Richard Garriott at the Austin Game Conference

GameZone Online has posted an article that details Richard Garriott’s speech at the Austin Game Conference. It’s a pretty good read, and touches on a few different game design topics. An excerpt to follow:

Lessons have been learned along the way, but Garriott stated there are ways to avoid common errors in the development of an intellectual property. First, ‘˜reserve (Klingon) for the hardcore,’ Garriott stated. In devising language for a game, avoid complex words that have no meaning. He said that designers should consider Latin root words for the basis of an in-game language. He also suggested employing simple recognizable shapes to create powerful and memorable images.

(My interests have been much broader than medieval fantasy,) Garriott stated when turning the discussion to creating intellectual property from scratch. (We wanted to invent a lot in both gameplay and in intellectual property.)

The current project on Garriott’s plate is Tabula Rasa (Latin for Blank Slate). (The goal was to innovate on many fronts,) he stated.