Designed for the hundreds of thousands of Ultima fans who are ready to play the next game in this renowned series, this valuable reference takes gamers through the newest challenge--the world of Pagan--providing the complete story of Ultima VIII, plus detailed illustrations and maps.

Lord Ironhawk's son, Jordan Hawson; Althea; Drum, the blacksmith; and Jordan's kid brother, Squirt, search for Balthan, Althea's magician brother, the only one to know the truth about the evil infesting the land of Britannia.

For generations the Terrans have battled the alien Kilrathi to a standstill. But now the slightly superior human technology is slowly giving way before the vast resources the catlike beings can bring to bear. The only hope is a suicidal end run. At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management).

When a desperate attack on the Kilrathi homeworld destroyed the entire planet, with the Emperor and his warlords, the demoralized Kilrathi colony worlds surrendered. After thirty-five years of war, Earth and its own colonies welcomed peace in our time. But the ominous reality was that plenty of independent Kilrathi warlords survived and commanded a formidable array of warships and weaponry. War weary Earth turned a deaf ear to reports of Kilrathi belligerence, preferring to look forward to a tranquil and prosperous future. But it was only the calm before a new storm....

An impassioned look at games and game design that offers the most ambitious framework for understanding them to date. As pop culture, games are as important as film or television—but game design has yet to develop a theoretical framework or critical vocabulary. In Rules of Play Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman present a much-needed primer for this emerging field. They offer a unified model for looking at all kinds of games, from board games and sports to computer and video games. As active participants in game culture, the authors have written Rules of Play as a catalyst for innovation, filled with new concepts, strategies, and methodologies for creating and understanding games. Building an aesthetics of interactive systems, Salen and Zimmerman define core concepts like "play," "design," and "interactivity." They look at games through a series of eighteen "game design schemas," or conceptual frameworks, including games as systems of emergence and information, as contexts for social play, as a storytelling medium, and as sites of cultural resistance. Written for game scholars, game developers, and interactive designers, Rules of Play is a textbook, reference book, and theoretical guide. It is the first comprehensive attempt to establish a solid theoretical framework for the emerging discipline of game design.

A haughty lion accidentally loses his mane. His friends find a remedy, but it creates a new crisis.