Ultima III

Ultima III: Exodus is the third game in the Ultima series. Exodus is also the name of the game's principal antagonist. Released in 1983, it was the first Ultima game published by Origin Systems

Origin Systems

Origin Systems, Inc. was a computer game developer based in Austin, Texas that was active from 1983 to 2004...

.

Gameplay

Exodus features revolutionary graphics for its time, being the first computer RPG to display animated characters. Also, Exodus differs from previous games in that players now direct the actions of a party of several characters rather than just one. Players now battle groups of enemies on a separate battle screen, where the player has to understand fairly complex weapons and magic systems and employ rudimentary tactics in order to overcome each opponent, as opposed to the system in the previous two games, in which the player is simply depicted as trading blows with one opponent on the main map until either is defeated.

While previous Ultima games let the player explore wire-frame first-person dungeons in Ultima I

Ultima I

Ultima, later known as Ultima I: The First Age of Darkness or simply Ultima I, is the first game in the Ultima series of computer role-playing games. It was first published in the United States by California Pacific Computer Company, in 1981. Since its 1981 release, the game has been completely...

(where they were randomly generated and largely indistinguishable from one another) and Ultima II

Ultima II

Ultima II: The Revenge of the Enchantress, released on August 24, 1982 , is the second computer role-playing game in the Ultima series....

(where they served no real purpose), Exodus dungeon

Dungeon

A dungeon is a room or cell in which prisoners are held, especially underground. Dungeons are generally associated with medieval castles, though their association with torture probably belongs more to the Renaissance period. An oubliette is a form of dungeon which was accessible only from a hatch...

s are solid-3D in appearance, integrated into the game's plot, and remain the same across multiple plays (therefore introducing the element of encouraging players to actually create their own maps for dungeons).

In many other ways Exodus is more focused than the earlier parts; futuristic references are largely (though not completely) gone; and while the total area of maps in Ultima III is much smaller than in Ultima II, the large swathes filled only with useless landscape without any interesting features are gone. By denying the player the ability to see what's behind mountain peaks, forests, and walls, the maps can now contain many small surprises such as hidden treasure, secret paths and out-of-the-way informants. The look of the game is no longer based on certain characteristics of the Apple II hardware; it is rather a carefully designed screen layout.

Plot

After Ultima II

Ultima II

Ultima II: The Revenge of the Enchantress, released on August 24, 1982 , is the second computer role-playing game in the Ultima series....

was set on Earth, the story of Exodus centers on a quest back in Sosaria, the world of Ultima I

Ultima I

Ultima, later known as Ultima I: The First Age of Darkness or simply Ultima I, is the first game in the Ultima series of computer role-playing games. It was first published in the United States by California Pacific Computer Company, in 1981. Since its 1981 release, the game has been completely...

. The player's mission is to destroy the final remnant of the evil Mondain and Minax. The game is named for its chief villain, Exodus, a demonic creation of Minax and Mondain that the series later describes as neither human nor machine.

At the beginning of the game, Exodus is terrorizing the land of Sosaria from his stronghold on the Isle of Fire (known as Fire Island in Ultima Online

Ultima Online

Ultima Online is a graphical massively multiplayer online role-playing game , released on September 25, 1997, by Origin Systems. It was instrumental to the development of the genre, and is still running today...

). The player character is summoned by Lord British to defeat Exodus and embarks on a quest that takes him to the lost land of Ambrosia, to the depths of the dungeons of Sosaria to receive powerful magical branding

Human branding

Human branding is the process in which a mark, usually a symbol or ornamental pattern, is burned into the skin of a living person, with the intention that the resulting scar makes it permanent. This is performed using a hot or very cold branding iron...

 marks and to find the mysterious Time Lord, and finally to the Isle of Fire itself to confront Exodus in his lair.

The game ends immediately upon Exodus' defeat; but unlike many games in the genre, Exodus cannot simply be killed in battle by a strong party of adventurers, but only through clever puzzle-solving and by paying attention to the many clues given throughout the game. At the end of the game, players were instructed to "REPORT THY VICTORY!" to Origin. Those who did so received a certificate of completion autographed by Richard Garriott

Richard Garriott

Richard Allen Garriott is an English-American video game developer and entrepreneur.He is also known as his alter egos Lord British in Ultima and General British in Tabula Rasa...

. This was continued for later games in the series.

Although this is the last game in the series to take place in Old Sosaria, places in the game such as Ambrosia and the Isle of Fire make cameo appearances in later games, namely Ultima VII

Ultima VII

Ultima VII is the seventh installment of the Ultima series of computer role-playing games.The game was released in two parts, Ultima VII: The Black Gate , and Ultima VII, Part Two: Serpent Isle . Aside from the direct continuation of the plot and using essentially the same engine, the two parts are...

.

