Richard Garriott
Richard Garriott | |
|---|---|
| Born | Richard Allen Garriott July 4, 1961 Cambridge, England, United Kingdom |
| Occupation(s) | Video game developer, entrepreneur, private astronaut |
| Years active | 1974–present |
| Known for | Creator of the Ultima franchise; private space traveler aboard Soyuz TMA-13 |
Richard Allen Garriott de Cayeux (born Garriott; 4 July 1961) is a British-born American video game developer, entrepreneur, and private space traveler.
As the son of NASA astronaut Owen Garriott, Richard initially started his career as a game designer and programmer before broadening his involvement across multiple facets of computer game creation. On October 12, 2008, he journeyed to the International Space Station aboard the Soyuz TMA-13 spacecraft as a private astronaut,[1] returning after 12 days on Soyuz TMA-12. He became the second individual in space—and the first American—with an astronaut parent. During his stay on the ISS, he produced the science fiction film Apogee of Fear.[2]
Garriott is renowned for creating the seminal Ultima franchise, overseeing all eleven principal titles from 1979's Akalabeth: World of Doom through to 1999's Ultima IX: Ascension. Within this series, he assumed the identity of Lord British, a character that significantly influenced the development of the computer role-playing game genre. In 2009, he founded the game development company Portalarium, where he held the roles of CEO and creative director for Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues until 2018,[3] subsequently transferring all rights and assets related to Shroud of the Avatar to Catnip Games in 2019.[4]
Early life
Born in Cambridge, England on 4 July 1961, Richard Allen Garriott is the son of Helen Mary () Garriott (1930–2017) and Owen Garriott, a NASA scientist-astronaut who participated in Skylab 3 and Space Shuttle mission STS-9. Although both parents were Americans originally from Enid, Oklahoma, Garriott holds dual citizenship between the United States and the United Kingdom.
He was raised from infancy in Nassau Bay, Texas, where he dreamed of following his father’s footsteps as a NASA astronaut. However, at age 13, vision problems prevented him from pursuing this goal, prompting him to redirect his ambitions toward computer game programming. His initial substantial experience with computers occurred in 1975 during his freshman year at Clear Creek High School. Desiring more than what was offered in standard BASIC classes, he created a self-designed programming curriculum to develop fantasy games using the school’s teletype terminal. By the time he graduated, he had written approximately 28 fantasy-themed computer games.
Garriott adopted the nickname "British," derived from early Dungeons & Dragons peers who referenced his UK birthplace. This moniker was used for multiple gaming personas, most notably Ultima’s Lord British and General British in Tabula Rasa.
Early years
Garriott’s programming journey began in 1974 with teletype terminals that saved code on paper tape and presented games as printed output. In 1979, while employed at a ComputerLand store, he encountered Apple computers and started incorporating perspective views into his games. After developing Akalabeth: World of Doom as a personal project, encouragement from his employer led him to market it. Investing $200 into printing manuals and packaging, he sold fewer than a dozen copies locally; however, one copy reached California Pacific Computer Company, which signed him. Akalabeth went on to sell over 30,000 units, earning Garriott five dollars per copy—approximately $150,000 total—surpassing three times his father’s astronaut salary. It is recognized as one of the earliest published computer role-playing games.
Later that year, Garriott enrolled at the University of Texas at Austin where he joined both the fencing team and the Society for Creative Anachronism. While residing at home during this period, he collaborated with friend Ken Arnold to develop Ultima I. The cover artwork for this title and subsequent games was created by Denis Loubet, whom Garriott discovered during a visit to Steve Jackson Games.
Origin Systems
In the early 1980s, Garriott continued to advance the Ultima franchise, ultimately departing from UT to dedicate himself fully to the series. Initially created for the Apple II, the franchise later expanded across various platforms. Ultima II was released through Sierra On-Line, notable for being the only publisher willing to include a printed cloth map with the boxed edition. By the time Ultima III was launched, Garriott, alongside his brother Robert, their father Owen, and Chuck Bueche, established their own publishing company, Origin Systems, to oversee distribution and publishing—this move was partly motivated by royalty disagreements with Sierra concerning the PC version of Ultima II.
