Ultima VII: The Black Gate is the seventh installment of the Ultima series of role-playing video games, released in 1992.

The Black Gate was critically acclaimed and commercially successful, being widely lauded as a high point in the series and as one of the best isometric RPGs ever created. In an interview with GameSpot, Richard Garriott stated that Ultima VII "was the most masterfully executed of the Ultima series." He has also often stated that the game was, along with Ultima IV, his own favorite installment overall.

Game system

Ultima VII introduced major changes in the Ultima series. The most important change is that, as far as the player is concerned, the world is no longer tile- and grid-based; tiles are still used internally (in a largely improved way where the tiles themselves are smaller and frequently grouped), but they no longer affect character and monster movement or the item placement the same way. The maps are also more visibly multi-layered, and objects and things can be stacked on top of each other. This can also affect movement, and be part of puzzles; some places are inaccessible unless the player stacks items to form stairs. A striking visual change is that the gameworld now takes up the entire screen, in its original DOS environment, while previous Ultimas used a substantial portion of the screen for text, dialogue, buttons, icons, and the like.

The game is the first in the series that is entirely mouse-driven, with optional keyboard hotkeys for some common actions. This is in contrast to earlier parts that were entirely keyboard-driven, and to Ultima VI which supplemented keyboard commands with on-screen command icons. While in Ultima VI, the player has to specifically use a "move" command to move an item from place to place, or "drop" to drop it on the ground, in Ultima VII, items are simply dragged and dropped in their desired locations. While the game could be played entirely with a keyboard, doing so is very difficult, and in-game characters would recommend the player use a mouse.

Ultima VII introduces Graphical User Menu Pop-ups ("gumps"), which are on-screen representations of containers, later also used in Ultima VIII and IX. For example, clicking on a drawer or backpack will show the contents of the container on screen, allowing the items within arranged freely with the mouse. Gumps are also used for books, scrolls, the spellbook, the status display, maps, and character equipment management; double-clicking on the Avatar opens his or her inventory, after which the inventories of other party characters can be opened by double-clicking them in turn. In Ultima VII Part Two: Serpent Isle, the inventory view uses a paper doll concept: equipping items will change the character inventory display to show the worn or held items in place.

Another major change is that the game is now completely real-time, and only pauses when the inventory, the menu, or a dialogue is open, significantly affecting combat. The combat system was changed accordingly: every party character is controlled by artificial intelligence (AI), and the desired behavior can be chosen for each character (for example, stronger characters can be ordered to attack the big monsters, while weakened characters can be ordered to flee), and there is also the option to choose manual control for the Avatar. Even when the combat is real-time and AI-controlled, using items is still possible; for example, the game pauses while the player picks and uses the item from the backpack. The AI is capable of some astoundingly bone-headed, self-defeating moves (such as firing a triple crossbow into a crowd of allies), but it saves the player the need to micromanage up to eight different characters in battle.

Ultima VII: The Black Gate is the first game in the mainline Ultima series to use dialogue trees. The first trilogy only allowed simple interaction while the second trilogy used a keyword-based dialogue. Ultima VII retains the old keywords themselves, but uses a dialogue tree where dialogue options are picked with a mouse rather than entered on keyboard; previously, the players had to learn a keyword from other dialogues, which allowed the player, if so desired, to find out the keyword from other sources (such as walkthroughs). Now, the keywords only appear when they are actually learned beforehand in the game due to the plot. (For example, "thief caught" dialogue option won't actually appear until a thief is actually caught.) The game also features a lot more dialogue than the previous parts; most of the characters have extensive dialogues.

Game world

The gameworld of Ultima VII is renowned for its interactivity: virtually everything not nailed to the ground (and not excessively heavy) can be moved, taken, or interacted with in some way. It is possible, for instance, to bake bread, to forge weapons, to milk cows, to play musical instruments, to paint a self-portrait, and to change a baby's swaddling. The Avatar and his companions, if not fed regularly, will complain of hunger pains and severe thirst, and will even perish if these matters are not attended to eventually. If they come across a disgusting or gruesome scene, they may groan and vomit; sufficient intake of strong alcoholic beverages will also result in visible nausea.

Ultima VII allows free exploration of the game world, featuring a main plot and several other major subquests and tasks for the player to complete. It is a markedly open-ended game, where following the main plotline is inessential to the purposes of enjoyment, exploration, and character advancement, once the player is free from their starting location of Trinsic, a walled city. The Black Gate is highly nonlinear; although there is a linear storyline, this is countered by the ability to explore the map in any order when coupled with the many sub-quests, including one that parodies Star Trek: The Next Generation, which was in wide syndication when The Black Gate was released.

Ultima VII features less emphasis on behaving 'virtuously' than other installments in the Ultima series. The Avatar can steal and murder to his or her heart's content, without making the game impossible to finish. However, the game simulated a society that sticks to some of the virtues: the NPCs — either the party members or the people of Britannia — react to killings of innocents and stealing whenever they became aware of it; party members may leave the group if they witness too much bloodshed and larceny and will refuse to join the party until the player redeems themself. They may even openly revolt and attack the Avatar for his perceived misdeeds. The Guardian will sometimes appear and mock the player after they commit a criminal act. This makes sense in light of the final installment's revelation that The Guardian in fact the alter-ego, the subconscious mirror, to the Avatar himself.

The Black Gate features a deed system, where the Avatar must purchase and carry a title to any horse-and-carriage or ship that he or she wishes to board. The Serpent Isle does not have this deed system; instead ships, barges, and the Serpent Gates are all triggered by the plot.