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Ultima V:Warriors of DestinyOrigin Systems, 1988DOS, Amiga, Apple II, Atari ST, C64 and NESUltima V carriedon the proudtradition fromU4 of including aphysical trinket inthe box that waskey to the plot:in this case, theCodex coin.From chairsyou could sit into torches youcould steal andbarrels you couldmove, Ultima Vcreated a livingworld.The entire Ultima series is near and dear to myheart, but none more than Ultima V – a gameI spent over five years of my life striving to recreatevia a Dungeon Siege mod called “Lazarus”.What makes Ultima V so special? While the firstthree Ultima games established foundational designtenets for CRPGs in general, and Ultima IV pioneeredthe concept of morality in games, Ultima V was thefirst RPG to introduce true world simulation. By“world simulation,” I mean the collection of systemswhich grant players the illusion of a living, breathingworld that exists independent of their actions, ratherthan simply a game board upon which the player canstab monsters.Earlier Ultimas had already introduced primitiveday/night cycles where visibility and monsterspawning varied based on time of day, but Ultima Vtook that a step further and introduced NPC scheduling– merchants get out of bed in the morning andwalk to their shops to open for business, while guardsclose down city gates after nightfall to keep out wanderingmonsters.On top of that, environmental objects were actuallyrecognized by the game for the first time – eachpotted plant or bookshelf wasn’t just a painted bit ofthe background, but a physical thing you could movearound. Harpsichords could actually be played, and acareful look through the game’s manual could teachthe player how to play a specific tune with specialeffects in the game world. While this sometimes allowedfor puzzle solving, it mostly just served to makethe game world feel more real and to give playersmore opportunities for interaction.And that was the beauty of it – Ultima V wasperhaps the first time a game designer realized hecould generate a tremendous amount of fun by simplycreating an immersive world with some limitedagency and letting players run wild. The groundworklaid with this philosophy would later emerge (withimprovements) in everything from Grand Theft Autoto Skyrim.On top of its accomplishments in world design,Ultima V pushed forward on the narrative front,turning Ultima IV’s focus on virtue upside-down asLord Blackthorn – the prime antagonist of the game –codifies the eight virtues of Ultima IV into draconianlaws. To some characters you meet, Lord Blackthornis a vile usurper and his laws are unjust, while othersare benefiting from his rule and see the player characterand his friends as dangerous outlaws.You play a Robin Hood-esque role, never entirelycertain who you can trust and who might turnyou in to the authorities. This situation leads to interestingquestions like “does virtue still have meaningwhen compelled?” and introduces shades of grayto the moral equation of Ultima, creating situationswhere “what’s right” isn’t always readily apparent andkeeping players on their toes.38