D&D28b and the Apple II

$200 worth of Ziploc baggies and photocopied cover sheets. Even the greatest empires are built from humble beginnings. Richard Garriott's empire is Ultima, one of the longest running computer game series of all time. The series began when Garriott, then a high school student, transformed his twenty-eighth text-based Dungeons & Dragons computer game, modestly called D&D28, into D&D28b by adding graphics on the then-new Apple II. The game became a hit among some friends, and was later named Akalabeth.

The game that launched the empire

Witnessing Akalabeth's unexpected success, Garriott set off to create a game with a superior story, visuals, and interface that was specifically created for public consumption. That's where the Ziploc baggies and photocopies came in. And the game contained in said baggies? Ultima I. Garriott produced this game under the pseudonym Lord British, knighted as such by his college cohorts for his polite manner. Captivating millions of role-playing gamers around the world with its unique characters and fantastic settings, Ultima (and Lord British) went on to become some of the best known names in electronic gaming.

Here is a look at Ultima's long history and promising future, highlighted by the words of Lord British, Richard Garriott, himself, gleaned from an interview with GameSpot at the 1997 Electronic Entertainment Expo in Atlanta.

In Garriott's Own Words: Ultima's Humble Beginnings
"I would literally write out lines of basic code in a notebook…"

Take me to The Age of Darkness Trilogy: Ultima I-III