Worlds of Ultima Retrospective | Savage Empire & Martian Dreams

Video Description

With the cost of game development ever-growing, and the number of employees at Origin Systems ever-expanding, it no longer made sense to build game engines from scratch with each new release. While Richard Garriott worked on Ultima VII, several small teams within Origin would repurpose the Ultima VI engine, taking the series back to its pulpy roots. The fruits of this labor were Savage Empire and Martian Dreams - the Worlds of Ultima Duology. This pair of oft-forgotten games had as much in common with point & click adventures of the time as it did with Ultima. In this video, we'll be taking a look at these games, as well as the historical context that surrounds them. This is the 7th video in my Ultima Retrospective series. Watching earlier parts isn't necessary to enjoy this video, but it is recommended. They can be found here: Akalabeth & Ultima I: https://youtu.be/wIWyHd3FFFU Ultima II: https://youtu.be/SCpkK25wfvw Ultima III: https://youtu.be/N_m3u9MZ8NU Ultima IV: https://youtu.be/hkfBiIyJd7E Ultima V: https://youtu.be/mGlNGo1kQXo Ultima VI: https://youtu.be/_aQB1gIdV_Y Links: https://www.patreon.com/majuular https://twitter.com/majuular https://www.instagram.com/majuular/ https://www.youtube.com/@Majuularcade (2nd channel) Music used in this video (with timestamps): https://pastebin.com/Wv7b52aF Running list of sources used in the Ultima Retrospective: https://pastebin.com/Nri8p0jy 00:00 - Intro 3:41 - Wing Commander 7:53 - Savage Empire: Introduction 11:46 - Savage Empire: Engine Differences 15:50 - Savage Empire: The Quest 20:01 - Savage Empire: Crafting & Survival 28:32 - Savage Empire: Combat & Companions 34:58 - Savage Empire: The World of Eodon 40:20 - Savage Empire: Pacing 44:14 - Savage Empire: The Quest Continues 47:58 - Savage Empire: Presentation 52:50 - Savage Empire: Culture & Controversy 57:23 - Savage Empire: The Lost City & Slaying the Myrmidex 1:07:43 - Savage Empire: Conclusion 1:11:09 - Savage Empire: The Ports 1:14:50 - Martian Dreams: Introduction 1:17:15 - Martian Dreams: Premise 1:22:16 - Martian Dreams: The World of Mars 1:28:20 - Martian Dreams: Storytelling & Combat 1:32:04 - Martian Dreams: The Historical Angle 1:38:55 - Martian Dreams: The Dream Machines 1:44:03 - Martian Dreams: Mr. Fix It 1:51:22 - Martian Dreams: Presentation 1:57:04 - Martian Dreams: Saving the Martians (and Ourselves) 2:05:43 - Martian Dreams: The Finale 2:07:19 - Martian Dreams: Conclusion 2:11:19 - Worlds of Ultima: Conclusion 2:14:56 - Worlds of Ultima: Critical & Commercial Reception 2:16:48 - Ultima: Runes of Virtue 1 & 2 (Game Boy) 2:21:20 - Looking to the Future 2:22:49 - Credits