Update: Why Tabula Rasa is Still Offline

Take a xenophobic alien race lusting for universal domination. Add a coalition of rebel soldiers who signed up for a do-or-disintegrate mission to stop them.  Mix in futuristic weapons, potent demolitions and mystical powers.  ThatÂ’s what the makers of Tabula Rasa did. Combining first person shooter action and role-playing immersion, Tabula Rasa was voted most likely to redefine the MMORPG genre.  What happened?

Tabula Rasa is a collaboration between Richard Garriott, the father of the first commercially-viable MMORPG , and the creative force behind Lineage, the  Korean online juggernaut.  In theory, the fusion of two powerful forces in the gaming industry should result in a Dream Team come true.  “Nearly everyone working on Tabula Rasa was at the top of their fieldÂ… supremely confident, the team looked to innovate on every front, making an already ambitious design even more challenging.” But a clash of titanic egos, coupled with communication/cultural barrier, left the game floating like discarded space junk.

In the Fall of 2004, Destination Games went back to square one with 75% of the code, 100% of the art, and 20% of the staff cut. Its original backdrop, first-person shooter point-of-view, and the 30 minute story-driven cycles were retained. The work continues.  Tabula Rasa is on its way. You just got to hold on a little longer.

Take a xenophobic alien race lusting for universal domination. Add a coalition of rebel soldiers who signed up for a do-or-disintegrate mission to stop them.  Mix in futuristic weapons, potent demolitions and mystical powers.  ThatÂ’s what the makers of Tabula Rasa did. Combining first person shooter action and role-playing immersion, Tabula Rasa was voted most likely to redefine the MMORPG genre.  What happened?

Tabula Rasa is a collaboration between Richard Garriott, the father of the first commercially-viable MMORPG , and the creative force behind Lineage, the  Korean online juggernaut.  In theory, the fusion of two powerful forces in the gaming industry should result in a Dream Team come true.  “Nearly everyone working on Tabula Rasa was at the top of their fieldÂ… supremely confident, the team looked to innovate on every front, making an already ambitious design even more challenging.” But a clash of titanic egos, coupled with communication/cultural barrier, left the game floating like discarded space junk.

In the Fall of 2004, Destination Games went back to square one with 75% of the code, 100% of the art, and 20% of the staff cut. Its original backdrop, first-person shooter point-of-view, and the 30 minute story-driven cycles were retained. The work continues.  Tabula Rasa is on its way. You just got to hold on a little longer.