TCW Podcast Episode 143 -The Prophet of the Avatar

In part two of our look at the Ultima series we start with how Richard came to the morality system that became a central feature of the franchise.  Using a combination of features he likes from various worlds religions, his own experiences, and so on Richard crafted the eight virtues that the play, who would become the avatar, would have to emulate.  In the following two games. The story focused on how not all choices are black and white like in Ultima V, and how without all the facts you may be fighting against a group that may just be trying to survive.  This is a fascinating look at morality in videogames that is unprecedented at the time, and is rarely, if at all, emulated today.

Download Ultima IV: https://www.gog.com/game/ultima_4

Museum of the Avatar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIaOiMH8SKg

Softline Interview: http://www.applevault.com/magazines/softline/v3n1/origin.pdf

The Eight Virtues Explained: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wFzZx-L4LI

Ultima IV Apple II: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYGFh3I3IG4

Ultima V Apple II: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GvWMmlfmgs

Ultima VI: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nBWuV_E6Eg

TCW 038 - Origin Story: http://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/origin-story-1489274251/

New episodes on the 1st and 15th of every month!

TCW Email: [email protected] 

Twitter: @tcwpodcast

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theycreateworlds

Alex's Video Game History Blog: http://videogamehistorian.wordpress.com

Alex's book is available for preorder and should be released through CRC Press in December 2019: http://bit.ly/TCWBOOK1

Intro Music: Josh Woodward - Airplane Mode -  Music - "Airplane Mode" by Josh Woodward. Free download:http://joshwoodward.com/song/AirplaneMode 

Outro Music: RolemMusic - Bacterial Love - http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Rolemusic/Pop_Singles_Compilation_2014/01_rolemusic_-_bacterial_love 

Copyright: Attribution: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/