Richard Garriott Addresses Warren Spector’s Class

Matthias Worch posted a link to this video on Twitter, and damn if it doesn’t sound promising. It’s a lengthy watch, clocking in at just under three ours, but it features Richard Garriott speaking to a class taught by Warren Spector about…well…”the stuff that typically doesn’t get talked about,” as Spector put it to Rock, Paper, Shotgun:

“I’m teaching a course at the university of Texas, where I’ve been inviting — well — gaming luminaries to talk to me for three hours, from the perspective of, “Hey — I’ve known you for 20 years, don’t try to con me and let’s talk about the stuff that typically doesn’t get talked about.” It’s part of an oral history project — because we are all still alive. Well, not all of us — Dani Bunten’s gone and a couple of others. But we’re getting to the point where the pioneers are not going to be here forever. We need to get it recorded for future generations before it’s lost, in the same way that lots of early film history is lost. Gone. Never known. I don’t want that to happen to us, as I really believe that videogames are the medium of the 21st century, in the same way that movies and TV were the medium of the 20th century. We have to preserve our history before it’s gone.”

And so, here’s Lord British talking at length with Warren and his class:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBjUdnAt1GM&w=480&h=360]

You might want to make a pot of coffee for this.

So hey…if you were planning to end this particular Sunday evening watching a Peter Jackson epic, why not watch this instead? It has the virtue of being something you’ve likely never seen before, and the sheer possibilities that emerge from putting these two giants of gaming history in the same room to talk candidly to a captive audience…the mind, it boggles.

The First Age of Update: A link from the master himself! Thanks, Richard Garriott!

5 Responses

  1. Sanctimonia says:

    Warren roasted him a bit, but what’s interesting is that it is so old. He’s speaking of Tabula Rasa in the future tense. I wonder how a similar roast would go if given now. In any case, awesome insight into their personalities and their insights.

  2. Sanctimonia says:

    Garriott just mentioned this article in a tweet. Don’t think anyone quite realizes (except WtF) the significance of that yet. Out-standing. 🙂

  3. WtF Dragon says:

    Yeah…it took a little while to pick my jaw up off the table when I heard about the link.

  4. Dungy says:

    Very nice. Tweeted by Richard Garriott and listed as the #1 Ultima fan source by UOHerald.com

    You must be proud and getting a lot of hits.