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MMO Election Tactics In A Tale In The Desert
Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing to a GameGirlAdvance article describing the political machinations inside the game world of A Tale In The Desert, the intriguing non-combat-based MMO title that article author and ATITD development intern Jia Ji describes as "..historical simulation, a mixture of the Sims and Civilization with real people thrown in to make it interesting." Of particular interest are the tactics being used in the game to garner votes in the election for Demi-Pharaoh - "Some players are bribing other players for their votes with ingame resources or favors. Others are forming political parties to used their combined voting power to sway the election process.. we even have the equivalent of a 'Green Party' which believes that mining, heavy industrial production, and other activities that have a detrimental effect on the gameworld's environment should be limited and regulated."
You have to understand ATITD's story. A mysterious stranger has challenged Pharaoh and his people to a series of 49 Tests, seven in each of seven disciplines. One of the Tests of Leadership is that of the Demi-Pharaoh.
People are assigned into randomly selected juries of about 7 people each, and each jury must promote one of their own. The person promoted moves to the next round, with the final round's vote taking place Egypt-wide.
The person elected Demi-Pharaoh has just one power. He or she can permanently exile (as in, game over, many months of work on your character gone, don't come back) up to 7 people. Whether to actually use this power is up to the person elected.
So it's a Test about figuring out who to trust with power. Tempers often flair during Demi-Pharaoh elections.
Anyway, if this kind of thing appeals to you, check out the game. I think we're the only MMO to launch with both Windows and Linux clients, and the first 24 hours are free. (I'm the designer of ATITD.)
Don't be so quick to flame a game that you haven't even tried yet. I shared similar conceptions about ATITD before I started playing. I looked at the screenshots and the remarks on the game's lack of combat and couldn't believe that this game could be so popular. However, my friend got me playing about 2 weeks ago and I'm never looking back. This is one of the best gaming experiences I've ever had. And while it is mostly due to the gameplay, I think that what makes this game is the people who inhabit eGenesis's Egypt. This game has a high learning curve, but I have yet to come across someone who couldn't or just wouldn't answer a question I had. Whenever I was down on resources, there were always people to lend a hand. And I think it's for that reason that this game is what it is. The people. If you decide you'd like to try out this game for yourself, go to http://www.atitd.com and download the trial version. Feel free to type "/chat Gilratet" once in-game if you have any questions or just need a helping hand.