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Starr Long: Creating Ultima Online
Manage episode 408960562 series 1017289
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)
93 episodes
Manage episode 408960562 series 1017289
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)
93 episodes
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