Reception

Exodus is credited as a game that laid the foundation for the computer role-playing game genre, influencing games such as Dragon Warrior

Dragon Warrior

Dragon Warrior, known as in Japan, is a console role-playing game developed by Chunsoft and published in Japan by Enix in 1986 for the Nintendo Entertainment System...

 and Final Fantasy

Final Fantasy

is a media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi, and is developed and owned by Square Enix . The franchise centers on a series of science-fantasy console role-playing games , but includes motion pictures, anime, printed media, and other merchandise...

. It was voted into Computer Gaming World

Computer Gaming World

Computer Gaming World was founded in 1981 by Russell Sipe as a bimonthly publication. Early issues were typically 40-50 pages in length, written in a newsletter style, including submissions by game designers such as Joel Billings , Dan Bunten , and Chris Crawford...

magazine Hall of Fame by its readers, and over 120,000 copies were sold. It also won the "Adventure Game of the Year" prize in Computer Gaming World's 1985 reader poll, about which the editors wrote "Although Ultima III has been out well over a year, we feel that it is still the best game of its kind."

The demon figure that appeared on the front of the box caused fundamental religious extremists to protest. They made accusations that the game was corrupting the youth of America and encouraging Satan worshiping. This, along with other factors, led Richard Garriott to develop his next game (Ultima IV

Ultima IV

Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar, first released in 1985 for the Apple II, is the fourth in the series of Ultima computer role-playing games. It is the first in the "Age of Enlightenment" trilogy, shifting the series from the hack and slash, dungeon crawl gameplay of its "Age of Darkness"...

) based on the virtues

Virtues of Ultima

The Ultima series of computer role-playing games featured a Virtue system that the player was required to follow in the game as the Avatar. These Virtues were inspired in part by Richard Garriott's own philosophical angst and the 16 ways of purification which lead to Avatarhood in Hinduism...

 the Ultima series is now famous for.

Other versions

Numerous ports of Ultima III appeared on many different systems. Below is a complete list of the various systems Ultima III: Exodus has appeared on along with some differences between them.

