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Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar is the video game as morality play. For perhaps the first time in computer RPG history, here was a game that wasn't about defeating a bad guy or unshackling the world from the yoke of evil, but rather about learning to embody eight virtues that made you a better person and thus an inspiration to the surrounding world. Kindheartedness, not battle prowess, is the true star here. This was revolutionary stuff at the time, and over three decades later, it remains so. Alas, it's a little rough to get into these days owing to its complexity and sluggish gameplay, but it remains a profound counterpoint to arguments that RPGs corrupt rather than correct.
- Developer Richard Garriott designed Ultima IV in response to parents who were angry about the previous Ultima games.
- The avatar's quest to attain the eight virtues partly draws from Hindu beliefs.
- The virtue system inspired later influence-based RPGs such as Knights of the Old Republic.