Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss

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Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss
Developer(s)	Blue Sky Productions
Publisher(s)	Origin Systems
Designer(s)	Paul Neurath, Doug Church
Engine	Underworld engine
Platform(s)	DOS FM Towns (Japan only) NEC PC-9801 PlayStation (Japan only) Windows Mobile
Release date	27 March 1992 March 14, 1997 (PSX) May 29, 2002 (Windows Mobile)
Genre(s)	First person perspective, Adventure, Action RPG
Mode(s)	Single player
Media	Floppy disks (4), CD-ROM (1)
Input methods	Keyboard, Mouse, Joystick

Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss is a computer game, developed by Blue Sky Productions (later Looking Glass Studios) and published by Origin Systems in March, 1992. It is part of the Ultima series. In 1993, a sequel, Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds, was released.

The game was born from a concept brought to Origin by Blue Sky of a "simulation style" CRPG using advanced 3D engine technology that was later combined with the Ultima gaming universe created by Richard Garriott. It was released before, and featured significantly more complex technology and gameplay than, for example, Wolfenstein 3D by id Software, and had higher system requirements (a 386 processor, 2 MB of RAM, and DOS 4.0 to 6.22; compared to Wolfenstein 3D's 286, 640 kB of RAM, and only DOS 3.0 to 3.3).

The player is cast in the role of the Avatar, the protagonist of the Ultima series. While on Britannia, the Avatar witnesses the kidnapping of a baron's daughter by a wizard. The wizard escapes, and the Avatar is caught by the baron's guards and taken before him. The Avatar is found guilty of the crime and banished to the Great Stygian Abyss, to either rescue the baron's daughter or perish within. The player has to deal with the survivors of a failed colony and, in the end, discovers a plot to summon a demon into Britannia. In relation to the main Ultima series, the game takes place after Ultima VI.

Despite its technical excellence, the game was not a great financial success. Today the game has a cult following among fans of the Ultima series, in some abandonware circles, and by the occasional nostalgic early 1990s gamer. In 1993, Ultima Underworld won the Origins Award for Best Fantasy or Science Fiction Computer Game of 1992.

References

1. ^ Technical Specs for Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss at Moby Games. Retrieved 24 February 2008
2. ^ Technical Specs for Wolfenstein 3D at Moby Games. Retrieved 24 February 2008

See also

• Ultima Online: Stygian Abyss. An Ultima Online expansion pack based in the same location.
• Arx Fatalis

External links

• Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss at MobyGames
• Bootstrike's Ultima Underworld I Files Collection, a UW1 file resource center