“I knew an electrical engineering degree would open many doors,” said Robert Garriott. “My philosophy has always been to open as many doors as possible and pick the right opportunities.”
INNOVATIVE AND UNSTOPPABLE F
antasy computer games don’t come close to the true adventures of a Rice engineering alumnus, an entrepreneur at heart. Robert Garriott admits he never liked playing computer games.
This surprising pronouncement comes from the prominent computer game industry entrepreneur who co-founded Origin Systems and Destination Games and is the former CEO of NCsoft-North America. Garriott received a B.S. in electrical engineering degree from Rice University in 1979, a M.S. in engineering economic systems degree from Stanford University in 1980 and a M.S. in management degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1983. When Robert was 10 years old, the Garriott family moved from San Jose, California, to Nassau Bay, Texas, after his dad, Owen Garriott, was accepted into NASA’s astronaut program. When it was time for college, Garriott chose Rice. He worked for Central Kitchen, folding laundry and delivering food for four years to pay half his tuition – a policy his father maintained throughout his upbringing, whether it was for a bike or a new toy. What is not included in his Wikipedia page of significant accomplishments is the important role Rice played not only in his academic life, but his personal one. At Rice, he met his wife, Marcy Dodd, also an electrical engineering major, and they graduated the same year. Although the couple stopped seeing each other at Rice, they reunited by chance when they both went to Stanford for graduate degrees. They chose the Rice Memorial Chapel for their wedding ceremony in January 1982, and as he said, “celebrate a 37-year marriage, so far!”
42 RICE ENGINEERING
“I loved Rice and its teachers,” said Garriott. “Rice was the best school I attended and the most cost effective.” One Rice engineering teacher holds special significance: Bill Wilson.“He was a great electrical engineer and a wonderful teacher,” he said. “He was an important influence on me.” Garriott laughs recalling Wilson’s class on Properties of Transistors. “Right before my last oral final in his class, I joked to my supervisor in Central Kitchen that I thought the final would be easy.” Garriott’s supervisor was a friend of Wilson’s and told him about the conversation. “That final exam became the hardest I ever had,” he said. “Bill grilled me to the point I had sweat dripping off my fingers. He and I laughed about it later and we became great friends. He came to our wedding and he has a special place in my heart.” In 1982 Garriott was working at a venture capital company, specializing in technology investments. “I suggested to my brother Richard that we start a developer-oriented game company that would be different in that the developer gets paid first.” The two brothers, with assistance from their electrical engineer/astronaut Dad, worked in the family’s Nassau Bay garage and established Origin Systems in 1983. The company’s first game was Ultima III: Exodus and the Ultima series was hugely popular, earning several awards. The company is also known for its Wing Commander series. By 1990 Origin was the number one independent publisher of computer games in the U.S. Garriott traveled regularly to Tokyo and Europe, building international publishing relationships and boosting worldwide sales. “We sold Origin to Electronic Arts in 1992,” he said. The same year Robert and Richard were named Entrepreneur of the Year in High Technology from Inc. Magazine and E&Y consulting.