Editing Ultima (series) (section)

===Virtues===
[[Image:Virtuegump max.jpg|thumb|The Virtues [[Paper doll (gaming)|Paper doll]] interface Symbol in ''[[Ultima Online]]'']]
In Ultima, the player takes the role of [[Avatar (Ultima)|the Avatar]], who embodies eight virtues. First introduced in [[Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar|Ultima&nbsp;IV]], the Three Principles and the Eight Virtues marked a reinvention of the game focus from a traditional role-playing model into an ethically framed one.<ref name = "U9PrimaGuide">{{cite book | last = McCubbin | first = Chris and [[David Ladyman]] | title = Prima's Official Guide to Ultima Ascension | publisher = [[Prima Publishing]] | location = Rocklin, CA | year = 1999 | pages = [https://archive.org/details/ultimaix00inci/page/254 254–264] | isbn = 0-7615-1585-2 | url = https://archive.org/details/ultimaix00inci/page/254 }}</ref> Each virtue is associated with a party member, one of Britannia's cities, and one of the eight other planets in Britannia's solar system. Each virtue also has a mantra and each principle a word of power that the player must learn. The Eight Virtues explored in ''Ultima'' are Honesty, Compassion, Valor, Justice, Sacrifice, Honor, Spirituality, and Humility. These Eight Virtues are based on the Three Principles of Truth, Love, and Courage. The Principles are derived from the One True Axiom, the combination of all Truth, all Love, and all Courage, which is Infinity.<ref name="U9PrimaGuide"/><ref name="ferrell198901">{{cite news | url=https://archive.org/stream/1989-01-compute-magazine/Compute_Issue_104_1989_Jan#page/n17/mode/2up | title=Dungeon Delving with Richard Garriott | work=Compute! | date=January 1989 | access-date=10 November 2013 | author=Ferrell, Keith | pages=16}}</ref>

The virtues were first introduced in ''[[Ultima&nbsp;IV: Quest of the Avatar]]'' (1985), where the goal of the game is to practice them and become a moral exemplar. Virtues and their variations are present in all later installments. Richard Garriott's motives in designing the virtue system were to build on the fact that games were provoking thought in the player, even unintentionally. As a designer, he "wasn't interested in teaching any specific lesson; instead, his next game would be about making people think about the consequences of their actions."<ref>{{cite book|author = Brad King and John Borland | title = Dungeons and Dreamers | publisher= McGraw-Hill/Osborne | year = 2003}}, cited in {{cite book |last=Howard |first= Jeff |title= Quests: Design, Theory, and History in Games and Narratives |url=https://archive.org/details/questsdesigntheo00howa |url-access=limited | date= 2008-09-01 |publisher=A K Peters/CRC Press |isbn=978-1-56881-347-9 |pages= [https://archive.org/details/questsdesigntheo00howa/page/n30 16], 21, 30–36, 58}}</ref> The original virtue system in Ultima was partially inspired by the 16 ways of purification ([[Sanskara (rite of passage)|sanskara]]) and character traits ([[Samskara (Indian philosophy)|samskara]]) which lead to Avatarhood in Hinduism.<ref name = "U9PrimaGuide"/><ref name = "TOBoU">{{cite book |last = Addams | first = Shay | title = The Official Book of Ultima | publisher = COMPUTE Books | location = Greensboro, NC | year = 1990 | page = 254 | isbn = 0-87455-228-1}}</ref> He also drew on his interpretation of characters from ''[[The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)|The Wizard of Oz]]'', with the [[Scarecrow (Oz)|Scarecrow]] representing truth, the [[Tin Woodsman]] representing love, and the [[Cowardly Lion]] representing courage.<ref name = "CGW">{{Cite magazine | date = March 1986 | magazine = [[Computer Gaming World]] | title = Inside Ultima&nbsp;IV | pages = 18–21 }}</ref>

[[File:Ultima_codex_symbol.svg|thumb|Annotated approximation of the Codex symbol &ndash; the virtues (numbered) are associated with the principles (italics in shaded circles) they touch]]

The Virtues have become a frequent theme in the Ultima games following ''[[Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar|Ultima&nbsp;IV]]'', with many different variants used throughout the series. ''[[Ultima&nbsp;V: Warriors of Destiny]]'' saw Lord Blackthorn turn the virtue system into a rigid and draconian set of laws.<ref>[http://www.uoguide.com/Virtues#Lord_Blackthorn.27s_Code_of_Virtues Lord Blackthorn's Code of Virtues]</ref> The rigid system of Blackthorn unintentionally causes the Virtues to actually achieve their polar opposites, in part due to the influence of the Shadowlords. This shows that the Virtues always come from one's own self, and that codifying ethics into law does not automatically make evil people good.<ref name = "U9PrimaGuide"/> ''[[Ultima&nbsp;VI: The False Prophet]]'' confronted the Avatar with the fact that, from another point of view, the Avatar's quests for Virtue may not appear virtuous at all, presenting an alternative set of virtues.<ref>See "[http://codex.ultimaaiera.com/wiki/Gargish_Virtues Gargish Virtues] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110505055729/http://codex.ultimaaiera.com/wiki/Gargish_Virtues |date=2011-05-05 }}" at the Ultima Codex</ref> In ''[[Ultima VII: The Black Gate|Ultima&nbsp;VII]]'', an order known as the Fellowship displaced the Virtues with its own seemingly benevolent belief system, casting Britannia into disarray; and in ''[[Ultima IX: Ascension|Ultima&nbsp;IX]]'', the Virtues had been inverted into their opposite anti-virtues.

Ultima's virtue system was considered a new frontier in game design,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kline |first1= Stephen |last2=Dyer-Witherford |first2=Nick |last3=De Peuter |first3=Greig |title=Digital Play: The Interaction of Technology, Culture and Marketing | date= 2003-07-31 |publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press |isbn=978-0-7735-2591-7 |pages= 160–162}}</ref> and has become "an industry standard, especially within role-playing games."<ref name="halosandavatars">{{cite book |editor= Craig Detweiler |last= Hayse |first= Mark |title= Halos and Avatars: Playing Video Games With God |chapter= Ultima&nbsp;IV: Simulating the Religious Guest |date= 2010-01-01 |publisher= Westminster John Knox Press |isbn= 978-0-664-23277-1 |pages= [https://archive.org/details/halosavatarsplay0000detw/page/34 34–46] |chapter-url= https://archive.org/details/halosavatarsplay0000detw/page/34 }}</ref> The original system from ''Ultima&nbsp;IV'' has influenced moral systems in games such as ''[[Black & White (video game)|Black & White]]'', ''[[Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (video game)|Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic]]'' and the ''[[Fable (video game series)|Fable]]'' series.<ref name="halosandavatars"/><ref name="videogamesandeducation">{{cite book |last = Brown |first= Harry |title= Videogames and Education |url = https://archive.org/details/videogameseducat00brow |url-access = limited |date= 2008-09-01 |publisher= M.E. Sharpe |isbn=978-0-7656-1997-6 |pages= [https://archive.org/details/videogameseducat00brow/page/n106 82], 88–90}}</ref> However, Ultima can only be won by being virtuous, while other games typically offer a choice to be vicious.<ref name="videogamesandeducation"/> Mark Hayse specifically praises Ultima's virtue system for its subtlety. The game emphasizes the importance of virtue, but leaves the practice ambiguous with no explicit point values and limited guidance. This makes the virtue system more of a "philosophical journey" than an ordinary game puzzle.<ref name="halosandavatars"/>