The Ultima Fans

Introduction

On November 10-11, Origin Systems hosted the first annual fan convention for Ultima Online at the Austin Convention Center. Since its debut in 1997, the pioneer online role-playing game -- UO to its fans -- has amassed a genuinely rabid fan base, with more than 200,000 subscribers paying $10 a month to gain access to a virtual medieval universe, where they interact with the game's other players and develop their own virtual character. "You log onto the game, and you're a whole different person," said one attendee, a mother from Minnesota. "You know, a second chance." Known as the "Ultima Online World Faire," the event attracted approximately 1,000 fans, who came to catch a first glimpse of the game's next installment, Ultima Online: Third Dawn, to attend panels with the game's creators, and to meet, in real life, some of the people they have corresponded with online for three years now. Early Friday morning, they all stood around awkwardly. But soon, familiar conversations popped up -- how to improve UO's notorious lag time, or the rumor that virtual castles were selling on eBay for $1,300 -- and people began eagerly chatting about the one thing they had in common. As one fan, who had flown from Germany for the event, explained: "We're all addicted to UO."