Richard Garriotthistorical author ultimate series A central figure in the history of Western role-playing games who seems to be gaining interest generative artificial intelligence as a possible vehicle for the future of the series. This topic came up during a panel discussion at DragonCon, where we also discussed possible directions for new chapters of Ultima.
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According to one attendee, nearly half of the meeting was spent discussing artificial intelligence tools and their potential in developing the next game. Hypotheses discussed include an Ultima with an isometric setting and pixel art graphics, or a three-dimensional game with a camera closer to Elden Ring. However, they serve first and foremost as visual support for the discussion Image generated using ChatGPTdepicting fantasy forests and generic landscapes, as well as an interface reminiscent of World of Warcraft.
Garriott himself later demonstrated specific examples of his own use of artificial intelligence. This is a personal project related to creating an original fantasy language. “Richard held up a whiteboard wrapped in plastic wrap. He excitedly recalled that over the years he had never managed to create his own fantasy language that wasn’t just a modified version of Runic Arabic. He explained with enthusiasm that, with the help of ChatGPT, he had finally succeeded.”
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The report’s authors highlight Garriott’s particular enthusiasm for the outcome: “He was delighted to be able to use technology to finally complete the project he had spent his life nurturing, and all I could think was More interested in the end result than the path”.
Environmental and ethical issues were also raised during the panel discussion. The question posed to the speakers essentially asked what guarantees there were to ensure that a possible new Ultima would still be a game created by professionals who were able to make creative choices, rather than becoming a collection of content generated from past works made by others.
According to this participant, the speaker’s response was helpful, explaining their interest in the possibility that small teams could work on more ambitious projects with the help of AI tools. environmental issues and Ability to use ethically trained systems. “They realize it,” the authors comment, while reiterating the need to question the use of generative AI rather than automatically viewing it as a positive solution.
However, this report does not mean that the new Ultima has been announced, nor does it mean that Garriott has determined that the next chapter will be developed through AI.