Richard Garriott
In Ultima Online, Garriot's in-game character was Lord British, the King of Britannia. He gained this moniker from his high school days when fellow students thought he spoke with a British accent.
Origin Systems was acquired by Electronic Arts in 1992, but Garriot left shortly after the completion of Ultima IX when Electronic Arts intended that Origin only produce online games thereafter.
After his no-compete agreement with Electronic Arts expired, Garriot founded Destination Games in April 2000 with his brother Robert Garriot and former Ultima Online Producer Starr Long. He also announced development of a game that would once again redefine online gaming, known as Tablua Rasa.
At the E3 convention in May 2001, Garriot announced a partnership with Destination Games and NCSoft, makers of the popular Lineage series of online games.
Tabula Rasa was eventually released in 2007 after years of drastic redesigns and delays.
On a personal level, Garriott is known as somewhat of an adventurer, most recently announcing he would be among the first commercial space tourists. He is slated to visit the International Space Station in October 2008 aboard a Russian Soyuz capsule and has stated the $30 million dollar trip will cost him a majority of his wealth.[1]
Garriott's primary residence in in Austin, Texas where he has an estate designed as a castle. This home has been site to many of his remarkable parties(especially Halloween) over the years and features trap doors, secret passages, hidden rooms and a menagerie of strange objects in his collection.