In which I speak of a personal hero of mine.

I'd like to start by addressing that we as humans hold hero's of ours above all others. I could go into the logistics of what makes a proper hero, but that is all up to interpretation by the individual. Being as I am into video games and the culture thereof, my personal hero happens to be an eccentric game designer/creator by the name of Richard Garriott.

Richard Garriot, aka Lord British has been making ground breaking CRPG's since the late 1970's. The games that I speak of are none other than the Ultima series. Whether you've played them on the computer, or their ports on systems like the NES and SNES, its hard to avoid having contact with them in some fashion or another. If however, you've no idea what these games are, then perhaps you've been living under a rock or you are a "Casual Gamer". I use the term "Casual Gamer" to mean someone who plays Mario Bros and Sonic the Hedgehog.

Through the years, Mr. Garriott has produced some of the most enriching and pivotal games of the genre, as well as breaking new ground with new gaming technology. If you look at the games in the series since the original Akalabeth, you can certainly see how far they've gone and went since the beginning. Most people however, started their exodus into the worlds of Ultima starting with part 7, which in my opinion is the best out of the 9+ games.

Also a thing to note is how he pretty much created the original MMORPG, Ultima Online. I can recall my first expierence with that very vividly, as I was hallucinating on Geltab LSD. The vivid graphics, the enriching sound, the simple point and click interface, and the hundreds and thousands of other players really captivated me. Although very dated, there are still fan made servers in which you can still play this oldie but goodie. I recommend that any World of Warcraft fan go and see their roots. "Oh, but Bluddy... that game is so old and drab, how could it have EVER been so popular?" Well, that is probably because the only things you've been exposed to is the newest generation of crap that companies will dish out at you. That isn't your fault, though, and I won't hold it against you. But, if we forget the past, we are doomed to repeat it.

I could go on and on and on about Ultima and Mr. Garriott, but I will leave this post with a few YouTube videos. The first is a GameSpot interview with him which runs at a solid 15 minutes, and I recommend watching it. The second is a "cribs" type video wherein he tours you through his Castle/Mansion. His eccentricity and absolute passion about what he does is very endearing. If you had that kind of money, would you tell me you wouldn't be eccentric and do what you wanted? One last thing I'd like to note about him before I leave this post, is how he is also in the works to become a space explorer. His father was a astronaut, and he also hopes to become one, as he is in competition with the Virgin company to send people into space. He also hangs out with Steven Hawking, and how cool is that? And with that I say ciao.






And a extra video, an interview with him and his father Owen, about their love of space, being an astronaut, and a few other things. This was a interview for Forbes.