In every great game or series of games there is a tipping point, a defining moment at which the piece transitions from being merely brilliant to being something truly special. For some this a particular point in a narrative; for others it’s a particular mechanic implemented especially well. For yet others, often the most exceptional, it’s a confluence of all of these elements; a point at which the whole dynamic of a game or series shifts and steps up to another level.

For the Ultima series of games, Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar is that point. Marking the beginning of the true Ultima games as we know them today, Quest of the Avatar is one of those games that cannot be judged as a game alone, as its impact transcended the bounds of mere gameplay.

Released in 1985 following the solid and resurgent Ultima III, Ultima IV was expected to be more of the same: an ambitious and expansive RPG based around a central threat. What it turned out to be, when it eventually hit the public arena, was the foundation for everything that came after in the series, taking it to a hitherto unknown level of sophistication.

 

 

Gameplay mechanics wise, the game remained largely the same. The navigation was more or less unchanged from Exodus, with the party traversing the world seen from above while on the surface world, with each party member individually stated. The main mechanics change was that the game no longer reverted to 1^st person when in a dungeon. Now, the game remained in the top down format of the open world, a concession to the party mechanic, now allowing for more tactical party management in combat. This was a pattern that was followed in all the main Ultima games from this point forward up until the latter stages of the series’ life.

While this was a fairly significant structural change to the game mechanics, it was more or less in line with what had come before. What was different was pretty much everything else in the game.

The world map for Ultima IV was drastically altered from the previous games, restructured to be more navigable and much, much larger. In storyline terms, this was explained as the world having been affected by the destruction of Exodus, the fragmented lands of Sosaria being dramatically re-formed by natural forces. Following this upheaval, Lord British took action to unite the disparate city states into one uniform kingdom, resulting in the newly christened realm of Britannia. This realm, along with the new world map, would remain largely unchanged for the remainder of the main canon games, creating a foundation upon which Richard Garriott could begin to form a consistent narrative between games. This was the point from which the Ultima mythos started, leading to a uniform continuity which eventually involved the previously discussed retcon interpretations of the previous three games.

What was truly revolutionary, however, was the narrative of the game. Following the formation of Britannia, Lord British felt an example was needed to aid in the moral development of his subjects, so he declared the titular Quest of the Avatar, in which willing adventurers were tasked with embodying the virtues enshrined in the religion of the state and become the Avatar of the people.

 

 

And that’s the game; become the embodiment of the ‘virtues’, traverse the Stygian Abyss and retrieve the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom (the bible surrogate for the religion). That’s right, a quest in the true, old-world sense of the word. Not just that, but a genuinely noble and well-meaning purpose at that. Reacting to feedback he had received regarding the questionable morals encouraged (albeit inadvertently) in previous games, Garriott had made the conscious decision to make Ultima IV one in which the character was tasked with being a true hero, embodying the virtues of Honesty, Compassion, Valour, Justice, Honour, Spirituality, Honour and Sacrifice. Pretty heady stuff right? In one fell swoop Garriott demonstrated the positive power and influence a game can have, an example all too uncommon in the industry and an excellent counterpoint to those who would dismiss games as pure conduits for violence.

Oh and on that note? There’s no antagonist. Sure, there’s monsters and enemies aplenty, but there is not overarching antagonist, no grand end of game boss. There is, to all intents and purposes, no enemy against which the central quest is pursued. Garriott has subsequently stated that he made a conscious effort to move away from the “go kill the evil bad guy” type of games that other games in the genre, including his previous games, were structured as. Acutely aware that many activist groups were reading meanings into his and other games that were, in the creators’ intents, not there, Garriott (as described by his biographer Shay Addams) decided to include references and undertones  surrounding undeniably wholesome themes and concepts, partly to prove a point and also to act as a positive influence. In one action, the sophistication of the Ultima storyline and structure had escalated.

This aspect cannot be understated in the precedent it set. More so than arguably any other series of games in the industry’s history, the Ultima games from this point forward (if we discount 8 & 9 anyway) stood for a moral standard. While it might seem trite to advocate the games so, it really is a defining aspect of the series and is a significant reason why so many people love the games as they do.  At the very least, the new morality and pseudo-religion gave the series going forward a defined setting and context from which to build. No longer just a parade of essentially targeted assassination missions, Garriott now had a motivating factor to justify storylines and a consistent framework from which to motivate his protagonist.

 

 

Perhaps even more important that this was the effect this shift had on the player/protagonist paradigm. Rather than an unnamed, featureless proxy, the player could now more easily project themselves onto the character, making them an Avatar both figuratively and literally. Rather than a wholly unidentifiable quest against a great evil, the task that faced the player, in the form of the Avatar was a journey of development and discovery, one that the player undertook as much as the character. This immersed the player in the world and really made them identify with the process. The most interesting thing about the nature of the quest is that it is stressed that in theory anyone could become the Avatar, if they live to the prescribed values. The Avatar, as the player becomes at the end of the story, is not some un-emulatable god, he is an example to the populace at large, an advocate of the values he embodies. Pretty heady stuff for a game, especially for the time.

Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar was a game changer. It not only improved upon gameplay and dramatically escalated the size of RPG games for the time, it raised the bar for storytelling in computer games. You love games of today like Mass Effect, Dragon Age or even Halo or Call of Duty? You have Ultima IV and Richard Garriott to thank for leading the way, for showing that games can have sophisticated narratives, that they can be forces for good and not just immature kid’s toys.

Everyone who played Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar came away from the experience knowing they had witnessed something special. Only in hindsight can we see the game for what it truly was; a trailblazer that set the precedent for modern gaming storyline conventions.

There hadn’t been a game like it before and, really, there hasn’t been another quite like it ever since.

 

Next time, I look at the follow up to Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar – Ultima V: Warriors of Destiny, where Richard Garriott shifts the paradigm yet further. Join me won’t you?

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