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Richard Garriott on Richard Garriott
bippy writes "I had a chance to shoot Richard "Lord British" Garriott a short list of questions for Kotaku. In the five question Q&A Garriott talks about his house, his favorite games and what he thinks the next big thing will be in MMOG."
Theres a lot of gameplay advantages to have physics simulation over graphics IMO. Some people are going to say its really memory limitations, but considering a lot of games have glass that can be shot through or can have grenades tossed through and not completely be destroyed, a few texture changes and some tweaking you got yourself a destroyable 'wall', albeit not a very thick one (yet).
Why not pose some REAL questions here? Here's my go. Richard, if you're reading this, endulge us :-)
Since we're having fun, let me play the part of an Imaginary Richard Garriott and see what he has to say.
MikShapi: 1. Is single-player CRPG'ing a dead-end as far as you're concerned (and does your future lie in MMO) or do you see yourself involved in future major single-player titles?
Imaginary Richard Garriott responds: I've been authoring them since Alkabeth, and have no intention of stopping now! Some might consider the genre to have become stale, but the way I see it, it merely needs a nudge in a different direction. Things like physics simulation have been adopted from academic and industrial research. The next big thing coming out of that research could as easily be convincing AI; and I think this is what we really need to bring our computer role-playing gameworlds to life.
MS: 2. Are we going to see any future CRPG-games you are involved in with an ultima-*like* atmosphere? (never mind the brand) and are they going single-player or MMO?
IRG: The Ultima series was very much an extension of myself; in the same way you might be able to pick out a Jeunet film, I'm certain you'd be able to pick a Lord Brittish game out of a group, even if it didn't bear the name "Ultima."
MS: 3. Are we going to see any future CRPG-games you're involved in with vast illinear worlds like Ultima 6/7 or Morrowind and are they going single-player or MMO?
IRG: I think you coined a new term there. [Chuckles] Seriously: if our games can become a little more intelligent, there won't be such a distinction anymore -- linear worlds will cease to exist altogether. In other industries, there has been a great deal of research work done on compelling, computer-generated content. (For example, they finally have algorithms that can create a reasonable symphony.) It's been used in games to an extent -- the Diablo series and its spiritual predecessors, the Roguelikes, demonstrated the use of this in a primitive fashion. Consider what will happen when developers expand on this -- when events and new gameworld rules generate naturally and logically from existing conditions. At this point, CRPGs may truly become the "virtual worlds" they've been promising us for years.
MS: 4. What's your favourite *CRPG* game you were not involved in?
IRG: Alternate Reality by, I think, Datasoft.
MS: 5. What's the coolest thing in the CRPG market you're looking forward to? (Other than Half-Life 2 you're obviously playing same as we all, judging by that 'physics engine' bit)
IRG: The coolest element? I think it's collaborative building. The ability for players, as a group, to shape the gameworlds they're in is something I'd always hoped to see in an RPG.
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That concludes the interview with Imaginary Richard Gariott. We now return you to your Real Richard Gariott, who is sipping port from the window of his observatory.
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Inago Rage - Fight, Fly, and Create your own levels in an indie first-person shooter.
We're indie. We're working on our 14th game.
There are myriad physics libraries, both commercial and free-ware out there. Havok is but one of them. Novadex, by Aegia, is, imho, much more interesting and easier to use than Havok. It's free too, which is a big plus over having to spend tens of thousands of dollars on a middle-ware package.