Ultima Online Interview

The folks at UOForums had a lengthy chat with associate designer Kyronix on the long-running MMORPG Ultima Online, which tackles a number of subjects, including the daily routine for a designer on the title, favorite monsters and more. Here’s a snip:

What is your favourite & least favourite Monster in UO?

Oh, this is an easy one. Exodus. Exodus hands down. Exodus was the first monster I really had a chance to work closely with Mesanna to define the vision for what we expected out of him. Unveiling him was a really exciting part of the Awakening and he turned out to be totally BA. He’ll (It’ll?) always be my favourite.until the..well until the next awesome thing gets released *winks*. I guess my least favourite is Navrey. She’s gross and it makes me cringe every time I see it. Ick!

What was your favourite expansion?

I am very partial to High Seas because ships and ocean content were some of my favorite activities to do in UO. I also had an opportunity to test High Seas when it was in development which made it even more special to me.

What is your most memorable moment in UO?

This is a really tough question. As a player it has to be the liberation of Trinsic by Lord Dupre against the vile and twisted forces of Juo’Nar. That entire event cycle was boatloads of fun and my thief made a small fortune selling stolen silver weapons (Muwhahaha). As an EM the most memorable moment had to be when I accidentally gated the entirety of an event on Chesapeake to our super secret Green Acres house. My stomach started doing hoolah hoops and I thought I was going to vomit, I couldn’t believe that I’d done it. Luckily Mesanna was able to come rescue me and secure the location. Of course the rumor mill started churning and reports of the house being completely looted spread. Fortunately everything was in secure containers and the only unique item someone managed to pilfer was returned by an honest player. I thank them for that and hope they enjoy the keys to my house 😉

What is one thing you are currently working on you are most excited about?

I’m really excited about the bug sprint. We fixed a lot of old annoying issues and I think players will appreciate that. The Exodus Encounter was the last big new thing I worked on and I was really excited to see that go out the door. As for what’s on the horizon.you’ll just have to wait and see