^Teppic on 27/4/2000 at 17:58
Well, here's my theory, make of it what you will...
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http://www.ttlg.com/forums/ubb/smile.gifThe programmers/artists/mappers at LG and Origin would love to collaborate with each other to make an Ultima Underworld 3, but the lawyers/bean counters/shareholders won't have it.
The programmers/artists/mappers at LG and EA would love to collaborate with each other to make an Underworld 3 unrelated to Ultima, but the lawyers/bean counters/shareholders won't have it.
The programmers/artists/mappers at LG would love to make another immersive first person RPG in the Underworld mould, (without the 'Ultima' or 'Underworld' name tags), but the lawyers/bean counters/shareholders won't have it.
Plausible?
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http://www.ttlg.com/forums/ubb/smile.gifAndy on 28/4/2000 at 06:28
I'm all for the "business side of games is evil" argument to a certain degree, but I think that's too simplistic. The programmers and designers at LG pretty much decide what games to make, as far as I know. And a complex fantasy RPG isn't such an unproven concept that it would be shot down by management.
If Origin/EA let LG make an UW game, Origin/EA would probably have the same amount of involvement as before (producing, external playtest, publishing). They probably wouldn't directly work on the game.
LG designer Dorian Hart said in an interview that he'd like to work on an UW type game now, if other LG veterans feel the same way they probably will. The impression I get though is that it would likely be UW type, not Ultima licensed.
[This message has been edited by Andy Margulies (edited April 28, 2000).]
^Teppic on 28/4/2000 at 16:29
Could be - it was just an exaggerated theory. Then again there haven't been that many commercial complex fantasy RPGs recently (3D first person ones in particular). Compare that with the constant wave after wave of 3D first person shooters.
An UW type game without the Ultima license would be absolutely great. That way they could avoid many of the legal hurdles there would be.
