Richard Garriott’s Ultimate Home — Level 1-1

(This is part one of a week-long video series.)Late last year I asked for a tour of Richard Garriott's Austin, Texas home. I heard he had an amazing place, and I hoped to capture it on film. Thankfully it wasn't held against me that, the last time I covered Garriott, our headline referred to him as a "satanic perverter." In fact, maybe that helped, because Richard Garriott is proud to be a man of colorful description.

Garriott has built himself a house that our very own MTV News correspondent Sway described as the most amazing home he's ever been in. He may be the man behind "Ultima" and the upcoming "Tabula Rasa," but his house bears few marks of the game designer lifestyle. Instead, it is a museum to a life of adventure that makes Lara Croft seem like a stay-at-home spinster.

Secret passages. Boxing title belts. A swimming pool set beneath sprinklers designed to simulate rain. Dinosaur bones. A mummified Egyptian raven he bought off eBay.

That's just some of the interesting stuff under Garriott's roof, and they don't even make the first cut. Starting today and continuing throughout the week, this blog will host a multi-part tour of Garriott's house. You'll never be able to watch an episode of "Cribs" in the same way again.

Today: We pass the active cannon and enter the house.
Tomorrow: We hang out in the outer-space/magic room.