It’s that lack of differentiation in experience and jobs that Garriott misses. “There aren’t really people that own a shop in town square and that’s what they do, and they have a friend who’s a fishermen, and that’s what he does,” he explained. “With Ultima Online, what was so cool about it is that there were people who were just fishermen, and who never fought monsters, who didn’t care to buy any armor or craft a sword—they were fishermen.” Garriott describes these characters going into the virtual pubs to drink beers and laughing at the fighters who go off and risk their lives. “That kind of diversity of life has still never been recaptured in any game since, and it’s something I hope to recapture in my next work,” he said. (via Lord British on what games can learn from Ultima Online)