In 1985, Garriott introduced the term avatar to describe the player's in-game persona in Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar. His goal was for the player's character to serve as an extension of their real-world identity within the virtual environment, highlighting ethical considerations linked to gameplay choices. The word originates from a Hindu concept referring to a deity's earthly incarnation, aligning with the game's focus on moral themes.
Garriott sold Origin Systems to Electronic Arts (EA) in September 1992 for $30 million. In 1997, he coined the phrase massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), defining a genre formerly referred to as graphical MUDs. Nevertheless, in 1999 and 2000, EA terminated all of Origin's forthcoming projects, including titles like Privateer Online and Harry Potter Online. Subsequently, Garriott resigned and launched Destination Games in April 2000 alongside his brother and Starr Long, who had produced Ultima Online.
NCSoft
Once Garriott's non-compete agreement with EA expired, Destination Games collaborated with NCSoft, where Garriott took on roles as producer and designer of MMORPG titles before ascending to CEO of NCSoft Austin (also known as NC Interactive).
Although Tabula Rasa underwent seven years of development, it failed to meet financial expectations. NCSoft declared that the game’s live service would conclude on February 28, 2009, after providing a free-play period for existing players.
In November 2008, NCSoft terminated Garriott’s employment; however, the company asserted that his departure was voluntary, which resulted in legal action. In July 2010, an Austin court awarded Garriott $28 million USD after determining that NCSoft had mishandled his exit. This ruling was subsequently upheld by the United States Court of Appeals in 2011.
Portalarium
Garriott founded Portalarium in 2009, which developed Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues, regarded as a spiritual successor to the Ultima games. He mentioned that securing the rights to the Ultima intellectual property from EA might have enabled development of an Ultima Online 2.
Portalarium initiated a Kickstarter campaign for Shroud of the Avatar in March 2013. An early access release occurred on Steam in 2014, followed by a full launch in March 2018. Critical reception was mixed or average.
In October 2019, ownership and assets related to Shroud of the Avatar were transferred to Catnip Games, a company owned by Portalarium’s CEO Chris Spears. Garriott no longer maintains involvement with either entity.
Current
In April 2022, Garriott revealed plans to develop a new fantasy MMO integrating NFT technology alongside longtime collaborator Todd Porter. By August 2022, this project was unveiled under the title Iron and Magic. However, by May 2023, its official website had been removed and its Facebook page had not been updated since September 2022, leading to uncertainty regarding its ongoing status.
Private astronaut
Garriott's fascination with spaceflight began in 1983, fueled by the financial success he achieved through his career in video game development. After divesting from Origin Systems, he invested in Space Adventures and secured a ticket to become the first private individual to travel into space. However, financial difficulties following the 2001 dot-com crash compelled him to transfer his seat to Dennis Tito.
Returning to game design, Garriott later made another non-refundable deposit for a space mission. During his medical evaluation, doctors discovered a liver hemangioma that necessitated surgical removal to mitigate life-threatening risks associated with space travel.
On September 28, 2007, Space Adventures announced that Garriott would embark on a self-funded journey to the International Space Station (ISS) in October 2008, with an estimated expense of $30 million. After completing a year of rigorous training in Russia, he launched on October 12, 2008. This mission made him the second individual to follow in a parent's footsteps into space and the first American astronaut’s child to reach orbit. He was also the second person to display the British Union flag during spaceflight. His father, Owen Garriott, was present at both the launch and landing events alongside Russian cosmonauts Sergei Volkov and Oleg Kononenko.
Throughout his time aboard the ISS, Garriott conducted educational outreach by carrying experiments designed by British primary school students, facilitating communications with students and amateur radio enthusiasts via ARISS slow-scan television, and deploying a geocache in orbit. He partnered with the Windows on Earth initiative to select targets for Earth photography; these images, together with those captured by his father in 1973, are publicly available for scientific study.
In a secretive act, Garriott transported a portion of Star Trek actor James Doohan’s ashes inside the Columbus module of the ISS—a fact disclosed in 2020 after completing over 70,000 orbits and traveling approximately 1.7 billion miles.
His short film Apogee of Fear, written by Tracy Hickman, holds the distinction of being the first fictional movie entirely filmed in space. In 2010, Garriott appeared in the documentary Man on a Mission: Richard Garriott's Road to the Stars, which documented his preparation and orbital expedition.
