The latest game by Lord British, Richard Garriot, has been announced. Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues. Basically its a return to the RPG by Lord British with a sorta sequel to Ultima Online or Ultima in general. This game is important to me personally as it was my first MMO and the one that sparked my interest in making the gaming industry my business.
Now who knows how well this game will truly turn out. I do love that its bringing back some features that really haven't been around in MMO's for some time. The ability to build and own your own home in the actual game space on real estate that is limited in the world is a big one. It means that not only do I have something that you don't in a location you don't have but I can truly leave a mark in the virtual world. My house could be a place to find the rarest weapons in the game to buy, I could make it into a death zone where I will kill anyone who comes by my house and looks at me wrong. I can have crazy events at my house where players fight to the last man standing where I will give out prizes to the winner. I can be known, my house can be known and people will forever refer to the area where my house is as Ket's Place. Maybe 10 years later long after i've stopped playing people would still refer to it as Ket's Place, not even knowing why its called that. That is leaving a mark in the world and that is something I'd like MMO's to return to. Maybe, just maybe SotA is something along those lines.