A Tale in the Desert Interview

Val Sucher, 2002-02-10

With the release only a few days away, we had an interview with Andy Tepper aka Pharaoh, Co-founder of eGenesis and lead designer of A Tale in the Desert.

RPGDot: Please tell us who you are and what you do at eGenesis?

Andy: I'm Andy Tepper, lead designer of A Tale in the Desert. I founded the company, along with Josh Yelon. I do most of the game design (script code), and Josh does the heavy-duty tech stuff.

RPGDot: How would you sum up the basic premise of the game and do you believe it will be successful when competing against all of the various MMORPGs in the market now? Is it different enough to attract veteran MMORPG players as well as new players?

Andy: It's a game about building the perfect society, and everything that entails. As you come into the game, you will tend to do a lot of crafting, foraging for natural materials, and exploration. As you grow more experienced, you will gravitate toward one or more of the Seven Disciplines of Man that the Ancient Egyptians wrote about. You will try to pass all seven tests within one discipline, so that you may lead construction of one of the seven great monuments. Finally, the entire society must come together to help those champions complete construction of their monuments. The game has no physical combat.

RPGDot: When do you look to release the game officially? How close are you to completing everything that you want to do before the official release? What do you plan the duration of the game to be? How much do you plan the monthly charges to be?

Andy: Release is February 15, at noon EST (GMT-0500). The cost to play is $13.95/month, with no initial (box) cost. The first telling of A Tale in the Desert should last about a year.

RPGDot: What do you mean with 'the first telling'?

Teppy: ATITD is unique in the fact that it has a beginning, middle and end to it's story. So, the players will run through the storyline that will take about a year, then the game will start over again.

Initially we were planning for one telling, and then doing a different game. However, that would mean we would have had to charge a very high price for the game, and also we had many players who didn't want to get involved with something that would just be "taken away from them" after some other players accomplished the main goals. So, multiple tellings solved both problems. Character skins will be unique to each telling, and players will be able to transfer their (honorary) rank and character skin with them. As several tellings pass, the real elders of the game will tend to have very rare character graphics.

RPGDot: How have the beta testers reacted to the game so far? I know many players donated money to show their support in Beta 3.

Andy: We allowed players to send us $1 in the first week of Beta#3, just as a way of saying "I would pay for this game." Two hundred (around 17% of all players at the time) did so. We're now up to 12,000 registered beta testers.

RPGDot: How has the voting element of the game worked out so far? Players have a lot of control over the creation of new laws. Are players allowed to pass "bad" laws that can end up harming them? How are you able to implement the changes quickly?

Andy: Players can pass any law they want, as long as it doesn't violate game physics, and is something that we can implement in a reasonable time. This even extends to permanently exiling (ban, game over, don't come back) other players. Our technology lets us change the game rules on the fly, without restarting the server, without kicking anyone off. The most simple bug fixes, feature additions, and law implementations often take just minutes.

RPGDot: How playable is the game for those using dial-up connections or low-end machines? Are those who live outside the U.S. able to get a good connection?

Andy: The initial install is around 70M - doable on a dial-up connection. Once you're in the game, a 28k modem is more than enough. Frame rate is independent of connection speed, and we have a lag elimination technology that, for most player actions, is near-perfect: The client predicts most player actions using the same code that the server would run.

RPGDot: How successful can a solo player be in the game? Some skills require cooperation to get and being in a guild is an obvious advantage. So what will attract the solo player to this game?

Andy: If by solo, you mean "never interacts with other" - never trades, never cooperates, never talks - you will not enjoy A Tale in the Desert. However, if by solo you mean "not guild affiliated" - but willing to trade, to cooperate with, or to outsmart others, you will have a blast. With good social skills, you can make a mark on the world unlike any other game.

RPGDot: Each of the various disciplines seem aimed at satisfying various types of players. For instance the Discipline of the Body favors explorers while the Discipline of Thought favors those who like puzzles. This is undoubtedly deliberate and meant to attract players of all tastes to the game. Do you think that every player can potentially find their particular niche in this game?

Andy: I don't know that everyone will find their niche - if you really enjoy action games best, there are lots to choose from. However, among role-players, there's a huge variety here. For instance:

If you like to manipulate other people, you will do well at the Discipline of Leadership.

If you are an explorer, you will love the Discipline of the Human Body.

If you like to achieve wealth, and compete with others, explore the discipline of Architecture.

If you like a one-on-one battle of wits, try the Discipline of Conflict.

If you enjoy creating in-game works of art, the Discipline of Art and Music is a good choice.

If you're good at working cooperatively and organizing others, advance in the Discipline of Worship.

If you like to create and solve puzzles, investigate the Discipline of Thought.

RPGDot: Could you detail the character creation process for our readers? What sort of stats will players be building in their character? I know that they can cook meals that will alter their stats temporarily. How does that work? Please give an example.

Andy: When you create a character, you pick a gender, and a character skin. You can customize your clothing, hair, skin color, and achieve the look you want. Initially, all of your stats - Strength, Dexterity, Endurance, Constitution, Focus, Perception, and Speed, are zero. You have no skills, and nothing in your inventory. Your title is Immigrant.

Your first task is to achieve citizenship. To do this, you'll need to learn a few basic things that every Egyptian should know - how to set up a camp, how to forage for natural materials, how to get new skills. You'll have a mentor to help with this, and if you like your mentor, you can do them a favor, and build a shrine in their honor. If a mentor collects seven such shrines, they pass their Test of Mentorship, and advance in the Discipline of Leadership. You will only be able to build a shrine after subscribing to the game.

RPGDot: Have griefers been a problem thus far? What steps can be taken for them to be gotten rid of? Do you anticipate them being a major problem when the game is released?

Andy: So far I've had to beg people to be griefers. Maybe that's just the nature of a beta test. Much of the game's content is written to be griefable - players have the legal system at their disposal to do something about it.

RPGDot: Will a monetary system ever be implemented? Or some official way of measuring a goods value? Or are you looking to players to set those values?

Andy: No, there will never be an official monetary system. Players can, however, craft money. How this works is that they must build a Mint, and then create papyrus paper (from reeds growing in the Nile), and Ink (ground silver powder mixed with oil). They can uniquely name their money. So, maybe you would create RPGDotBucks. And you can print a 1-RPGDotBucks note, or a 100000-RPGDotBucks note. Getting other players to value your currency is the challenge.

RPGDot: Do you have anything else you'd like to add?

Andy: We're a fairly small company, and what that means is that if you have a problem in the game, or are frustrated, or find something you really like and are hoping for more of such content - you'll talk to us directly. My character is Pharaoh, and there's a good chance you'll see me in-game when you play.