The modern massively multiplayer game can trace its roots back a good ways - as far as text-based MUDs and even pen and paper RPGs for the purists out there. But in reality, the MMORPG genre is less than a decade old. Although there are dissenters who may point to other titles, most agree that the first massively multiplayer online role playing game, the one that set in motion the genre as we know it today, is Ultima Online.

Ultima Online (or UO as it is more commonly known) turned seven this year. Very few games, online or other, can make a similar boast. A loyal player base, a solid community, and a robust economy have contributed to the longevity as much as anything, but the seven year run is most certainly a testament to the quality of gameplay in UO.

As Britannia begins its eighth year of existence, the development team has released a new expansion. Based on feudal Japanese lore, Ultima Online: Samurai Empire takes the game in a new direction. However, as lead designer Jonathan LeCraft explains, the expansion's Far Eastern theme melds with the existing game's Western flavor to produce a nice cultural melange. We spoke with Jonathan and he was kind enough to share his thoughts on UO, the Samurai Empire expansion, and the future of the granddaddy of modern MMORPGs.

I am very pleased with what we've accomplished in Samurai Empire and previous expansions and publishes. I can't reveal what our future plans are, but I see our community growing in size and commitment as we continue development.

There were a variety of reasons, not the least of which were the hints of Japanese culture already present in the game, like the katana. Going back all the way to Ultima I, the Land of the Feudal Lords existed and eventually disappeared...

We also did focus tests with many groups of gamers, both Ultima Online players and not, to see what themes and professions resonated best for our next expansion. The Japanese theme was only one of several possible choices. Overwhelmingly, the Samurai was the most popular, and just felt right as an addition to medieval Europe.

We felt the two cultures meshed well from the beginning, and now that they are in the game together, our suspicions are confirmed: it works!

Because we introduced our new content through a rediscovered land mass, we were able to integrate the content naturally. All of the new "theme" originates from a remote group of islands, so items and creatures introduced to Britannia occur entirely through players - it just feels right that an adventurer would bring back something exotic and mysterious to show off to their fellow players.

In the UO tradition, you are only limited by your imagination when it comes to creating characters. Only Samurai and Ninja can take full advantage of the new weapons, like the No-Dachi, but they are able to use any other kind of armor or weapon.

One of my favorite characters is the Ronin Vampire. By combining Necromancy and Bushido, you can become one seriously evil killing machine.

The Honor virtue is meant to embrace the riskiest form of melee combat, where you engage your enemy in close quarters. Only in this situation are you both able to use every attack at your disposal, and as such is considered honorable combat. Many players already fight this way, and they can now be rewarded for their decisions. Any character can use the Honor virtue, although some can take advantage of it more than others.

The new rares will be hot as players rush in to scoop them up. Of course, as more of them enter the world, their value diminishes. The upside is that more people will find them affordable in the long run, and can use them to decorate their houses or add to their collections. No existing rares will become negated, but they won't look as shiny compared to the new ones.

We would definitely like to do more cultural expansions, especially if they make sense and appeal to our player base.

We see Ultima Online continuing to introduce and enhance features that make it unique among games of its genre, while respecting the investment of our longstanding community. You will most definitely see expansions for Ultima Online in the future.

We've already begun work on the next major product for UO. You could say that Samurai Empire was just a warm up for the new team (we just moved from Texas to EA's headquarters in California.) This is one of the finest teams I've had the pleasure of working with during my four and a half years on UO - I'm already looking forward to what I know we'll accomplish.