Worlds Of | Ultima

By ditching the rigid virtues and ethics of Lord British's Britannia, the writers were free to build wacky, creative, and localized plotlines.

The series represents a fascinating, experimental era for Origin Systems in the early 1990s. Built on the engine of Ultima VI: The False Prophet , these games served as spin-offs that took the Avatar away from Britannia and into vastly different historical and pulpy settings. 🦖 Worlds of Ultima: The Savage Empire (1990)

These titles were heavily spearheaded by legendary designer Warren Spector. You can see the early seeds of environmental interactivity that he later perfected in games like Deus Ex . WORLDS OF ULTIMA

This first entry ditching high fantasy for a pulp adventure setting inspired by classic lost-world novels.

The second title leaned heavily into Victorian science fiction, heavily inspired by the works of Jules Verne and H.G. Wells. By ditching the rigid virtues and ethics of

Origin used these games to capitalize on the massive development costs of the Ultima VI engine. It allowed them to release high-quality RPGs rapidly without building systems from scratch.

A red planet mapped with Victorian-era settlements, bizarre alien structures, and a distinct steampunk flair. 🦖 Worlds of Ultima: The Savage Empire (1990)

The Avatar travels back in time to 1895 to rescue historical figures stranded on Mars.