Developer & publisher · USA
Origin Systems
Richard Garriott's Ultima house; EA bought it in 1992 and closed it after Ultima Online.
Mechanics first shipped by Origin Systems
Ideas this studio is credited with introducing to the medium, each with a full downstream history.
World Systems · 1983
Day/Night Cycle
A day and night cycle advances a world clock independently of the player, changing light, behaviour and available acti…
Origin: Ultima III: Exodus
Narrative · 1985
Branching Dialogue Trees
Branching dialogue trees present conversation as a set of chosen replies, each one opening or closing later options, t…
Origin: Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar
Narrative · 1985
Explicit Morality Axis
An explicit morality axis scores the player's behaviour on a visible ethical scale, then uses that number to unlock po…
Origin: Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar
Economy & Business Model · 1990
Retail Expansion Pack
Retail expansion packs sell extra campaigns, missions or systems for a game already owned, requiring the original to r…
Origin: Wing Commander: The Secret Missions
World Systems · 1992
NPC Daily Schedules
NPC daily schedules give characters routines of sleeping, working and eating tied to the world clock, so a town behave…
Origin: Ultima VII: The Black Gate
Narrative · 1994
Full Voice Performance
Full voice performance means every line of dialogue in a game is recorded by an actor rather than displayed as text, m…
Origin: Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger
World Systems · 1997
Crafting From Gathered Materials
Crafting from gathered materials lets players convert raw inputs collected in the world into finished equipment and go…
Origin: Ultima Online
Multiplayer & Social · 1997
Persistent Shared World
A persistent shared world runs continuously on servers whether or not any particular player is present, so thousands o…
Origin: Ultima Online
Multiplayer & Social · 1997
Player Guilds and Clans
Player guilds and clans are formal in-game organisations with names, membership rolls and ranks, letting groups of pla…
Origin: Ultima Online
Games developed (8)
1983
Ultima III: Exodus 1983 1 first
1985
Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar 1985 2 firsts
1990
1992
Ultima VII: The Black Gate 1992 1 first
1994
1997
Ultima Online 1997 3 firsts