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'''The Avatar''' is the main [[player character]] and [[protagonist]] in the ''[[Ultima (series)|Ultima]]'' series of video games by [[Origin Systems]] |
'''The Avatar''' is the main [[player character]] and [[protagonist]] in the ''[[Ultima (series)|Ultima]]'' series of video games by [[Origin Systems]], with their first appearance in ''[[Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar]]''. The character concept arose after Garriott received criticism for the amoral conduct allowed in the first three games, leading him to attach a moral virtue system to the player's goals in the fourth game. |
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==Appearances== |
==Appearances== |
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The early ''Ultima'' games referred to the player-protagonist as the ''Stranger'', with a neutral quest design that allowed players to steal or murder their way to victory. The Avatar makes their first appearance in the fourth game, where their goal is to follow the path of the Virtues, and retrieve the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom from the Great Stygian Abyss. In the fifth episode, the Avatar defeats a repressive regime in Britannia, and in the sixth, he brings peace between men and gargoyles. Beginning with ''[[Ultima VII]]'', the Avatar battles the Guardian, finally destroying both himself and his foe in ''[[Ultima IX: Ascension]]''. |
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The Avatar was first known as the ''Stranger'' (or ''Stranger from another world'') in ''Ultima I'', when he rid the world of the evil wizard Mondain, later returning to bring an end to the wicked sorceress Minax in ''[[Ultima II: The Revenge of the Enchantress]]'' and to dispatch their legacy in ''[[Ultima III: Exodus]]''. ''[[Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar]]'' included ''The History of Britannia'', which did not state whether the heroes from the first three games or the current one were the same person or not, leaving it rather vague. Later games imply that the Stranger and the Avatar are the same person. |
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In all of the ''Ultima'' games except for ''[[Ultima IX: Ascension]]'', the player can choose the Avatar's name. Variou games allowed the player to select the Avatar's race, gender, and character portrait. In ''[[Ultima VIII: Pagan]]'', the avatar's identity is fixed as male with blond hair and blue eyes. In ''Ultima IV'' onward, the Avatar steers conversations using singular keywords, until ''Ultima VII'' and ''[[Ultima Underworld]]'' allowed full dialog. ''Ultima IX'' added digitized speech to accompany the text. |
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While in later games the player character follows a set of ethic guidelines called the Virtues, in the first three games the player is not bound by any moral guidelines, leaving the future Avatar free to steal and murder, with only the easily avoided town guards to stop them. ''Ultima I'' and ''Ultima II'' required the player to murder characters to obtain keys needed to beat the game; these items could not be obtained by purchasing them, opening treasure chests or killing monsters. The first three games were much easier if the player chose to steal food in order to survive, rather than purchase it.<ref>The Official Book of Ultima, second edition, by Shay Addams, page 40</ref> The fourth time the Stranger returns, his quest focuses on a different task. Instead of defeating an enemy, his goal is to follow the path of the Virtues, and retrieve the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom from the Great Stygian Abyss. In the fifth episode, the Avatar defeats a repressive regime in Britannia, and in the sixth, he brings peace between men and gargoyles. Beginning with ''[[Ultima VII]]'', the Avatar battles the Guardian, finally destroying both himself and his foe in ''[[Ultima IX: Ascension]]''. |
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In all of the ''Ultima'' games except for ''[[Ultima IX: Ascension]]'', the player can choose the Avatar's name. As the first three Ultima games had many Tolkien-inspired elements, the Stranger could be a non-human race, such as an elf or a dwarf. Until ''[[Ultima VIII: Pagan]]'', the gender could be chosen as well; Ultima III even allowed for a [[non-binary gender]]. In most later games, several different character portraits with different skin and hair colors are available. The Avatar [[Sprite (computer graphics)|sprite]] is determined by class in early games, and always the same in ''[[Ultima V: Warriors of Destiny]]'' and ''[[Ultima VI: The False Prophet]]''. ''Ultima VII'' and ''[[Ultima: Worlds of Adventure 2: Martian Dreams]]'' have two different sprites, one for each gender. In ''Ultima VIII: Pagan'' and ''IX'', there is no choice in gender, portrait or sprite/3D model – the character is male with blond hair and blue eyes. |
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The Avatar's clothing generally includes a [[chain mail]] [[hauberk]], with a white, red, or orange [[tunic]] (with a golden [[Ankh]] symbol on the chest and back) over it, and a red cape. Typically, he or she is shown wielding a sword. His or her appearance varies from game to game and version to version, but usually follows this schema. In ''Ultima VIII'', the Avatar's face is obscured by a large helmet. |
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In ''Ultima I'' to ''III'', no speech by the Stranger was ever shown. In ''Ultima IV'' and onward, the player must choose keywords to engage in conversations. Thus, the other characters discuss things with the Avatar, but apart from the topic, the player never sees what the Avatar actually says. The dialogue choices available in conversation with every character are "name" (asking the character to introduce themselves), "job" (asking the character to describe their position in the community), and "bye" (ending the conversation). This is parodied in ''Ultima VII'', where an actor playing the Avatar in a play boasts about how he has hundreds of lines to memorize, only to reveal that every line literally consists of "Name!", "Job!", or "Bye!". The first time the Avatar actually speaks directly is in ''Ultima VII'', but full lines are very rare and only appear in one or two instances. ''[[Ultima Underworld]]'' broke this tradition by being the first ''Ultima'' to give the Avatar full dialogue throughout the game; ''Ultima IX'' would later follow this tradition, adding digitized speech to accompany the text. |
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==Development== |
==Development== |
Revision as of 19:37, 23 January 2024
The Avatar | |
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Ultima character | |
File:Avatar Ultima 6.jpg | |
First appearance | Ultima I: The First Age of Darkness (1981) |
Last appearance | Ultima IX: Ascension (1999) |
Created by | Richard Garriott |
Voiced by | J.C. Shakespeare (Ultima IX) |
The Avatar is the main player character and protagonist in the Ultima series of video games by Origin Systems, with their first appearance in Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar. The character concept arose after Garriott received criticism for the amoral conduct allowed in the first three games, leading him to attach a moral virtue system to the player's goals in the fourth game.
