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The social implications of online gaming, no doubt, reach far.
The medium itself exposes us for the social creatures we are. There are
few other games, though, that do it like
style="font-style: italic;">A Tale in the Desert.
Today we take a look at the game, and explore the aspects that make
this title one of the most important in the MMOG space.
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/loading/2010/jul/13">
Loading... Pure Dynamics.
The
Pulse
You vote with what you
view at Ten Ton Hammer, and the
result
is the Ten Ton Pulse (What
is The Pulse?).
Today's
top 5 Pulse results this week:
Biggest
movers over the past 24 hours:
-
5/11
- Age
of Conan: Rise of the Godslayer
(expansion) -
5/26
- EVE
Online: Tyrannis
(expansion) -
5/27
- Craft
of Gods
(release) -
6/9
- Mortal
Online
(release) - 6/29
- target="_blank">APB
(release)
Releases
- July
13, 2010 - href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/1801"
target="_blank">Mytheon
(release)
- July
20,
2010 - href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/2461"
target="_blank">Need
for Speed World (release) - August
17, 2010 - href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/140">City
of Heroes: Going Rogue (release) -
September
30, 2010 - href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/ffxiv" target="_blank">Final
Fantasy XIV
(release) -
style="font-weight: bold;">October
26, 2010
- LEGO
Universe (release)
-
style="font-weight: bold;">November 2, 2010
- DC
Universe Online (release)
Upcoming
Events
-
style="font-weight: bold;">7/22 -
7/25 - target="_blank">Comic-Con
International -
style="font-weight: bold;">8/5 -
8/8 - href="http://events.station.sony.com/fanfaire/" target="_blank">SOE
Fan Faire 2010 -
style="font-weight: bold;">8/18 -
8/22 - href="http://www.gamescom-cologne.com/en/gamescom/home/index.php"
target="_blank">Gamescom 2010
-
style="font-weight: bold;">9/3 -
9/5 - href="http://www.paxsite.com/paxprime/index.php" target="_blank">PAX
Prime -
style="font-weight: bold;">9/3 -
9/6 - target="_blank">DragonCon -
style="font-weight: bold;">10/22 -
10/23 - href="http://us.blizzard.com/blizzcon/?rhtml=y" target="_blank">BlizzCon -
style="font-weight: bold;"> 3/24
-
3/26 (2011) - target="_blank">CCP
FanFest
Loading... Daily
Perhaps one of the most interesting MMOG titles in recent history is
style="font-style: italic;">A Tale in the Desert.
It doesn't boast top-end graphics. It doesn't have a heart-pounding
combat system. There are no dungeons to crawl though. So what makes it
so interesting? The entire world has been completely shaped by its
players.
eGenesis' free game is, by all definitions, a large scale social
experiment. At various intervals the system administrator will
introduce new elements into the world, and it's up to the players to
decide how they'll respond. For instance, last year a strange man
showed up in the land selling a special fertilizer. The players thought
this to be a wonderful asset, so they soon began production of the
fertilizer and spread it all across the land. Players were using it on
all their property. Unbeknown to them the fertilizer eventually ruined
the land. So, after a while, the once harvestable areas in which they
grew their food could no longer produce anything, and they had to leave
the area and find new fertile soil.
That's not all that stands out about this game. When I mentioned the
world is shaped by its players, I also meant quite literally. When you
start the game, you have nothing but the shirt on your back. So what
can you do? Pick grass. Yes, that's right. You start the game by
picking grass and gathering stones. You can also gather mud. You can
then dry the grass and lay the mud and grass onto the stones to form
bricks. You can then use the bricks to build other structures and tools
which will help you build more tools and structures. For the past
several years the entire world has been developed by the players of the
game who have advanced their technology together, as a community. There
are now towers and giant monuments across the land, as well as an
aqueduct system that spans for miles upon miles.
The developers include player wishes as well. There are ways to create
a petition. If enough players sign the petition, in game, it can become
a bill, and a law. Democracy at its finest. The team isn't opposed to
adding in new elements to the game as the players become more creative
and their needs and world grow.
It's truly a fascinating game, even to watch as it develops. Every so
often a new tale will start, so while retaining elements and story from
the previous tale, the world becomes new and fresh all over again and
it becomes anyone's guess as to where they will all end up. eGenesis
announced that A
Tale in the Desert 5 is about to begin, so there's no time
like the present to check it out for yourself.
