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A Tale In The Desert's Social Evolution Examined
Thanks to Gamer's Pulse for their revised review of A Tale In The Desert, discussing their re-visiting of the unique Windows/Linux MMORPG. The review sums up the combat-free MMO title's goals as: "working together, being social, and trading with other people, all in the name of a unified Egypt", and the reviewer talks about the "new laws and structures and new technologies" being implemented, and the new problem of virtual deforestation: "Recently, the skill of clear cutting was offered in a new university, and some people didn't heed the warnings [that] once a tree was clear cut, you couldn't get wood from it for a whole week." The resulting wood shortages mean that "newcomers to the game won't be able to pass their tests to become citizens", but in-game, tree-friendly legislation may be pending.
A griefer is a player whose goal is to ruin the experience for other people. IT's analagous to Bartle's Player Killer, but in a game with no killing (Or player killing) the behaviours are different, and so is the name.
I currently play this game as you may think that having no combat is terrible, well it isn't. There is combat, but in a different way. We are fighting each other through laws and competing. We can make fireworks and compete. Winner gets to run faster for example. Most of all, its about working together and figuring how the game works. A user recently figured out how the food works, and it was very complex. He spent a month working on it. I give this 5 stars, as it is one of the best games out there. Also, everyone is more grown up here. We don't speak net slang, and if you do in this game, you are looked down upon and laughed about. You make a mistake, for example destroying someone's building, and you can be banned from egypt for good.
Another item is the demi-pharaoh. We elect a leader that has the power to ban anyone at any given time. That is combat itself, in a different form.
I urge everyone to try it out, but please, you will be laughed at if you make a stupid username, or act immature.
It is intended to be finite, lasting a year, starting over in a (presumably) modified form afterwards. There are specific goals (Tests) in the game, in different Disciplines- the players will need to have at least one player for each Discipline who's passed all the tests for that Discipline; and do some other things which are as yet not so clear, and as a group can win the game. Or lose it.
So it's set up as a cooperative game in theory... although individuals will often act in their own self-interest much of the time, of course. Some of the tests are of a familiar accumulate lots of stuff and build a big object type; others require large-scale player cooperation, others are purely competitive; there are art design tests, competitive strategy minigames, design of minigames/puzzles in game... lots of variety.
Another point of difference between this and other MMORPGs: communications and guilds. There is no talk to everyone command (like an Everquest /shout) normally available. A player may belong to any number of guilds (which establish a chat channel between members)- and these guilds run the gamut from full community property to being only a chat channel. There are metaguilds formed to discuss regional issues, to discuss experimentation in some area of the game such as brewing or viticulture, to focus on passing a particular Test or set of Tests, to accomplish some particular large-scale undertaking (e.g. the 'Nileside Cafe', building larger pyramids.) Reputation matters even more than in most other games. There are also now a few microphones, which allow one-way communication to everyone who's joined a corresponding channel to hear the messages.
As to PeteyG's experience: if someone shows up and is willing to make bricks and grow flax or do other other tedious tasks all day, there will be some people happy to tell the newbie to do that... but there's nothing stopping you from leaving and finding something more interesting to do. There are no 'levels', within a few days characters can make most things as rapidly as established characters, and it's usually easy to trade for more difficult items.
It's a free download, and the first 24 hours of in-game play are free as a trial account. It's not for everyone, but if the above sounds interesting give it a try. Finally, in addition to windows it's available in Linux... and this is Slashdot.
I have played this game since about May. In real life I am an engineer. I play various computer games at a moderate level. I have to say I am hooked on ATITD more than any game since I was in high school probably. First off, well this game is heavily advertised as being cooperative and not competitive, that is clearly a half truth. The resources needed to build things range from being very common to very rare. There is MUCH competion to get the rare resources, and have the biggest and best camp. Secondly, there is 49 "tests" in the game. These tests range from having the tallest obelisk in a region to getting the most votes on your artwork. Almost every test is very competitive, where many attempt a given test, but few can pass. Pros: Puzzle solving. Almost every new technology Egypt discovers comes without directions. We have to try different things, post ideas to the forums, and do experiments to figure it out. My engineering mind absolutely loves this (yes call me a loser but even after a hard day of work, I can't wait to get online and work on pretend problems:) ). Game system in general. Most games involve very little risk. The companies make sure that the games don't negatively impact anyone playing them. This game does not do that. The developers have allowed the player base to screw up the game by passing or not passing certain laws. The clear cutting of trees is a good example. How many games allow the players to have enough control to screw up to the point where new players might not pay money? It happened in this one. I find that very intersting, that the player base is allowed a very high level of power to change the code of the game. Cons: There is a lot of time spent "working", gathering resources. Especially for new players, as you progress you get to the more interesting stuff. Steep learning curve. This is not a mindless game, where a person can come in and start playing and understand what is going on. You almost have to research the forums and fan sites, and find an experienced player of guild in game to really know what is going on. I think a lot of new players quit, cause they come on and have a hard time at all knowing what to do. In conclusion, I think this is game has some of the most deep content out there right now. It is very unique, very deep, very powerful. That said it not for everyone. Clearly not everyone wants to play this type of game, and would not like the amount of thought, time, and work that is needed to really get the most out of it. It is a niche game, where some people like myself are just blown away by it.