The Elder Scrolls Online and Ultima Online

You may have heard – there is an online version, an MMORPG of The Elder Scrolls, being developed.

What you may not realize is that some of the most important people behind The Elder Scrolls Online worked on Ultima Online, Dark Age of Camelot, and/or held other positions within Origin, Mythic, and EA.

Take The Elder Scrolls Online Creative Director. I don’t know what a Creative Director is exactly, although I have my guesses, but The Elder Scrolls Online Creative Director is our very own Paul “Sage” Sage, who was heavily involved with Ultima Online in its early years (as well as working on Privateer 2).

Paul “Sage” Sage and UO/Origin/Richard Garriott:
– Ultima Online (Original) – GM and Tester
– Ultima Online: The Second Age – Designer
– Ultima Online: Renaissance – Designer
– Late 2000 – Lead Designer (Live Team)
– Ultima Online: Third Dawn (aka 3D) – Lead Designer
– Left the UO team sometime in 2001 – approximately May or June.
– Tabula Rasa (Richard Garriott’s last MMORPG)

I’m not quite sure if he is related or married to Amy “Cynthe” Sage, who was best known as UO’s Manager of Community Services, back when there was such a thing. I want to say he is related to her.

A bit of trivia, back in 2000, Paul Sage said this in reference to Third Dawn: “I honestly believe that the next few months will be the most exciting months ever in UO history”. This was before the official announcement (see the Ultima Online Guide – Third Dawn).

The following are excerpts from a Paul Sage Interview at RPG Vault Archive – IGN.com while Paul was the Lead Designer of the UO Live Team.

In reference to looking forward between 2000 – 2005 and the major advances:
“Player driven content. Nothing else will be nearly as important over the coming years. Your community is the largest pool of creativity you can hope for, and they have a vested interest in their world. Giving them the tools to truly shape their world will be very important. Imagine a LEGO / Tinker Toy type world where players don’t have pre-made homes to choose from, but are able to build their homes in the world under a certain rule set. When players are allowed to create their own content for a captive audience, developers will be able to concentrate more of their time on truly meaningful improvements.”

“Jonric: What do you consider the keys to successful community building, and what are the main obstacles?

Paul Sage: The key to building a successful community is letting those communities know you are listening. As a developer, understanding that you have to be responsive and straightforward is important to being seen as a friend to the community….”

Matt Firor is the Game Director of Elder Scrolls Online – in charge of the whole thing. He’s got a nice little collection of credits
– Helped found Mythic Entertainment
– Dark Age of Camelot – Producer
– Dark Age of Camelot – Shrouded Isles – Producer
– Dark age of Camelot – Foundations – Producer (I believe)
Also worked on:
– Dark Age of Camelot – Trials of Atlantis
– Dark Age of Camelot – Catacombs
– Dark Age of Camelot – Darkness Rising