Richard Garriott, also known to gamers as Lord British, is famous for the landmark Ultima RPG series, including Ultima Online -- one of the first commercial massively-multiplayer online RPGs. The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences (AIAS) announced today that legendary designer Richard Garriott is the latest inductee to the AIAS Hall of Fame.

About Academy of the Interactive Arts & Sciences

The Academy of the Interactive Arts & Sciences is a not-for-profit professional membership organization serving the entertainment software community.

Our company members include Sony, Microsoft,  Nintendo, Electronic Arts, Activision, THQ, Atari, Ubisoft, Take2 Interactive, Disney, Namco, Bioware Corp., Insomniac Games, id Software, Oddworld Inhabitants, Day 1 Studios and other leading creators of entertainment software. 

With an active membership of over 8000 game publishing and development professionals, the Academy exists to advance, promote and communicate the interest of entertainment software community.

About Richard Garriott

Richard “Lord British” Garriott is one of the most famous game designers of all time. Founder of the renowned software company Origin Systems and creator of the Ultima series of role-playing games, he has greatly contributed to the development of the gaming business.

Apart from his fame as a veteran designer, Garriott is known for some eccentric notions. He has participated in trips to Antarctica and to the bottom of the sea in a research submarine. He owns a collection of odd objects, from antique weapons to an original moon buggy -- which is probably not that surprising if you consider that his father was an astronaut. His Haunted-House Halloween parties were legendary: Every two years, Garriott invited a throng of guests to his former house in Austin, Texas, which had nice architectural features like secret doors and a dungeon. Visitors were welcomed by the host with the phrase “Your time has come!” and led on a creepy tour through the specially prepared mansion. In the late 90s, Garriott decided that his home was too small, and had a castle build on a 25,000 square foot estate. The building is located near a cliff and features a moat, dungeons and a secret underground passage to the foot of the rock. The costs are rumored to have been about 25 million dollars.

Richard Garriott on his famous nickname, “Lord British”:

“I’ve got this name since my high-school days. Some older students were giving nicknames to the younger ones. I was called Lord British because they claimed that I had a British accent.”