> When they say, "Get a Life," It Doesn't Have to be an RL

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Ultimate Worlds Online: Origin
Origin/ Electronic Arts


Be careful if you tell this guy to get a life...

While online, most gamers refer to it as RL, if you don't know what that means then you either don't play many online games or you actually have one so don't need to abbreviate its existence. For online gamers, RL is a bit of a pain, it draws them away from their virtual friends, worlds and enjoyment. Even those gamers that enjoy RL understand that it has a place and time, and that time is not while they are hooked into the internet. Many gamers, while making their way through RL, are busy thinking about online games, and those of you who have no clue what I am talking about will, most likely, very soon understand. The list of upcoming online games is incredible and covers persistent online worlds, self-contained online worlds, RTS games, space sims and some games that don't fit in any real category. The online gaming community is quickly growing and is soon going to be a dominant, if not the dominant, genre of the videogaming world. Interesting how Origin, one of the companies there for the birth of online persistent worlds is back with Ultimate Worlds Online: Origin just in time for online games to enter their formative years.

(Oh yeah, for those still in the dark, RL stands for Real Life)

UWO: Origin looks nothing like the original Ultima Online and has little to do with the story or world of that game. Some familiar characters are present and the lands of Britannia return, but after these two comparisons everything gets very different, very fast. UWO: Origin will consist of three main continents, each arriving in the game world from a different time period and bringing with it a unique race of playable character and an original atmosphere. The Lands of Britannia will provide a traditional fantasy setting and the humans as a possible player avatar. A more primitive world has given rise to the feline Meer and their more mystical arts. Finally, and of most interest is the steam-punk continent and its technology-using, lizard-like inhabitants, the Juka. There is no doubt that the mix of these three lands will provide great opportunities for both exploration and role-playing.

If any doubts remain that Origin has little to do with the original Ultima Online then one look at the creatures, many of them being conceptualized by Todd MacFarlane, will end them. The designers of Origin have taken an aggressive approach to populating their world by removing most of the stereotypical and familiar creatures of fantasy writing and replacing them with creatures that result in a "what in blazes is that" reaction. The creatures seen in the demonstration definitely live up to this goal, as it was unclear whether the creatures were herbivore or carnivore, friend or foe. The world of Origin is going to be unique.

Another impressive plan for Origin is the new approach to combat in the game. As players improve in different combat skills, weapon specializations and spell casting they will gain new skills and moves that will be visible within the game. As the new world ages, certain move combinations and spells will become common enough that other gamers will, theoretically, be able to approximate another character's level based entirely on their visual fighting style. The real bonus, however, is this more in depth approach to combat will make battles far more interesting than the current point-click-watch systems currently being used in online games.

The most ambitious and interesting plans for Origin involve the world's story line. The developers plan on having a dynamic story written and mapped out for the game's first eighteen months and will hire actors to play key characters within these stories. One of the problems with many of today's persistent worlds is a lack of overall direction or feeling of story within the games. Origin seems to have realized this and moved towards finding a solution and increasing the depth of their new world.

It seems so many years ago now, but I was quite the Ultima Online fan when I started playing the game. Unfortunately, the problems and lack of thinking in certain game systems eventually took their toll on me and I left the game feeling bitter and a bit upset with the game world as a whole. Now I am once again filled with a sense of hope and excitement as I eagerly await the release of Ultima Online World's newest creation and prepare to begin my adventures in the new lands of Origin. So much for RL.

-Sean Miller

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