Appearances
The early Ultima games referred to the player-protagonist as the Stranger, with a neutral quest design that allowed players to steal or murder their way to victory. The Avatar makes their first appearance in the fourth game, where their goal is to follow the path of the Virtues, and retrieve the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom from the Great Stygian Abyss. In the fifth episode, the Avatar defeats a repressive regime in Britannia, and in the sixth, he brings peace between men and gargoyles. Beginning with Ultima VII, the Avatar battles the Guardian, finally destroying both himself and his foe in Ultima IX: Ascension.
In all of the Ultima games except for Ultima IX: Ascension, the player can choose the Avatar's name. Variou games allowed the player to select the Avatar's race, gender, and character portrait. In Ultima VIII: Pagan, the avatar's identity is fixed as male with blond hair and blue eyes. In Ultima IV onward, the Avatar steers conversations using singular keywords, until Ultima VII and Ultima Underworld allowed full dialog. Ultima IX added digitized speech to accompany the text.
Development
After the release Ultima III, creator Richard Garriott stated that he received critical letters from parents that the Ultima series allowed players to commit immoral actions like theft and murder against peaceful citizens. He also received criticism about supposed Satanic content in media at that time, particularly the the demonic nature of the antagonist of Ultima III who appeared on the game packaging. In The Official Book of Ultima, Shay Addams described Richard Garriott's thinking, that "if people were going to look for hidden meaning in his work when they didn't even exist, he would introduce ideas and symbols with meaning and significance he deemed worthwhile, to give them something they could really think about."[1] Watching a television show on Hinduism and the concept of the Avatar, Garriott was inspired to create his own system of eight virtues for Ultima's next protagonist, the Avatar.[2]
By the time of Ultima VII, Richard Garriott noted that he had grown tired of the moral concept seen in the previous three games, and the Avatar returned to a more traditional role for the player where the moral code was not as strictly enforced.[3] The Avatar in Ultima VIII was designed to be male, taking away the choice of gender, but still having some of the moral flexibility seen in prior titles.[4] Ultima X: Odyssey promised to return to the character development of achieving Avatar status,[5] but the project was ultimately cancelled.
Reception
In 1996, Computer Gaming World ranked the Avatar as sixth on the list of the most memorable game heroes, adding that "the anonymous hero of most of the Ultima sagas was particularly interesting when trying to balance the virtues."[6] GameSpot listed Avatar among the ten best heroes in video gaming, describing it as "a projection" of the player while criticizing later character designs as "just another hero out to rid the land of evil."[7] In 2008, IGN included the Avatar on the list of characters they would like to see in an ultimate fighting game, describing them as "certainly the most memorable of the early gaming era."[8]
Cultural impact
The use of the word "avatar" in this manner is the first time that the word represented a concept defined by its modern virtual context.[9] It is not an embodiment of a god but of the virtues inherent to the game's paradigm. From Ultima IV onward, the player must consider and reflect upon the Avatar's actions, bringing them in line with such Virtues. Since the games in the series focus on spiritual growth and seek to share virtuous ideas with the players as well, the implication behind the Avatar character is that it is representative of the actual player in the "real world". As part of this focus, players for the first time in the history of the medium were able to choose the gender and race of their characters.[10] The Avatar concept also pioneered a role-playing game (RPG) video game design where the player has control over a single character and subsequently builds a party of followers from pre-existing non-player characters.[11]
References
- ^ The Official Book of Ultima by Shay Addams, p.39
- ^ The Official Book of Ultima by Shay Addams [page needed]
- ^ In Garriott's Own Words; Ultima VII Archived October 25, 2004, at the Wayback Machine (GameSpot)
- ^ "The Ultima Legacy – Ultima VIII: Pagan". GameSpot. Archived from the original on May 4, 2011.
- ^ Greg Kasavin, Ultima X: Odyssey Preview, GameSpot, Aug 28, 2003
- ^ "The 15 Most Memorable Game Heroes". Computer Gaming World. No. 148. November 1996. p. 120. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
- ^ "Ten Best Heroes in Gaming". Gamespot. Archived from the original on July 10, 2007. Retrieved July 24, 2013.
- ^ "Players Wanted: Ultimate Fighting Game – Stars Feature at IGN". Uk.stars.ign.com. 2 September 2008. Retrieved 2013-07-24.
- ^ Zach Waggoner, My Avatar, My Self: Identity in Video Role-Playing Games, p.185
- ^ Sheri Graner Ray, Gender Inclusive Game Design: Expanding the Market, p.27
- ^ Rowan Kaiser, "Ultima: Most. Important. Game Series. Ever." Archived 2013-03-30 at the Wayback Machine, Joystiq, January 26, 2012
External links
- Avatar and the Stranger at the Codex of Ultima Wisdom, a wiki for Ultima