OT: Will anyone ever create a game...

[mivayan]

I played A Tale in the Desert a bit around a year ago. It is entirely non-combat except for a few small minigames. You cut grass, chop wood, grow garlic, raise sheep, build pottery stuff, grow flax and turn it into thread and canvas, make firebricks, build mines and greenhouses, crossbreed beetles etc. Since the available level of technology is increasing there are probably lots of other stuff that can be done now that were not available then.

The game is supposed to run on a cycle, when the combined efforts of the players have completed the big goal, the game will start over. The cycle is 1-2 years I think.

I quit because of several reasons:
You dont get to kill stuff and take their loot, which I find fun to do in games. Most of the 'tests' that you can pass in the game are in competition with other players, like 'build a bigger obelisk than anyone nearby ever has'. The tests have only minor game-play benefits but they are the only big visible goals the game gives you. It got boring for me since I did not socialize a lot with other people.

Edit: It kind of reminded me of the old game serf city (settlers I) where you build an economy with the help of hundreds of little serfs. The main difference is that in a tale in the desert you play one of the serfs.

[ March 09, 2004, 17:25: Message edited by: mivayan ]

[Unwise]

Many (but not most) games can be "won" through non-combat means, even multi-player ones. I once won a Civ3 game without ever actually engaging in combat.

Star Wars Galaxies, poor as it is, allows you to play a character with practically nill combat skills. In fact, it encourages it. When I was beta-testing the game I played an artisan character to very high levels who never once fired a gun in anger or otherwise.

In fact, I'd wager that almost every "new genration" MMORPG offers a greater or lesser facility for non-combat progression... even if the stuff you create is generally used in combat by other people.