Ultima Forever
Ultima Forever: Quest for the Avatar, also known as Ultima Forever or Ultima4Ever was a free-to-play, cross-platform, online, action role-playing game developed by BioWare Mythic (later renamed Mythic Entertainment, and then EA Mythic) and published by Electronic Arts. It was formally announced at the San Diego Comic-Con International on July 12, 2012, where it was indicated it would be available for the PC and iPad. The game was released on the Canadian iTunes App Store on May 22, 2013.[1] On May 29, 2014, Mythic was closed by Electronic Arts[2] and on July 31, 2014, it was announced that Ultima Forever would be shut down as of August 29th, 2014 and would no longer be available to be played after that date.[3]
Gameplay[edit]
The game was announced to eventually feature 8 classes to choose from, but only the Fighter and the Mage were available when the game launched. It was planned that the other six classes were to be rolled out in the months following the game's launch, starting with the Druid.[4]
The Story[edit]
Ultima Forever was a sequel to Ultima IV, as well as a reboot of the rest of the game series. It was set 21 years after the events of Ultima IV. Lady British, Lord British's daughter, was the ruling monarch of Britannia in the game. Britannia was being attacked by the Black Weep, a plague that twists virtuous people. Lady British had called heroes to find a cure for the Black Weep, and the players filled in the roles of such heroes. Mastering the Eight Virtues and becoming an Avatar was a major goal.[5]
Development[edit]
An Ultima Forever website (http://www.ultimaforever.com/) went live in June 2, 2011. The website did not mention anything about the upcoming game, focusing instead on revisiting the games and world of the Ultima series. As of June 5, 2011, the site offered a free download of Ultima IV, as well as a link to the two-week free trial of Ultima Online. This site was believed to be related to a secret project being developed by BioWare Mythic, possibly involving a port of Ultima IV. Several factors, including a rant by an ex-employee and tweets by the BioWare Mythic Creative Director, all supported this to be the case.
When the game was announced on July 12, the website's contents were replaced with an image announcing the Ultima Forever game. This image contained a link to sign up for an upcoming closed beta of the game. Two more images were also published: concept art of the gypsy, and Ultima Forever's map of Britannia. The former website was then moved to a separate subdomain.
On Februrary 2013, an announcement was made indicating that the iOS (iPad and iPhone) version of the game would be released first, as it had scored better in the testing process. Though the initial idea was to have a simultaneous launch on all platforms, the PC and Android versions of the games were scheduled to be released later than the iOS version.[6] The game was released on the Canadian iOS App Store on May 22, 2013.[7] Ultima Forever was later relased worldwide on the iOS App Store on August 8, 2013.[8][9] Several key members of the Ultima Forever development team changed their roles from dedicated Ultima Forever responsibilities to more general roles in August 2013.[10]
Several updates to the game were released during the following months, with the last update being released on February 2014.[11] By the time the game was closed down in August 2014, only the iOS version of the game had been released.
Gallery[edit]
The original website
Trivia[edit]
- The UltimaForever Twitter account went online June 1, 2011 with its first tweet, the famous virtue question from Ultima IV: “Art thou humble?”
External Links[edit]
- Official Website
- Ultima Forever at UltimaCodex.com
- Ultima Forever Wiki
- An image of Mythic Creative Director Paul Barnett standing in front of a large map of Britannia, presumably for this project.
- A post by Magnus, who discovered the UltimaForever site, including the screenshot.
References[edit]
- ↑ “Ultima Forever: Quest for the Avatar”. iTunes App Store.
- ↑ “EA Closes Mythic Entertainment (EA Mythic)”. Ultima Codex. 2014-05-29.
- ↑ “Ultima Forever: August 29th Online Services Shutdown Announced”. Ultima Codex. Retrieved 2014-07-31.
- ↑ Justin Olivetti. “Ultima Forever opens the doors to Druids”. Massively. Retrieved 2012-08-03.
- ↑ “About Ultima Forever”. Ultima Forever - Quest for the Avatar. Retrieved 2013-03-10.
- ↑ “Ultima Forever - Post on February 13”. Ultima Forever Facebook Page. 2013-02-13.
- ↑ “Ultima Forever: Quest for the Avatar”. iOS App Store.
- ↑ “Ultima Forever Launches Worldwide”. Ultima Codex. 2013-08-08.
- ↑ “Mythic’s Final Months: Seven Game Prototypes and Another Classic Franchise”. Ultima Codex. 2014-05-29.
- ↑ “Mythic’s Final Months: Seven Game Prototypes and Another Classic Franchise”. Ultima Codex. 2014-05-29.
- ↑ “Ultima Forever Updated: Complete the Quest of the Avatar”. Ultima Codex. 2014-02-19.