For the time, yes. They were free, and they were Ultima-alikes, and those were popular. JV has always also had a knack for writing, which helped make them stick.
He's still making games, and they're still pretty much the same games they were--and to me that is a positive.
How is this of all things the go-to example?
It's exactly what I want to do! Were these games more popular than I thought?