Starr Long: Creating Ultima Online

Getting2Alpha

Long before World of Warcraft, there was Ultima Online, the first MMO. How did this highly innovative & influential game come to be? And what can we learn from its successes and failures?
Starr Long is a game designer and producer who directed the team that built Ultima Online, the first popular Massively Multiplayer Online game. In this in-depth interview, you'll learn how a theater major became a game designer, how Ultima IV blew player's minds, and the shocking things players did early the development of Ultima Online.
Check out the video here: https://youtu.be/nzlNq_yiO2Y

Chapters

1. Starr Long: Creating Ultima Online (00:00:00)

2. Introduction (00:00:20)

3. How a Theater Major became a Game Designer (00:01:35)

4. Video Game Testers Wanted (00:04:50)

5. But Actually, I want to Design Games (00:07:29)

6. Producing Richard Garriott's Haunted Houses (00:09:24)

7. Let's Make a Multiplayer Online D&D (00:10:05)

8. Assembling the Team (00:11:47)

9. How Ultima IV Blew Players' Minds (00:12:59)

10. How Players tried to Hack Ultima Online (00:17:56)

11. Take the Time to Test and Tune Games (00:25:07)

12. People Remember Quality, not Ship Date (00:26:40)

13. The Importance of Reducing Scope (00:27:17)

14. Reduce Complexity, not Features (00:28:56)

15. How Starr & Richard Garriott Mesh (00:31:24)

16. Lessons from Shroud of the Avatar (Ultima Sequel) (00:38:20)

17. The Surprising Lesson from Kickstarter (00:40:35)

18. Common first-time game designer mistakes (00:47:50)

19. Balancing intrinsic & extrinsic rewards (00:49:16)

20. Tuning In-Game Economies (00:50:01)

21. Who to Listen to When You're Innovating (00:51:33)

22. Data are Useless When You're Innovating (00:52:40)

23. Trends to Watch: Games Built Inside Games (00:54:08)

24. Trends to Watch: Generative AI (00:56:48)