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Through the Moongate #2
Through the Moongate. The Story of Richard Garriott, Origin Systems Inc. and Ultima: Part 2 – From Wing Commander and Ultima VII to Portalarium
The story of Richard Garriott, Origin Systems Inc and Ultima - From Wing Commander and Ultima VII to Portalarium.
293 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 31, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 26, 2021
This book is great for those needing detail on Origin. The detail is amazing. The Ultima Online stuff could have been expanded, but that would be a book all to itself, there is just too much.
All of it seems to be quite accurate. Nothing conflicted with my own experiences and understanding and many blanks were filled in.
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That's my review, but now if I may relate some of my personal experience with Richard Garriott.
I was living in Austin during all of this, and even visited Richard Garriott's house on one of those Halloween nights, probably in 1988. It was an unbelievable experience for me. I remember seeing him walking around and it was like seeing a god. I was awestruck. And now I am thinking about what could have been for me, had I only done a little more with MUDS and the like in those days.
In 1996 my district manager informed me that she grew up with Richard on the same street. She told me he was a strange guy. Well yeah. Strange in an awesome, groundbreaking, creative, revolutionary way.
All of it seems to be quite accurate. Nothing conflicted with my own experiences and understanding and many blanks were filled in.
-------------
That's my review, but now if I may relate some of my personal experience with Richard Garriott.
I was living in Austin during all of this, and even visited Richard Garriott's house on one of those Halloween nights, probably in 1988. It was an unbelievable experience for me. I remember seeing him walking around and it was like seeing a god. I was awestruck. And now I am thinking about what could have been for me, had I only done a little more with MUDS and the like in those days.
In 1996 my district manager informed me that she grew up with Richard on the same street. She told me he was a strange guy. Well yeah. Strange in an awesome, groundbreaking, creative, revolutionary way.
April 29, 2021
Part 2 continues Contato's exhaustive exploration of the highs and lows of one of computer gaming's most innovative companies, led by one of its most eccentric minds. Contato thankfully keeps the editorialising to a minimum and lets the interview subjects and research materials mostly speak for themselves.
There's a real sense of history as the chapters unfold, and I appreciate the chronological approach to this narrative. You really get a sense of how the historical context of the time shaped and molded Origin Systems as a company, and how the developing personalities and careers that evolved within that company in turn affected (and were affected by) the changing economic and technological forces of the passing decades.
One issue I have is that the later Wing Commander games get short shrift. There's next to no coverage of Wing Comander 3, 4, or 5 - and being the cinematic marvels (for the time) that they were, I was hoping to get the inside scoop on these. Likewise, there is no coverage of Chris Roberts career post-Origin (or Warren Spector's for that matter), and I would have liked a bit of material on that. Also, the dumpster fire that is Portalarium and Shroud of the Avatar gets *very* little coverage, which almost feels a bit like a cop-out.
But, all told, this gets five stars for being a unique and valuable treatise on some of my most formative games - namely the Ultima and Wing Commander series'. Contato has produced a true labour of love in these two volumes. If you're a fan of Ultima, Wing Commander, or just retro gaming in general, this is a must-read.
There's a real sense of history as the chapters unfold, and I appreciate the chronological approach to this narrative. You really get a sense of how the historical context of the time shaped and molded Origin Systems as a company, and how the developing personalities and careers that evolved within that company in turn affected (and were affected by) the changing economic and technological forces of the passing decades.
One issue I have is that the later Wing Commander games get short shrift. There's next to no coverage of Wing Comander 3, 4, or 5 - and being the cinematic marvels (for the time) that they were, I was hoping to get the inside scoop on these. Likewise, there is no coverage of Chris Roberts career post-Origin (or Warren Spector's for that matter), and I would have liked a bit of material on that. Also, the dumpster fire that is Portalarium and Shroud of the Avatar gets *very* little coverage, which almost feels a bit like a cop-out.
But, all told, this gets five stars for being a unique and valuable treatise on some of my most formative games - namely the Ultima and Wing Commander series'. Contato has produced a true labour of love in these two volumes. If you're a fan of Ultima, Wing Commander, or just retro gaming in general, this is a must-read.
September 11, 2022
Being a child of this era I'm heavily biased towards liking these types of books. I would imagine these books might not be enjoyed as much by someone not familiar with the subject matter.
This one is an entertaining but darker story of all the business finance and management troubles due to acquisitions and alignment differences. It's sad to read about so much creativity being stifled because of business targets.
It was a touch humorous to read how agile practices (via scrum) resulted in faster delivery (I personally dislike scrum because I find it slower than processes like Continuous Delivery).
The book ends with personal notes from many of the people mentioned in the books and I find their personal anecdotes fun to read. So many diverse take-aways from the experiences. It really sounds like the people at Origin had a once in a lifetime experience. Probably a bit of an unhealthy experience for their mental and physical wellbeing, but an experience that was immensely rich for their comradery, creative expression, and meaning. Always interesting to hear how brutal crunch can be defended by those in it, but self-motivated crunch feels like it comes from a different place than top-down driven crunch.
This one is an entertaining but darker story of all the business finance and management troubles due to acquisitions and alignment differences. It's sad to read about so much creativity being stifled because of business targets.
It was a touch humorous to read how agile practices (via scrum) resulted in faster delivery (I personally dislike scrum because I find it slower than processes like Continuous Delivery).
The book ends with personal notes from many of the people mentioned in the books and I find their personal anecdotes fun to read. So many diverse take-aways from the experiences. It really sounds like the people at Origin had a once in a lifetime experience. Probably a bit of an unhealthy experience for their mental and physical wellbeing, but an experience that was immensely rich for their comradery, creative expression, and meaning. Always interesting to hear how brutal crunch can be defended by those in it, but self-motivated crunch feels like it comes from a different place than top-down driven crunch.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews