Richard Garriott Chats With Retro Tea Break
Richard Garriott recently sat down — virtually — for a chat with RetroManCave about his history as a game developer:
It’s a wide-ranging discussion, which RetroManCave describes as “unapologetically uncut”, and it runs for just a bit shy of two hours, and covers more or less the entirety of Garriott’s game-making career. There’s lots of interesting stories — not necessarily new stories, but still welcome tales to hear retold — to be heard over the course of the conversation.
Perhaps the most interesting claim made in the conversation is Garriott’s assertion — toward the very end of the discussion — that only a large company can produce a game these days that anyone will care about. This is a significant reversal from the plucky optimism of 2012, and his statements at that time that only he and the Portalarium team could ever craft Ultima’s true heir.
(Hat tip: Infinitron Dragon)
I like Richard, and love hearing the stories, but it really bugs me when he fibs about Shroud.
I know he’s trying to cast the game in the best light, but the state of development is obvious and it just makes Richard, Starr, and Chris look dishonest.
I think being truthful would serve the game much better.
His fibbing throughout the entirety of this project leads me to be much more skeptical of his past stories and their truthfulness. He’s personable, but I think fib is truly too gentle a word.
“Garriott’s assertion — toward the very end of the discussion — that only a large company can produce a game these days that anyone will care about. ”
Haven’t listened to the interview yet, but this seems like him taking the wrong lesson from Shroud of the Avatar. Indie games like “Undertale,” “Stardew Valley,” “Binding of Isaac,” “Super Meat Boy,” “Hotline Miami,” “Papers Please,” and “Darkest Dungeon” reached millions in sales on Steam alone and that doesn’t include their sales on other stores and other platforms like Playstation, XBox, and Switch.
Yeah, I happily landed on 1 hour 31 minutes in where it looks like he starts talking about SotA. I was thinking the same thing, “Well, Rimworld is doing OK and that was built by only one guy.”
I get it. He has to BS about Shroud. He’s not going to throw himself and the current team under the bus by saying, “Yeah, we really fucked up. I had an idea for a game that would cost 100 million+ to make, but I wasn’t able to raise that kind of money, so the game turned out pretty chintzy. I really over estimated my ability and bit off more than I could chew. I made a big mistake and now it’s in a pretty poor state and there are plenty of reasons for fans to be upset about it.”
He should’ve just made a top down single player game like Pillars of Eternity, Tyranny, Divinity Original Sin, Wasteland, etc. People would’ve flocked to a game like that. Then he’d probably be able to make a bigger second game. Maybe EA would’ve put some trust in him and gave him back the Ultima branding.
He will not learn a lesson from Shroud because he seems incapable of accepting his own shortcomings and the shortcomings of his close friends.
There are plenty of small companies that create great games that are beloved by people, sold well, and remain incredibly popular. Richard doesn’t count those because it does not fit his narrative.
Kingdom Come Deliverance is another one.
Garriott just seems like he’s lost his way a bit and his full on dedication towards making games. I’ve heard and seen it been said in comments and interviews that he had “other passions” or “he wasn’t really there” from people that worked with him. This was back in the ultima 8 & 9 days (and it seems like nothing much has changed). I didn’t throw in any money to Shroud for this reason and I don’t think I’ll bother ever playing it.