System	Release date	Publisher	Notes
Amiga Amiga The Amiga was a family of personal computers originally developed by Amiga Corporation. Development on the Amiga began in 1982 with Jay Miner as the principal hardware designer. Commodore International bought Amiga Corporation and introduced the machine to the market in 1985...	1986	Origin Systems Origin Systems Origin Systems, Inc. was a computer game developer based in Austin, Texas that was active from 1983 to 2004...	More colorful graphics than the original. Mouse support is present. Complete soundtrack is included.
Apple II	1983	Origin Systems Origin Systems Origin Systems, Inc. was a computer game developer based in Austin, Texas that was active from 1983 to 2004...	Original version. Complete soundtrack is included; requires the optional Mockingboard Mockingboard The Mockingboard is a sound card for the Apple II family of microcomputers built by Sweet Micro Systems. The standard Apple II machines never had particularly good sound, especially when compared to competitors like the SID chip-enabled Commodore 64...  expansion card.
Atari 800	1983	Origin Systems Origin Systems Origin Systems, Inc. was a computer game developer based in Austin, Texas that was active from 1983 to 2004...	Complete soundtrack is included. Most of the code is identical to the original Apple version, as both Systems are 6502-based
Atari ST Atari ST The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was commercially available from 1985 to the early 1990s. It was released by Atari Corporation in 1985...	1986	Origin Systems Origin Systems Origin Systems, Inc. was a computer game developer based in Austin, Texas that was active from 1983 to 2004...	More colorful graphics than the original. Mouse support is present. Complete soundtrack is included.
Commodore 64 Commodore 64 The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January, 1982. Volume production started sometime in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$ 595...	1983	Origin Systems Origin Systems Origin Systems, Inc. was a computer game developer based in Austin, Texas that was active from 1983 to 2004...	Complete soundtrack is included. Most of the code is identical to the original Apple version, as both Systems are 6502-based Unlike the original, dungeons are shown in black-and-white.
IBM PC IBM PC The IBM Personal Computer, commonly known as the IBM PC, is the original version and progenitor of the IBM PC compatible hardware platform. It is IBM model number 5150, and was introduced on August 12, 1981...	1983	Origin Systems Origin Systems Origin Systems, Inc. was a computer game developer based in Austin, Texas that was active from 1983 to 2004...	Designed for use with a composite color monitor; will not display correctly on CGA/EGA/VGA RGB-based monitors, nor in most emulators. Does not contain music Designed for a 4.77 MHz processor; requires slowdown measures on faster systems to remain playable
Macintosh	1986	Origin Systems Origin Systems Origin Systems, Inc. was a computer game developer based in Austin, Texas that was active from 1983 to 2004...	The game is restricted to black and white. Sound effects are supported only on very early Mac models. Mouse support is present
MSX 2 - Cartridge MSX MSX was the name of a standardized home computer architecture in the 1980s. It was a Microsoft-led attempt to create unified standards among hardware makers, conceived by one-time Microsoft Japan executive Kazuhiko Nishi. Despite Microsoft's involvement, MSX-based machines were seldom seen in the...	1988	Origin Systems Origin Systems Origin Systems, Inc. was a computer game developer based in Austin, Texas that was active from 1983 to 2004... /Pony Canyon Pony Canyon is a Japanese company, established on October 1, 1966, which publishes music, DVD and VHS videos, movies and video games. It is a subsidiary of Japanese Media Group, Fujisankei Communications Group.-History:...	It was packaged in a VHS like box with only the game cartridge and 40 page manual.
MSX 2 - 3.5" Disk MSX MSX was the name of a standardized home computer architecture in the 1980s. It was a Microsoft-led attempt to create unified standards among hardware makers, conceived by one-time Microsoft Japan executive Kazuhiko Nishi. Despite Microsoft's involvement, MSX-based machines were seldom seen in the...	1989	Origin Systems Origin Systems Origin Systems, Inc. was a computer game developer based in Austin, Texas that was active from 1983 to 2004... /Pony Canyon Pony Canyon is a Japanese company, established on October 1, 1966, which publishes music, DVD and VHS videos, movies and video games. It is a subsidiary of Japanese Media Group, Fujisankei Communications Group.-History:...	While still in a VHS like box it contains the manuals and map, both translated. Although the map is very different from the original.
NES/Famicom Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe and Australia in . In most of Asia, including Japan , China, Vietnam, Singapore, and the Philippines, it was released as the , commonly abbreviated as the...	1987	Origin Systems Origin Systems Origin Systems, Inc. was a computer game developer based in Austin, Texas that was active from 1983 to 2004... /FCI Fujisankei Communications International Fujisankei Communications International, Inc. is the American arm of the Fujisankei Communications Group , an important Japanese media conglomerate of television and radio channels, magazine, newspaper, record and video game companies. The Fujisankei Communications Group owns about 100 companies,... /Pony Canyon Pony Canyon is a Japanese company, established on October 1, 1966, which publishes music, DVD and VHS videos, movies and video games. It is a subsidiary of Japanese Media Group, Fujisankei Communications Group.-History:...	Modified graphics and a new soundtrack. Considerable alterations to gameplay. Significantly expanded dialogue. Only a small instruction booklet rather than the map and manuals. Added endgame sequence after defeating Exodus.
PC-8801	1986	Origin Systems Origin Systems Origin Systems, Inc. was a computer game developer based in Austin, Texas that was active from 1983 to 2004... /Starcraft†	Came in a small box just large enough to fit the 5.25" disk and the translated maps. Rather than a cloth map, it included a jigsaw puzzle that formed the map.
PC-9801 PC-9801 The NEC PC-9801 is a Japanese microcomputer manufactured by NEC. It first appeared in 1982, and employed an 8086 CPU. It ran at a clock speed of 5 MHz, with two µPD7220 display controllers , and shipped with 128 KB of RAM, expandable to 640 KB. Its 8-color display had a maximum resolution of...	1986	Origin Systems Inc. Origin Systems Origin Systems, Inc. was a computer game developer based in Austin, Texas that was active from 1983 to 2004... /Starcraft†	Came in a small box just large enough to fit the 5.25" disk and the translated maps. Rather than a cloth map, it included a jigsaw puzzle that formed the map.
FM-7 FM-7 FM-7 is a home computer released in 1982 in Japan.The Fujitsu FM-7 was Fujitsu's first entry into the Japanese home computer market, and for their debut computer, they chose to come out with a 6809-based personal computer very similar to Radio Shack's Color Computer.-Hardware:*Two MC 6809E CPUs @...	1986	Origin Systems Origin Systems Origin Systems, Inc. was a computer game developer based in Austin, Texas that was active from 1983 to 2004... /Starcraft†	Came in a small box just large enough to fit the 5.25" disk and the translated maps. Rather than a cloth map, it included a jigsaw puzzle that formed the map.
Macintosh Macintosh The Macintosh, or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced on January 24 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a graphical user interface rather than a...	1993	http://www.lairware.com/ LairWare	LairWare licensed Ultima III and created a remake for the Macintosh. Unlike the original Mac version from Origin Systems, the LairWare version is in full color. LairWare continues to sell Ultima III for Mac OS X and Mac OS Classic today, as a direct download from the LairWare web site.

^†The publisher Starcraft has no relation to the popular PC game StarCraft

StarCraft

StarCraft is a military science fiction real-time strategy video game developed by Blizzard Entertainment. The first game of the StarCraft series was released for Microsoft Windows on 31 March 1998. With more than 11 million copies sold worldwide as of February 2009, it is one of the best-selling...

and went out of business in 1996.

These last three systems are personal computers marketed primarily in Japan.