane ambition and idealistic cluelessness can sometimes result in creating something that changes people's lives and the course of an industry.

GDC Online 2012

Raph Koster

Playdom, San Diego

Starr M. Long

The Walt Disney Company

Rich Vogel

Independent

free content

Design

Design