Richard Garriott Interview and Ultima 4 NPC Creation Sheet, From Wizards Journal

This is an interesting find.

Odkin, whilst going through boxes in his garage, came across a copy of Wizards Journal — really, a four-page newsletter — that he was sent, unsolicited, back in 1984.

You see, back in 1984, a much younger Odkin sent a letter to Richard Garriott and Origin Systems, announcing his completion of Ultima 3 in 564,796 steps. He didn’t ever get a completion certificate for it, but he suspects that it was as a result of sending this letter that he was then sent a copy of Wizards Journal.

The interview with Richard Garriott that fills the first page (and change) of the newsletter doesn’t reveal anything we don’t now already know; in it, Lord British recounts his history as a game developer, from Akalabeth onward, and talks briefly about his reasons for leaving California Pacific and signing on with Sierra On-Line. The interview actually breaks off shortly after the Sierra On-Line discussion, and a footnote promises its completion in the next issue of Wizards Journal.

What follows, however, is rather more interesting. Because, you see, the second and third pages of this issue are taken up by a form that allows readers to submit NPCs for possible inclusion in Ultima 4. This includes several instructions — written by Richard Garriott himself, apparently — about what NPCs should and should not include. Historical references, for example, were disallowed, and each NPC was required to have two pieces of knowledge that the player could somehow deduce that the NPC knew. A third NPC response type, a special response given if a threshold sum of money is offered to that NPC, can also be submitted via the form.

The actual form appears on the third page, accompanied by a brief introduction that outlines Garriott’s intention to include more varied NPCs, NPCs who were unique individuals, in Ultima 4. The introduction also disclaims that Origin Systems reserves the right to edit a submitted NPC slightly in order to better fit the setting of the game, and that the submission of an NPC does not guarantee its use in the game. And naturally, all submissions become the property of Origin Systems proper.

I actually reached out to Richard Garriott for confirmation that the form was legitimate, and he confirmed that it did in fact seem to be. He couldn’t recall off the top of his head which NPCs in the game were included as a result of submissions via the form, however.

At any rate, enjoy! This is a neat glimpse into the development of Ultima 4, and gives us some idea of the design and thought that went into Ultima 4’s NPCs. The Ultima Codex is grateful to Odkin for sharing this bit of history.