[UO Herald] Ultima Online Receives Inaugural Hall of Fame Award - GDC Online

[UO News]

At the time you read this Ultima Online will have received the inaugural Hall of Fame Award at the Game Developer’s Conference at the birth place of Ultima Online: Austin, Texas.

It’s been an amazing, humbling, inspiring, and fulfilling week.

I am thankful to be part of an amazing team, but more importantly I’m humbled by the experience and force that helped shape an industry … before there WAS an industry.

This Hall of Fame Award is not just about the developers. It’s not just about the fans or community. It’s not just even about the duration of time that this game has lasted.

It’s about the story of all those things combined. It’s those moments at 2 a.m. when you can’t believe you’re still playing. It’s about vengeance for a PK. It’s that immediate connection, or the widening eyes from every interviewer I’ve met who just wants to share an experience … before the launch of the first shard.

Ultima Online is all about storytelling. Every player past and present, or each developer current or past has contributed to the story. Every person who has written code, fiction, or lead an event, sabotaged another guild, or made an appointment to meet your later-to-be spouse for the first time, are all parts of what make this world legendary.

On behalf of the creators at Orgin, the current devs and developers past , every QA, community manager and CSR to every EM, seer, fansite, modder and moderator or person who has poured their time and creativity into this experience …

Thank you.



More...

 

[Ls Jax Ls]

The truly amazing thing is that not one single game has been able to capture what UO has since its release. Hence why we're still here.

 

[Saphireena]

I'm so excited and proud on UO's behalf that I've been Facebooking and Twittering this all over the place. It is about time something like this happened, and what better way than this! Well done UO and every single developer that has ever been a part of it!

 

[Maplestone]

Congrats to all past and present, paid, paying and volunteer for the passion and dedication and layers of imagination. The blood, sweet and tears of your countless hours of work and play live on.

(and thank you Cal for the recent open door to old wanderers to touch our nostalgia and see the continued evolution of the marvelous world)

May the sun never set upon Britannia.

 

[Cear Dallben Dragon]

video

 

[AesSedai]

- Well said. Very well said.

Congratulations UO

Thank you, UO.

{UO includes everyone affected by it. That is alot of millions; many of which have yet to enjoy the little engine that did and still does do; that little engine that we know as UO}

 

[Viquire]

So many friends, and stories, achievements, betrayals, allegiances...

Origin made worlds.

Thanks to the devs for continuing to provide us with the tools to make our world deeper and richer.

 

[Coldren]

video

Seconded!

And congratulations to UO developers, creators, and players, past and present.

 

[Babble]

*sniff*

 

[Willard]

Awesome! There is nothing else out there that even comes close to the depth of Ultima Online. I have tried most of the "other" games available...and I always walk away with a feeling of something is missing. Maybe, if I had never played Ultima Online they would have been satisfying, but UO has set the standard and despite some hiccups--it is still the most engaging game available online. Congrats UO and anyone that has ever had anything to do with this Awesome Game.

 

[Cear Dallben Dragon]

Hi Cear,

Last night at the Game Developers Choice Online Awards in Austin Texas, Electronic Arts' Ultima Online, the Origin-created game that is now the longest continually running massively multiplayer online game in history, will be honored with the first ever Hall of Fame award for online games.

The persistent world installment for the seminal Ultima game franchise, which launched on September 25th, 1997, has now been operating for almost 14 years – and was a key part of the wave of late 1990s subscription-based MMOs which brought the genre to much wider attention. Some of Ultima Online's most important features included in-game events affecting the entire lore of the world, progressive features for their time such as item crafting and persistent player housing. Continued upgrades of in-game content and even game engine have helped to keep the game fresh for players, some of which have subscribed continuously for over a decade including the most recently announced booster pack, High Seas.

We’ve also included a video depicting the 14 years of success for the Ultima Online franchise featuring subscriber interviews and gameplay which you can download via the following YouSendIt link to share with your readers:

YouSendIt: Online File Sharing and collaboration with FTP Replacement - Send Large Files and Email Attachments with Managed File Transfer Solution

In honor of the game's induction, the Hall of Fame award was accepted on stage by key members of Ultima Online's original development team: Rich Vogel, Launch Producer, Starr Long, Associate Producer, and Raph Koster, Lead Designer. Eugene Evans, GM of BioWare Mythic, the current home of Ultima Online within Electronic Arts, introduced the key team members from the game's development history.

Please let us know if you have any questions!

Thanks,
Chase

---------


let me know it this dies, i'm uploading it to youtube

 

[Coldren]

let me know it this dies, i'm uploading it to youtube

Edit

Downloaded it, it's the same thing as found here:

http://vboards.stratics.com/uhall/224482-uo-retorspective-gametrailers-com.html

Just to save you the upload time if you want

 

[Cear Dallben Dragon]

YouTube - Ultima Online GDC Online Hall of Fame Video

 

[Saphireena]

Thanks so much for uploading to YouTube, it was wonderful to post it on Facebook to show all those people who are gamers yet have never heard of Ultima or UO and go "Huh?" when I talk about it.

 

[Elric_Soban]

Congratz, UO.

Ultima Online has definately had a signifigant impact on my gaming life for the last 10+ years. I still remember when my friend and I first got UO during The Second Age expansion. My first memory was logging in, and immidiately getting PKed.. in town! Or not.. was it Britain? Or somewhere on the roads near Yew? I can't remember.. I just remember laughing out loud and wanting revenge (not that I could've gotten it in my newbish state)

Here we are 10 years later with elves, gargoyles, peerless bosses, player housing, tons of new landmasses and monsters.. and most recently, pirates and ship combat! Who could've imagined that UO would evolve along such lines. It's been one hell of a ride that I hope doesn't end any time soon.

When I first got the game, I couldn't stop playing it... and recently a couple of my best gaming buddies have recently gotten back into it and so I'm just as addicted as ever. Here's to 10 more years of adventures in Britannia.

-Elric