TenTonHammer.com - Taking MMO Gamers to the Next Level!

A New Game and a New Name
For Lord British

I first viewed Tabula Rasa in 2004, and it was as close to a psychedelic trip as you could get. Musical notes were deadly, and the town bard was a fighting machine. It was a title where Nickelback would have been a weapon of mass destruction. That game no longer exists as a complete reinvention of title took place, proving that the title Tabula Rasa or 'clean slate' was aptly chosen. The game which began in 2000 was eventually reincarnated into what we were shown at E3 2007.

Few titles have designers with enough pedigree to allow for a complete restart. Fortunately for MMO gamers Tabula Rasa was the brainchild of Richard Garriott and Starr Long, a partnership that stretches back to what is arguably the game that birthed MMOs as we know them, Ultima Online.

No longer based around music, the new Tabula Rasa sports some wicked looking aliens.

Those of you that fear change need not dread the new Tabula Rasa. Even the moniker 'Lord British', by which hundreds of thousands of fans know and love Richard Garriott, has been replaced by a title more fitting to his new game, 'General British'. What hasn't changed is the General's passion for his game, his respect for the industry and his reserved carriage. He is a true gentleman who always seems to have a minute to talk to the press or to a fan as he flows from one meeting to the next dressed in his black Tabula Rasa outfit, complete with beret. It is always a pleasure to chat with Richard, even through the frequent disruptions of other writers who wish to "interrupt for just a second" to shake the man's hand. Watching grown men stutter out their appreciation of his work always puts a smile on the General's face.

If you are completely unfamiliar with Tabula Rasa then start with our Video from GDC 2007, last year's E3 coverage and our Starr Long Interview.

Our demo was a star-studded affair, narrated by Starr Long and driven by Paul Sage. Richard "General British" Garriott sat inconspicuously in the second row of seats, directly behind me.

In a nutshell, the game is a science fiction, massively multiplayer game that takes place in what could be the world of tomorrow. An alien race called The Bane have arrived and appear intent on tearing us up and spitting us out. Earth has been invaded and humanity has dispersed to the stars where we are fighting for our lives.