I can go on and on about how good those 2 games were. Recently, I had my original game box of UW1 signed by Warren Spector - who produced Underworld 1 & 2 and later made Deus Ex. I was able to tell him how great and inspiring Ultima Underworld was, and it ignited seriously my interest to become a game developer. The principles of underworld were to create immersive world and offering choices to player. Let player improvise, give him tools and he will find solutions to overcome challenges. Tell him a good story; make the world interactive and responsive to his action. This design philosophy was a great inspiration and something that I wanted to apply in my career as a game developer. Its years later that I started to work with a team of developers that wanted to continue to craft games that make you think (Splinter Cell, DX3 and Thief 4). I've always like to play Ultima Underworld. When I think of Ultima Underworld many concept come to my mind: massive dungeons filles with evil creatures, survival is important, lots of combat, magic spells, plots & conspiracy. It was the first game to create a believable 3D world with a rich plot. The dungeons felt so real. They were dark and uncharted. I had to find lights, use my magic to see something. As I explore, I used my map to orient myself - where to go and where there was uncompleted section to map. Sometimes, detail will be drawn, like a secret door that I was unable to find. Mapping the world was a great thing and fulfilled a sentiment of completion. You could walk, run, jump and swim. Some places were hard to reach and required specific spells, like fly or levitation, or water walk. Finding your ways in the dungeon was a great reward. How do I get there... I’ll come back later... A secret passage here, how do I open this door... I don’t have the key or the skill to pick lock it. I’ll try to break it with my weapons. After a minute or two, and 2 broken axes the door would open. Choices were omni-present in underworld. You had to manage your resources to survive. They all had a weight and some were required on a daily basis to consume like food. You needed to find light (candles, torches, oil, light spell). Some objects were always useful but rarely use: keep potions until necessary to use (fly, levitate), always have a pole to push buttons blocked by a portcullis, carry gold and gems to trades with inhabitants, relics... Everywhere you go you look for object to pick and use. You don’t know what you could find, but it became a reflex to search around and salvage everything useful. Sometimes, you could find books. Rarely, runes were found and how precious they were. Each one can be use to cast spells when combine accordingly. I had to fight to survive and it was required to get rid of all the evil. I can swing my sword, mace, axe, or shoot from a distance magic missile or arrows. When I'm taking too much damage or when your weapon become broken after hitting the wall by accident, running away was a validate course of action. Resting was also part of the adventure. Use your bedroll to sleep, but only somewhere safe and out of reach of monsters. Otherwise I may be attacked. Sometimes in UW1, I would have a vision in my dream that would help me with my quest. That was always a welcome surprises. Underworld was unique at the time. It was a brilliant game. No surprises that it’s a classic and continues to inspire me and other game developers.
