This is the follow up of the Kickstarter campaign. Funds collected on Kickstarter will be added to those collected on IndieGogo In-demand to reach all available stretch goals.

Greetings, traveller!

If you’ve ever played a computer role-playing game (CRPG), chances are that Ultima played a part in its inspiration. Created by visionary Richard Garriott, and produced by his company Origin Systems, Inc., Ultima is one of the most important and influential CRPG series in the world. Through the Moongate illuminates the path of the Ultima games' history and the creative people behind this landmark series. It also covers some of Origin's other games, especially Wing Commander, and touches on several contemporary titles you may have missed. Many of these exciting tales have never before been told. If that intrigues you, then won’t you step with me...

The Project

Through the Moongate is the ambitious two-volume comprehensive history of the Ultima series, Lord British, and Origin Systems at-large. Part I was successfully Kickstarted on October 16th, 2018 and covered Richard Garriott’s humble beginnings up through Ultima VI. Part II covers Ultima VII to Portalarium and includes Wing Commander and other important Origin titles.

You can find the complete index for both Part 1 and Part 2 here as well as more information on the project as a whole.

Why Kickstarter and IndieGogo?

This crowdfunding is to fund the translation and printing of Part II, which is already finished in Italian and ready to go. For more information about the campaign, read on!

Through the Moongate aims to be a more complete account of Origin's history than has ever been presented before. Parts of Origin and Richard Garriott's story have been included in other works such as The Official Book of Ultima by Shay Addams and Garriott's own memoir, Explore/Create, but this book is a comprehensive work of new research. In the process, I interviewed dozens of people who were crucial to Origin's success and given them a voice. While many of these contributors worked directly for Origin, NCSoft, and Portalarium, others influenced the world of Ultima and Origin Systems in other creative ways. These developers, artists, and others have helped to shed new light on Origin's fascinating story and I’m excited to share it with you.

As I traced the paths of the Ultima games and those who worked for Origin Systems, I began to realize the multitude of games that would not be possible without the influence of Richard Garriott, Origin Systems, and the Ultima series. To ensure their place in history, I've also included special coverage of the Wing Commander and Ultima Underworld series, plus other significant video games of the era. CRPGs, action, adventure, and strategy games such as Space Rogue, Wolfenstein 3D, Deathlord, 7th guest, Jane's Combat series, OMEGA, MUD1, Meridian 59, Lineage, and Tabula Rasa. I’ve also included a special look at cancelled titles such as Times of Lore 2 and Fire Horse.

Through the Moongate: Part 1 - From Akalabeth to Ultima VI was successfully funded through Kickstarter in October 2018 and shipped on time in July 2019.

Part 1 set several important precedents. Firstly, it demonstrated on-time delivery of a Kickstarter, which is an increasingly rare treat in this day and age. Secondly, it established a standard of quality. Hard bound editions of Part 1 of Through the Moongate, were packaged in custom fitted mailers and shrink wrapped before shipping, ensuring backers received exactly what they paid for. Several unboxing videos and posts reveal delight in how well everything fits, especially those backers who opted for the magnetically closing black box.

If you missed the Kickstarter for Part 1, don’t fret! You can opt for a tier with both books or write an email to me, the author, to get the first book as soon as possible and read it to decide if you wish to support Part 2. I sincerely hope that you will!

This campaign's aim is to translate, edit, and print Through the Moongate: Part 2 - From Wing Commander and Ultima VII to Portalarium. Part 2 will bring you the same quality you’ve come to expect from Part 1 with some additional improvements including native English copy editing and exciting new backer rewards.

Part 2 of Through the Moongate will be available in three different editions: Digital, Soft Cover, and Hard Cover.

The hardbound edition, the flagship edition of this Kickstarter, will feature photographs from Richard Garriott's personal archive and Enrico Ricciardi's collection of Ultima games. Additionally, it will showcase brand new commissioned artwork by ex-Originite, Manda on the rear cover and a stunning new moongate image by Enrico Ricciardi for the front cover to match Part I!

We decided to print it here in Italy to ensure that the overall quality of the printing process would be easy for us to control directly. We care deeply about the special editions and we want it to be of the very highest, impeccable quality.

The softcover edition will be available in two languages: English and Italian. Both versions will be printed in Italy and shipped to the backers. At the end of the Kickstarter, you'll receive a survey request and you'll be able to select the language of the book. The hardbound edition will be printed only in English.

Shipping: International shipping and tracking globally is available at different levels of detail. Some tracking services give information only until the package reaches the international drop point while others follow the package all the way until delivery. If you cannot find your country, contact us and will add the option for you.

While our primary goal is to ensure that Part II comes to fruition, there were a few extra nice-to-haves that we cut to keep the budget realistic. If we surpass our funding goal, some of these trimmed features can return!

When determining our minimum funding goal, we had to consider several elements. Here is the ultimate breakdown of our budget. We did our best to lower our costs as much as possible to produce a reasonable funding goal without sacrificing the final quality of the book.

To write this book, I had the opportunity to interview the programmers, artists, designers, managers, and musicians that took part in the epic story of Origin Systems and worked with Richard Garriott in creating his ambitious games. The following amazing characters are directly quoted in my book:

While many fantastic people played a role in getting us here today, our staff officially comprises Andrea Contato, Enrico Ricciardi, and Edward Vitralis.

No project would be possible without a long list of special people who deserve recognition and appreciation. This Kickstarter would be possible without the help from the following people:

• Richard Garriott de Cayeux for not only creating the worlds that we play in, but for his unending support of fan projects more than three decades later.
• Denis Loubet & Manda for their brilliant artwork in Part I and their yet-to-be-created illustrations for Part II
• The Space Bards/Recap & The Hearth of Britannia for creating and allowing the use of the “Theme for Rabbling” in our Kickstarter video.
• Richard Pickles for porting Akalabeth to the Vectrex and for general project consultation.
• Kenneth Kully and Dominik Reichardt for proofreading and general project consultation.
• Jarrod Kailef for the outstanding teaser trailer made in record time.
• Shannon Smith for the incredible moongate artwork used in the section headings.
• All backers from the first Kickstarter. We wouldn’t be here today without your support.
• Lastly, anyone who shared, reviewed, or otherwise spread the word and believed in this project. Your support means the world to us.

Follow our Facebook page, explore the official home page for the full index and information on the book, cool trivia and more, or feel free to contact me on Facebook, Twitter or directly through Kickstarter.

Still on the fence about whether or not this book is for you? Download and peruse this free sample chapter from Part I of Through the Moongate. We hope you enjoy it!