Portalarium, Inc. was a

video game developer A video game developer is a software developer specializing in video game development – the process and related disciplines of creating video games. A game developer can range from one person who undertakes all tasks to a large business with em ...

based in Austin, Texas that was formed in September 2009 by

Richard Garriott Richard Allen Garriott de Cayeux (''né'' Garriott; born 4 July 1961) is a British-born American video game developer, entrepreneur and private astronaut. Garriott, who is the son of NASA astronaut Owen Garriott, was originally a game designer ...

, together with his longtime game industry partners, Dallas Snell and Fred Schmidt. Portalarium marks Richard Garriott's first return to the video game industry since the release of his 2007 title ''

Tabula Rasa ''Tabula rasa'' (; Latin for "blank slate") is the idea of individuals being born empty of any built-in mental content, so that all knowledge comes from later perceptions or sensory experiences. Proponents typically form the extreme "nurture" ...

''. The name "Portalarium," as well as the company's motto, "We take you there," are intended as a continuity and reference to Garriott's prior two companies' names and respective mottoes;

Origin Systems Origin Systems, Inc. was an American video game developer based in Austin, Texas. It was founded on March 3, 1983, by Richard Garriott and his brother Robert. Origin is best known for their groundbreaking work in multiple genres of video games ...

, "We Create Worlds," and

Destination Games Destination Games was an American computer game developer, computer game development company created in April 2000 by Richard Garriott, Robert Garriott and Starr Long, following their departure from Origin Systems. ("Destination" is a play on " ...

, "We have arrived." The company initially released ''Port Casino'' and later ''Ultimate Collector: Garage Sale'' in a partnership with

Zynga Zynga Inc. () is an American video game developer and Video game publisher, publisher known for its social video game services. It was founded in April 2007, with headquarters in San Mateo, California. The company primarily focuses on mobile an ...

but shut them down when the Facebook game market crashed. Their next title, '' Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues'', is an

MMORPG A massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) is a video game that combines aspects of a role-playing video game and a massively multiplayer online game. As in role-playing games (RPGs), the player assumes the role of a Player charac ...

and spiritual successor to the ''Ultima'' series. Garriott has stated that if had he been able to secure the rights to the ''Ultima''

intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, co ...

from

Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by former Apple Inc., Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry ...

, that the game could in fact literally have become ''

Ultima Online 2 ''Ultima Worlds Online: Origin'' (UWO:O) — originally titled ''Ultima Online 2'' () — was to be the first sequel to the popular 1997 massively multiplayer online role-playing game ''Ultima Online''. "Ultima Worlds Online: Origin - P ...

'' in name. Starr Long, who originally served as project director for ''Ultima Online'' at Origin, and represented the character of

Lord Blackthorn This is a list of significant or recurring characters in the ''Ultima'' series of computer games, indicating the games in which they appeared. The Avatar and Companions * Yes : The companion is in that game. * No : The companion is not in that ...

in game, joined the Portalarium team to work as executive producer for ''Shroud of the Avatar''. In October 2019, the assets and rights to ''Shroud of the Avatar'' were sold to Catnip Games, a company owned by Portalarium CEO Chris Spears. Portalarium itself has been dormant since then, with no games in development or known assets. The company later had its right to transact business forfeited by the Texas Comptroller. As of September 2020, Portalarium appears to be defunct.

References

External links

*{{Official website, http://www.portalarium.com/
Portalarium on Facebook''Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues'' official website''Port Casino'' on Facebook
Companies based in Austin, Texas Privately held companies based in Texas Defunct video game companies of the United States Video game development companies Video game publishers 2009 establishments in Texas Video game companies established in 2009 2019 mergers and acquisitions Video game companies disestablished in 2019 2019 disestablishments in Texas Richard Garriott