Comic book artist, video game writer, and author Wes Locher has just released a non-fiction book that may be of interest to many of you. Entitled Braving Britannia: Tales of Life, Love, and Adventure in Ultima Online, it is a collection of stories about (what else?) the experience of different Ultima Online players and developers.

Here’s the official description:

Welcome to the digital world of Ultima Online where anything is possible. Braving Britannia: Tales of Life, Love, and Adventure in Ultima Online collects interviews with 35 of the game’s players, volunteers, and developers, revealing what they did, where they adventured, and how their lives were changed by the grandfather of MMOs.

And here’s an excerpt that Locher graciously provided:

Killing Time

Excerpt from Braving Britannia, Chapter 2: The Digital Garden of Good and Evil

Canadian Player Killer Ryan “Evil M” Bruns, who killed an estimated 600 players during his time on the Hokuto shard, traces his murderous roots back to another game in the Ultima series.

Released for the PC in 1994, Ultima VIII: Pagan was a single-player experience, utilizing what became UO’s trademark 2D isometric view.

“As a kid, to me this game was absolutely mind-blowing,” Bruns said. “It was life-changing. I spent days figuring out ways not only to solve the puzzles, but also ways to screw with the world, mess the NPCS up, kill them, and loot their houses, all without being captured by the guards.”

Years later, Bruns would follow news about Ultima Online’s development, eagerly anticipating another life-changing experience. Though this time, the experience could be shared with others.

“I had been reading about Ultima Online in PC Gamer magazine for a few years prior,” Bruns said. “I would stare at the pictures over and over, trying and visualize how the game was going to be. My mind would go wild! [The magazine] painted a very good picture of the game, and it was better than I ever even thought a game could be.”

Bruns began playing Ultima Online shortly after its launch, but before he could become a legend in PvP (player versus player) gameplay and an infamous murderer, he first had to overcome a poor internet connection.

“I’ve made it sound like I started off as a badass or something,” Bruns said. “I didn’t. When I was 14 and started playing the Atlantic server, I was a complete scrub with a bad internet connection. I learned from my guild leader most of the things I needed in order to somewhat understand the game and make things come together for me.”

Trying to make a living in the game’s player-run economy, Bruns threw himself into mining, hoping to save up enough gold to purchase a home. After weeks of hard work, Bruns was finally able to purchase a housing deed that would allow him to build one, providing both additional storage and safety in the wilderness.

Empty land on which to place a house, even a small one, was difficult to find and often located in dangerous places in the wilds. But when a fellow adventurer offered Bruns a magic gate to where space was available, he happily hopped through, housing deed in hand.

“I was gated to Deceit Island where I was lured by a PK and killed,” Bruns said. “I watched the [house] deed fly off my body.”

In the process of trying to make his housing dreams come true, Bruns lost everything.

And that’s right about the time he broke bad.

“I decided that I would no longer be the kind player I was trying to be,” he said.

As Bruns saw it, the monotonous act of mining ore, smelting it into ingots, and selling them at the local bank wasn’t what paid. Killing and looting players on the other hand? That’s where fortunes could be made.

And if you’re curious, Locher also provided the complete list of personalities that contributed stories to the book:

Alex “Kar Al’Drac” Zacherl (Drachenfels)
Bonnie “Mesanna” Armstrong (UO Producer, Broadsword Online Games)
Carolyn “Hugzug” Alexander (Siege Perilous)
Chris “Faceless” Mayer (Lead programmer, Origin Systems)
Christiane “Bishop” Loiseau (Origin)
Diane “Counselor Tigger” Migliaccio (Great Lakes)
Elizabeth “El of LA” Butler (Lake Austin)
Gary “Blind Otto” Muston (Siege Perilous)
Gordon “Tyrant” Walton (Executive Producer, Origin Systems)
Greg “Braden” Fleeman (Lake Superior)
James “T’berog” Carson (Catskills/Siege Perilous)
John “Seer Flare” Albano (Catskills)
John “Redrum” Dickson (Lake Superior)
John “Dr. Pepper” Razimus (Beta tester)
Karen “Kazola” Kazmierczak (Great Lakes)
Kevin “Vincent” Leonard (Great Lakes)
Luke “Adam Ant” Tomasello (Napa Valley)
Marco “Sten Hunter/GM Spada” Sederquist (Lake Superior/Origin Systems)
Meg “Elizabeth Tobias” Watt (Atlantic/Chesapeake/Lake Austin/Siege Perilous)
Michael “Glendor” Pusateri (Sonoma/Siege Perilous)
Pete “Sir Adrick” Warner (Live Designer, Origin Systems)
Raph “Designer Dragon” Koster (Lead Designer, Origin Systems)
Rich “Dupre” Vogel (Sr. Producer, Origin Systems)
Rick “Stellerex” Hall (Producer, Origin Systems)
Ryan “Evil M” Bruns (Hokuto)
Ryan “Jackson” Ozubko (Hokuto)
Samuel “Nieves” Nieves (Great Lakes)
Scot “Seer Hearadh” Salmon (Sonoma)
Sean “Dragons” Stalzer (Atlantic)
Sebastian “Hagish” Dorda (Drachenfels)
Shane “Abigor” McVey (UO: An Corp freeshard)
Starr “Lord Blackthorn” Long (Co-creator/Director, Origin Systems)
Thomas “Hanse” Eidson (Game Developer, Origin Systems)
Thomas “Sir Thomas” Frevold (Baja)
Valerie “Counselor Pann” Massey (Chesapeake)

You can grab copies of the book at Amazon; there is a paperback version available (for $19.95 USD) as well as a Kindle version ($9.95 USD). The book is a fascinating read (I was provided an advance copy, which I’ll probably do a review of at some point); if you are at all curious about the Ultima Online experience from the perspective of both players and developers; some of the stories are frustrating, others heartening, and others fascinating.

Rather like Ultima Online itself, I suppose.