Richard Garriott



Richard Allen Garriott (born July 4, 1961; nickname Lord British) is a significant figure in the video game industry. He was originally a game designer and programmer, but now engages in various aspects of computer game development.

Biography
Garriott was born in Cambridge, England and raised in League City, Texas, a son of Skylab and Spacelab astronaut Owen K. Garriott. At Clear Creek High School, he took an interest in computers and began self-directed courses in computer programming in which he created fantasy computer games. He also gained his "Lord British" nickname from older students at his school who thought he spoke with a British accent.

Richard continued programming many games, often offering them to friends for free. He produced his first published game, Akalabeth, in the summer of 1980 while working at a ComputerLand retail store. Garriott earned more than enough money from Akalabeth to pay to continue his education. In the fall, he entered the University of Texas at Austin, joined the school's fencing team and later joined the Society for Creative Anachronism.



In the early 1980s, Garriott developed the Ultima computer game series (sequels after the first were numbered, such as Ultima II, Ultima III and so on). Originally programmed for the Apple II, the first was published by California Pacific Computers, and sold in ziploc plastic bags to interested parties. The second part was published by Sierra On-Line. By the time he developed his third installment, the games had such a large following that Garriott (along with his brother, Robert, and father and others) established Origin Systems, their own video game publisher, to handle the publishing and distribution of his title, now available on several platforms. Origin went on to become one of the most influential game developers in video game history.

Garriott sold Origin to Electronic Arts in September 1992. For the most part, this did not directly impact development from a gamer's standpoint. But in 1999 and 2000, turmoil became apparent when EA cancelled all of Origin's new development projects outside of Ultima Online games, including Privateer Online, and Harry Potter Online with the intent to transform Origin into a fully Ultima Online company. In the midst of these events, Garriott resigned from the company he had created as he wanted to take a break from Ultima and create a new form of multiplayer game.

After his one year non-compete agreement with EA expired, he returned to the industry by forming Destination Games in April 2001 with his brother and Starr Long (the producer of Ultima Online) whose Ultima Online 2 had just been cancelled by Electronic Arts, leading to many of its team members to join Garriott's new company. Destination then partnered with NCsoft where he acted as a producer and designer of MMORPGs. After producing the English version of the Korean MMORPG Lineage (where his Lord British persona made an appearance)), he focused on creating a new MMORPG called Tabula Rasa.

Garriott built a "haunted house"/museum as his residence called Britannia Manor in Austin, Texas. He also promotes private space flight as vice-chairman of the board of directors for Space Adventures and as a trustee of the X-Prize. Garriott flew to the International Space Station and back in October 2008.

Garriott became the ninth inductee into the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences' Hall of Fame in 2006.

Garriott and Laetitia Pichot de Cayeux were married on July 1, 2011.

On July 21, 2011, Garriott was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Science by Queen Mary, University of London, for his work promoting the importance of science, mathematics and space exploration.

Garriott has given many interviews over the years.