A New Tale in the Desert
Sarah Schutz, 2006-05-25

The third installment of the surprisingly complex MMORPG, A Tale in the Desert, recently went into open beta testing in preparation for its upcoming launch. Along with many A Tale in the Desert fans, I joined the open beta to see what improvements are being made and what new stories will be told in this next tale.

Having never played any of the previous games, I was new to the series, so it took me awhile to get my bearings and understand the premise of the game. As an avid MMORPG player, the first thing I noticed is the absence of any combat at all in the game. While usually confronted with myriad enemies and hack and slash fighting engines upon entering an MMORPG, in a Tale in the Desert III, players start in random locations in the middle of Egypt and must navigate the landscape, accomplishing tasks and solving puzzles in order to become a citizen. For those who are new to the series, the game is, essentially, based on social puzzles. Unlike most MMORPGs, this game has a beginning, middle and an end. During each telling, players work to solve an ultimate puzzle by interacting with the society to solve larger problems, creating their own puzzles for the next telling in the meantime.

During the game's open beta testing in May, I had an opportunity to speak and chat in-game with the game's community manager, Stephen Wade/Nutric, the community manager, Marcus/Soldparadise, a game master, and Andrew Tepper/Pharoah, the lead developer. Andrew Tepper explained to me the concept of A Tale in the Desert as a series and the changes and additions to the third installment. In the game, players work to unlock new technologies in ancient Egypt and then figure out how to use them. There are over 700 skills players can learn to develop. For example, in A Tale in the Desert II, players had to discover and then implement genetic coding and crossbreeding in various flowers. Each tale lasts many months over which gamers work to solve these larger puzzles.

Players start out as peasants who must work to fulfill a prophecy that states that if people can perfect themselves, then they will become immortal. Tepper explained that while a person may not be able to live forever, a society could. Players work to create monuments to various disciplines. If a certain player focuses on a certain discipline over all others, then he/she may become the oracle of the discipline by completing all tests for a discipline. There are 49 tests in all in the game, 7 per discipline. The oracle will lead construction of the various tests and monuments to the discipline. The disciplines are: Architecture, Music, Thought, Body, Leadership, Worship and Harmony. Players who build monuments for each discipline are actually creating tests for the next tale in the series, so are playing a role in designing the game. As Tepper puts it, this is, essentially, the grand prize. In challenging the next generation, players are ensuring that the society will live forever.

In working to build these monuments, players endure social mini puzzles in the various disciplines. Each of the disciplines involves different types of puzzles that are judged in different ways. Architecture, for example, includes a challenge to build the tallest obelisk and Art & Music includes challenges to create fireworks and other in-game works of art. Each test within a discipline forces a player to demonstrate appropriate social qualities as follows: capitalism for architecture, impressing and beautifying for Art & Music, exploration for Body, bending others to your will for leadership, cooperation for worship and creating in-game puzzles for thought.

While on my tour of the game, Andrew Tepper (Pharaoh) gave me a demonstration of one of these in-game puzzle creations by conjuring this strange construction. In this puzzle players must demonstrate their skill in gem cutting by creating a gem that matches the one provided. Once you complete a puzzle, you are asked to rate the puzzle that was created. Players with higher ratings move up in the game.

As most MMORPGs revolve heavily on the game's economy, I was interested in learning how the economy would function in a game so focused on social puzzles. Tepper explained that there is no standard in-game currency, but that players can invent currency and others to value it. In previous tellings this has been accomplished by creating reserves of goods valuable in the society or even by backing currency with labor. At a later point in the telling, players can learn how to create currency, yet the economy in the game is primarily based on trade. The items you will tend to have are closely linked to your location in Egypt. With the potential for currency and the extensive trading possibilities, the economic implications are crucial to the success of the game.

As Tales 1 and 2 saw small communities and little widespread success, the game developers tried to rectify problems seen in earlier tellings. The main problem identified by Andrew Tepper is that newcomers to the game lack direction to a point at which they can successfully enjoy the game. In the third installment they attempt to rectify this problem by giving all starting characters a "Welcome to Egypt" checklist that identifies some initial tasks that are supposed to orient players to the game and allow them to become a "citizen" by collecting resources and reporting to schools to learn how to utilize them for different functions. After becoming a citizen, there are other goals in the various disciplines to accomplish, but players can also go off on their own to While these tasks do help players become oriented to the landscape and the community, before noticing or fully understanding the "Welcome to Egypt" menu, it is difficult to understand how to accomplish tasks on this checklist. Evidently, after the launch, newcomers will be able to obtain mentors to help them through the game, but it is initially very disorienting and difficult to become absorbed in the game. Another new addition to A Tale in the Desert III is the event system that incorporates all players into the community by allowing them to be involved in decisions and new social progressions. New technologies and skills have also been added.

While A Tale in the Desert III may not have graphics that measure up to the competition or the thrill of real-time combat, it offers complex social puzzles that are a bit more intellectually stimulating. With the possibility of creating puzzles for the next telling, players also share a larger investment in the game. Small communities offer closer relationships that make solving the puzzles a closer interactive process. After chatting with some of the other players, it's obvious the game has a niche market, those looking for something a bit out of the norm, yet still giving them the MMORPG experience. If gamers are willing to pay the fee for yet another MMORPG that may not offer them the perks of a truly massive MMORPG, A Tale of the Desert III may be for them. The game is currently in its final stages of beta and will be launched Friday the 26th. See you in Egypt...