The Avatar | |
---|---|
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 player character and protagonist in several Ultima video games by Origin Systems, beginning with their first appearance in Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar. The character concept arose after series creator Richard Garriott received criticism for the amoral conduct allowed in the first three Ultima games, leading him to attach a moral virtue system to the player's goals in the fourth game onwards.
Appearances
The early Ultima games referred to the player-protagonist as the Stranger, with an open game design that allowed players to complete quests through theft or violence. The Avatar makes their first appearance in the fourth Ultima 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 game, the Avatar defeats a repressive regime in Britannia, and in the sixth, he brings peace between men and gargoyles. In Ultima VII and VIII, the Avatar battles the Guardian, finally destroying both himself and his foe in Ultima IX: Ascension.
With the exception of Ultima IX: Ascension, the player can choose the Avatar's name. Ultima VIII: Pagan fixed the Avatar's identity as a blonde-haired blue-eyed male, while the other games allowed the player to select the Avatar's race, gender, and appearance. In Ultima IV onward, the player activates the Avatar's speech 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 of Ultima III, creator Richard Garriott received letters from parents that criticized the Ultima series for allowing immoral actions, such as theft or murder against peaceful citizens. Garriott also received criticism about supposed Satanic content, particularly 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] After watching a television show on Hinduism and the concept of the Avatar, Garriott was inspired to create his own system of eight Virtues for the next protagonist in Ultima IV, the Avatar.[2]
By the time of Ultima VII, Richard Garriott noted that he had finished exploring the moral concept of the Virtues, and the Avatar returned to a more open role for the player with less of a moral code.[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 reprise the moral concepts associated with the Avatar,[5] but the project was ultimately cancelled.[6]
Reception and impact
In 1996, Computer Gaming World ranked the Avatar as sixth on their list of most memorable game heroes, adding that "the anonymous hero of most of the Ultima sagas was particularly interesting when trying to balance the virtues."[7] GameSpot listed Avatar among the ten best heroes in video gaming, describing them as "a projection" of the player while criticizing later designs as "just another hero out to rid the land of evil."[8] In 2008, IGN included the Avatar on the list of characters they would like to see in a fighting game, describing them as "certainly the most memorable of the early gaming era."[9]
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.[10] The Avatar was one of the first times that a player could select the race and gender of the protagonist, and can be interpreted as a representative of the player, allowing them to reflect on their actions in the game.[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
- ^ Fahey, Rob (2004-07-01). "MMORPG cull continues as EA cancels Ultima X: Online". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
- ^ "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
External links
- Avatar and the Stranger at the Codex of Ultima Wisdom, a wiki for Ultima