Richard Garriott
A true veteran of the computer gaming industry, Richard Garriott is best known for creating and publishing the best-selling Ultima series, including the first commercially successful online game, Ultima Online. In November of 2007, Garriott released his latest online game creation, the highly anticipated Tabula Rasa. In a career that spans more than two decades, Richard has received numerous awards including Computer Gaming World’s "15 Most Influential Industry Players," Next Generation’s "America’s Elite," PC Gamer’s "Game Gods," and PC Games’ "Designer of the Year." He and his brother, Robert, were also awarded the “Entrepreneur of the Year" award by Inc. Magazine. In an industry that now rivals the movie industry in popularity, Richard Garriott is one of the few well-known "stars." Richard’s first game was published when he was still a teenager. Under the pseudonym Lord British, Richard created Ultima I (and subsequently the entire Ultima series). By the time Ultima II was released in 1982, he was sought after by publishers for his expertise and creative vision. In 1983, Richard and his brother, Robert, established Origin Systems, Inc. The company, based in Austin, Texas, is recognized as one of the innovation leaders in the ever-changing world of entertainment software. In 1992, Origin was acquired by Electronic Arts (EA), a global leader in the entertainment software industry. At Origin Richard continued to add to the Ultima series, making it one of the most successful and longest running series in entertainment software history. In 1997, Richard and his team created a new genre with the technologically groundbreaking title, Ultima Online. Ultima Online’s continued success is measured by the hundreds of thousands of people who enjoy playing the game from all over the world, and by the explosion of online games that have followed since its release. Richard retired from Origin in April of 2000 and formed Destination Games with his brother Robert. In 2001, Destination Games became part of NCsoft, and in November of 2007, Richard launched the sci-fi role playing Tabula Rasa, a next-generation massively online game (MMO) that breaks new ground in the genre. In October, Richard will be traveling to space aboard a Russian Soyuz craft to the International Space Station. While there, Richard will be conducting multiple scientific experiments and educational programs. Additionally he’ll be leaving a time capsule, called the Immortality Drive, which will contain information about humanity’s greatest achievements, personal messages from space enthusiasts, character information from his game Tabula Rasa and human DNA from celebrities and other participants in NCsoft’s Operation Immortality, http://www.operationimmortality.com. In 2006, Richard was presented with two industry honors for his work in the games industry. In February, Richard was inducted into the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame and in March he was presented the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Game Developers Choice Awards.

Starr Long
Starr Long has been in the business of making PC games for more than a dozen years. Alongside Richard Garriott, he was the original Project Director for the commercially successful Ultima Online. Starr worked his way up through the ranks of Origin Systems, Inc. starting in Quality Assurance working on Wing Commander, Ultima, and many other titles for Origin. In 2001 Starr teamed with Garriott to start the Destination Games studio in Austin, which was later acquired by Korean gaming giant, NCsoft. Starr’s latest collaboration with Garriott is Tabula Rasa, a sci-fi massively multiplayer online game that released in November last year. As it approaches the game’s one-year anniversary, NCsoft is launching Operation Immortality, www.operationimmortality.com, a program that enables Tabula Rasa players and space enthusiasts to participate in having their DNA and personal messages digitized and taken into space when Garriott travels to the International Space Station in October.