Other exploration
In January 2021, Garriott was appointed president of The Explorers Club. The following month, he descended to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, Earth's deepest oceanic trench. During this expedition, he conducted scientific research, placed a geocache, and filmed a brief science fiction movie—setting records for altitude and depth in these activities.
Other accomplishments and interests
In 1986, Garriott co-established the Challenger Center for Space Science Education alongside June Scobee Rodgers. This initiative has resulted in approximately 50 interactive centers worldwide where students engage in simulated space missions.
In December 1993, Garriott acquired the Luna 21 lander and Lunokhod 2 rover from the Lavochkin Association at a Sotheby's auction for $68,500. Although international treaties prohibit governmental claims over extraterrestrial properties, Garriott asserts private ownership over the area explored by Lunokhod 2. The rover remains functional for Earth-Moon distance measurements and may represent the first private claim on celestial territory. Lunokhod 2 held the record for greatest distance traveled on another planetary surface until NASA’s Opportunity Rover surpassed it in 2014.
Between 1988 and 1994, Garriott created elaborate haunted attractions at his Austin home known as Britannia Manor. These extensive projects involved large teams and were offered free to visitors.
A strong proponent of commercial spaceflight, Garriott serves as vice-chairman of Space Adventures and is a trustee of the X PRIZE Foundation. In June 2009, he participated in the inaugural zero-gravity wedding aboard G-Force One—a modified Boeing 727-200 operated by Zero Gravity Corporation, which he co-founded—alongside his wife Laetitia Garriott de Cayeux.
He co-authored a memoir with David Fisher titled Explore/Create: My Life in Pursuit of New Frontiers, Hidden Worlds, and the Creative Spark, released on January 10, 2017.
Garriott served as inspiration for the character James Halliday in Ernest Cline's novel Ready Player One.
Honors
- In 1992, Garriott was honored with the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
- He was inducted into the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame in 2006 and also received the Game Developers Choice Lifetime Achievement Award that same year.
- The British Interplanetary Society recognized him in 2009 with the Sir Arthur Clarke Award for Best Individual Achievement, along with awarding him their Astronaut Pin.
- Garriott became a member of the Environmental Hall of Fame in 2010.
Video Games
| Title | Initial Release | Garriott's Contribution(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Akalabeth: World of Doom | 1979 | Designer & programmer |
| Ultima I: The First Age of Darkness | 1981 | Originator, programmer & graphic artist |
| Ultima II: The Revenge of the Enchantress | 1982 | Game designer |
| Ultima III: Exodus | 1983 | Project director |
| Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar | 1985 | Project director |
| Autoduel | 1985 | Designer & programmer |
| Ultima V: Warriors of Destiny | 1988 | Designer, writer & programmer |
| Omega | 1989 | Designer |
| Ultima VI: The False Prophet | 1990 | Designer, producer, writer & voice actor |
| Worlds of Ultima: The Savage Empire | 1990 | Executive producer |
| Ultima: Worlds of Adventure 2: Martian Dreams | 1991 | Creative director |
| Ultima: Runes of Virtue | 1991 | Creative director |
| Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss | 1992 | Director & voice actor |
| Ultima VII: The Black Gate | 1992 | Director & producer |
| Ultima VII: Forge of Virtue | 1993 | Producer & creative support |
| Ultima VII Part Two: Serpent Isle | 1993 | Creative director & audio contributor |
| Ultima VII Part Two: The Silver Seed | 1993 | Director & voice actor |
| Ultima VIII: Pagan | 1994 | Producer |
| Ultima: Runes of Virtue II | 1994 | Creative director & supplemental designer |
| Ultima VIII: The Lost Vale | Cancelled | Producer |
| BioForge | 1995 | Executive producer |
| Ultima Online | 1997 | Producer |
| Ultima Online: The Second Age | 1998 | Executive designer |
| Lineage | 1998 | Executive producer |
| Ultima IX: Ascension | 1999 | Director |
| Lineage II | 2003 | Executive producer |
| City of Heroes | 2004 | Executive producer |
| City of Villains | 2005 | Executive management |
| Tabula Rasa | 2007 | Creative director & executive producer |
| Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues | 2018 | Creative director |
| Iron and Magic | TBD | Creative director |
See also
External links
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