HomeLAN - A Tale In The Desert does not contain any combat. What was the reaction like for players used to combat in massively multiplayer games?

Andrew L. Tepper - Most players reaction on first hearing that is “if there is no combat what is there to do?” The main thrust of A Tale In The Desert is the 49 tests, many of which are social puzzles and mini games. For many players these tests are the focus of the game. For others the focus is building the physical infrastructure of Egypt and for others still, the focus is creating the legal and social infrastructure of Egypt. Other players chose to focus solely on role playing. The content of A Tale In The Desert implicitly contains hundreds of puzzles. Many of these focus on how things work. This has lead many players explore the role of scientists as they try to figure out the answers and help out their fellow players by sharing their findings. Initially some players don’t understand that a MMO can be an MMO without combat, but after they get a feel for the game it becomes a non-issue because the game focuses on conflict which is a whole lot more interesting than just killing stuff. Virtually everything in the game involves conflict and it isn’t the role of the developers to provide answers. Instead, we have provided things like a legal system to help the players rule Egypt.