History VideoGame / UltimaVIII

* CrapsackWorld: Oh boy, where to begin. Pagan is a world [[TheBadGuyWins the Guardian has conquered]], and the results are not pretty. The skies are constantly covered with dark clouds (or perhaps ash) and ''the sun'' is merely an obscure myth. Human life manages to continue only by the people worshiping elemental Titans who constantly lend their power to help the people, and the Titans are not doing this out of the goodness of their hearts. The largest (and only) human city is ruled by a petty tyrant. [[NiceJobBreakingItHero And the Avatar over the course of his efforts to find a way home arguably makes things ''worse''.]]

* CrapsackWorld: Oh boy, where to begin. Pagan is a world [[TheBadGuyWins the Guardian has conquered]], and it is not pretty. The skies are constantly covered with dark clouds (or perhaps ash) and ''the sun'' is merely an obscure myth. Human life manages to continue only by the people worshiping elemental Titans who constantly lend their power to help the people, and the Titans are not doing this out of the goodness of their hearts. The largest (and only) human city is ruled by a petty tyrant. [[NiceJobBreakingItHero And the Avatar over the course of his efforts to find a way home arguably makes things ''worse''.]]

* RealIsBrown: Or grey, when exploring underground cavern areas. This factor is admittedly subject to some exaggeration by [[TheSpoonyExperiment Spoony]].

->"You have been a thorn in my side for far too long, Avatar. Your two worlds will be crushed. Britannia first, then Earth. I shall parade you before their conquered peoples as the fallen idol of a pathetic ideal. I banish you to the world of Pagan. No one here knows of the Avatar!"

** Thaumaturgy encompasses a diverse series of spells, apparently all related to the mysterious element of Aether.

* WalkOnWater: Devon has this ability. After defeating his royal sister in an elemental duel, he takes a walk out to sea.

* ExecutiveMeddling: Per [[WordOfGod Word of Garriot]], he had to appease shareholders, who basically demanded he make a console platformer, as well as rush it out ahead of schedule.

* ExecutiveMeddling: Per [[WordOfGod Word of Garriot]], he had to appease shareholders, who basically demanded he make a console platformer.

''Ultima VIII: Pagan'' (1994) is the eighth official installment in the classic ''{{Ultima}}'' series of RolePlayingGames. After [[BigBad The Guardian]] banishes him to Pagan, a world of eternal twilight very different from the usual setting of Britannia, the Avatar is forced to find his bearings and learn in a strange new environment. [[KarmaMeter The Virtues]] of the previous games are gone, and despite being a paragon in Britannia, no one knows of him here. None of his old companions appear in the game, nor does Lord British. Instead, most of the story deals with the four Titans, powerful demi-gods whose worshippers are capable of different powerful forms of magic. The Avatar travels this world learning the different forms of ElementalPowers, before ultimately facing off and defeating the Titans themselves. After his victory, he hopes to return to Britannia to [[UltimaIX deal with the Guardian]].

''Pagan'' occupies an interesting place in the ''Ultima'' series. ExecutiveMeddling meant its production ended up being quite rushed, and many of the original planned elements were left out. The removal of party-based gameplay and the addition of various platform game features also got a mixed reception among fans of the previous games. It is still, however, much more fondly remembered than the ObviousBeta that was ''[[{{VideoGame/UltimaIX}} Ultima IX]]''.

* AbortedArc: The Water Spirit turning out to be evil is never followed up on, due to the game being rushed out before the ending of that plot thread could be put in.

** Theurgy deals with air and has several healing spells.
** Sorcery is the magic of fire and fire-related creatures such as demons.
** Tempestry is the power affecting water, as well as the weather. The Avatar never learns this though, so all that we see of it is based on the actions of other characters.

* RealIsBrown: Or grey. Admittedly subject to some exaggeration by [[TheSpoonyExperiment Spoony]].
* ShopliftAndDie: Get caught stealing, committing bodily harm or murder in Tenebrae, and Beren, the town sorcerer, will immediately teleport to where you are and graphically blow you up.

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: if you wander to a certain spot near Tenebrae, a mob of children attacks you, and if they surround you, you have no choice but to kill them. No explanation whatsoever is given for this.

* NotEvilJustMisunderstood: One journal is by a troll that has woken up from a long slumber due to a magical accident to find his once advanced people have degenerated into mindless monsters now hunted by the humans they once allied with. The last entry has him about to take an injured child to humans, hoping it will clear things up a bit. A separate guard captain's journal indicates one of his recruits "bravely" chopped apart the troll as he begged for his life. And the little girl, but of course[[HumansAreTheRealMonsters "She was only a peasant however, and of no import."]]

* RealIsBrown: Or grey. Admittedly subject to some exaggeration by {{Spoony}}.

* RealIsBrown: Or gray. Gray, gray, gray.

''Pagan'' occupies an interesting place in the ''Ultima'' series. ExecutiveMeddling meant its production ended up being quite rushed, and many of the original planned elements were left out. The removal of party-based gameplay and the addition of various platform game features also got a mixed reception among fans of the previous games. It is still, however, much more fondly remembered than the ObviousBeta that was ''Ultima IX''.

* WhamLine: The ending. [[spoiler:''No...I SLEPT TOO LONG!'']]

[[caption-width-right:300:[[DarkerAndEdgier Lovely]].]]

''Pagan'' occupies an interesting place in the ''Ultima'' series. While it was certainly enjoyable, ExecutiveMeddling meant its production ended up being quite rushed, and many of the original planned elements were left out. The removal of party-based gameplay and the addition of various platform game features also got a mixed reception among fans of the previous games. It is still, however, much more fondly remembered than the ObviousBeta that was ''Ultima IX''.