Shayalyn's Epic Thread of
the Day
From our
href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/forumdisplay.php?f=642">Final
Fantasy XIV General Discussion forum
Check
your email
F5, F5, F5! Another wave of Final Fantasy XIV beta invites has gone
out. Did you get in? Pity you can't say so according to the
non-disclosure agreement you would have had to digitally sign. But
whether you did or you didn't get that elusive email, you can
href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showthread.php?t=52291">chat
with others waiting for beta in our FFXIV forums.
==============================
Awesome Quotes from the
Epic Thread
"I know that it is no
real consolation, but this is apparently only the first wave of invites."
-
href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showpost.php?p=436275&postcount=11">Annatar
==============================
New
and Exclusive Content
Today at Ten Ton Hammer
5 Ten Ton Hammer
feature
today! 37 Ten Ton Hammer
features
in July! 749
in 2010!
E3 AWARDS
The Ten Ton Hammer E3
Awards
http://www.tentonhammer.com/awards/2010/e3
The
best thing about E3 is that all the developing companies put their best
foot forward and we get to see some really cool things--things that
we're excited about and we know you will be too. But, as is the case
with these things, there were a simple few that stood out apart from
the rest.
GIVEAWAYS
Atlantica Online Level Up
Giveaway
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/giveaways/atlantica-online/level-up">http://www.tentonhammer.com/giveaways/atlantica-online/level-up
Stuck
in the post-E3 doldrums? Waiting for the next big beta? If you've been
meaning to check out Atlantica Online, an award winning free-to-play
fantasy MMOTBS (turn-based strategy) game, here's the perfect chance!
Ten Ton Hammer is partnering with nDoors Interactive to offer Ten Ton
Hammer viewers two exclusive in-game items, a mount and a buff to
provide a boost to leveling for an entire week. Code quantities are
extremely limited so click on over to the Atlantica Online Level Up
giveaway to grab your exclusive items!
WEEKLY FEATURES
Microcosms: Breaking the
Mold A Dungeons and Dragons Online: Eberron Unlimited Review
http://www.tentonhammer.com/microcosms/2010/july/28
What
would you do if you launched a AAA MMOG based on the most recognizable
IP in the roleplaying world and it fell well short of expectations?
While many companies would simply pull the plug and cut their losses,
Turbine had other plans. Taking perhaps the boldest move in the history
of gaming, the company took one of its flagship subscription-based
games and opened it to the masses as a free-to-play funded mainly by
microtransactions. Is DDOU really a full fledged free-to-play game or
an elaborate trial attempting to gain your subscription money? Join
Jason Bolton this week as he dives in and gets all the answers in
Microcosms: Breaking the Mold.
Summer Holidays, Real
Names, The Love Doctor and more in the WoW Weekly Report
http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/newsletter/issue75
The
WoW Weekly Report is our newsletter dedicated to giving you a
wrap-up
of the previous week in news, stories, and more. This week we take a
look at WoW being used as the new summer camp for kids. We also look at
the new talent tree philosophy that was announced, have a visit from
our love Doctor, teach you how to make more gold and more!
FEATURES & GUIDES
Flying The Arbitrator In
EVE Online
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/eve/guides/ships/flying_arbitrator">http://www.tentonhammer.com/eve/guides/ships/flying_arbitrator
The
Arbitrator is a great option for EVE Online players that fly Amarr
ships, whether they are new to the game or veterans. In this guide,
Space Junkie explains why to fly an Arbitrator, how to fit it, and how
to fly i
Today's
Hottest Articles, Guides, and Features
- style="font-weight: bold;">The Ten Ton Hammer E3 Awards
-
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/giveaways/atlantica-online/level-up">
style="font-weight: bold;">Atlantica Online Level
Up Giveaway -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/interviews/class-callings-scott-hartsman">
style="font-weight: bold;">Rift - Class and
Callings Q&A with Scott Hartsman
-
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/lotro/f2p-preview-july-10">Exploring
Middle-earth: Hands On with style="font-weight: bold;"> href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/lotro/f2p-preview-july-10">LotRO href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/lotro/f2p-preview-july-10">'s
Volume 3: Book 2 -
Singularity
Review (PC)
-
Ten
Ton Hammer Live Episode 14 with href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/podcasts/live/14">Pocket
Legends -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/gw2/features/editorials/no-more-healers">Guild
Wars 2: No More Healers
-
style="font-weight: bold;">APB Post-Launch - An
Interview With Creator David Jones -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/gw2/features/editorials/death">Guild
Wars 2 href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/gw2/features/editorials/death">:
The Evolution of Death in Tyria
- Ten
Ton Hammer's StarCraft II
Guide Portal
Thanks
for visiting the Ten Ton Hammer network!
- Benjamin J. de la Durantaye and the Ten Ton Hammer Team.
To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our Miscellaneous Game Page.
