# A Tale in the Desert

*Game* · `a-tale-in-the-desert` · status: **sourced**

A combat-free MMO set in ancient Egypt in which players gather, craft, and build, pass tests in several disciplines, and govern the world through player-written petitions and votes, with the world wiped and restarted at the end of each Telling.

| field | value |
|---|---|
| aliases | ATITD |
| year | 2003 |
| developer | eGenesis |
| platforms | PC |
| subgenre | MMO world |
| sim domain | Social / interpersonal, Political / governance, Economic |
| player role | Inhabitant |
| agency model | Direct avatar |
| time model | Asynchronous persistent |
| sim scale | Region |
| fidelity | Stylized |
| perspective | Third-person |
| win structure | Completion |
| failure model | None |
| narrative mode | Emergent |
| multiplayer | Persistent MMO |
| modding | None |
| production tier | Indie |
| agent count order | ~100 |
| emergence | 3 |
| influence | 2 |
| cluster *(computed)* | C12 |
| core count *(computed)* | 3 |
| mechanic count *(computed)* | 8 |

## Summary

A combat-free MMO set in ancient Egypt in which players gather, craft, and build, pass tests in several disciplines, and govern the world through player-written petitions and votes, with the world wiped and restarted at the end of each Telling.

## Core Loop

gather wood, stone, flax, and other materials -> craft tools and build production structures -> pass discipline tests, many involving other players -> propose petitions and vote on laws -> build monuments -> the Telling ends and the world resets

## Design Notes

ATITD has no combat; competition runs through seven tests in each discipline, some of which require cooperation, voting, or mass participation, and through player-written law. Seven Monuments built by players who reach Oracle rank end the Telling, after which the world is wiped and the next Telling can change the rules. Discipline tests and periodic world resets are not yet mechanics in the taxonomy (proposal seasonal-world-reset).

## Relations

**uses**

- [Player legislation](../mechanic/player-legislation.md) (core): Laws use a controlled variant of Nomic: players write petitions that need a set number of signatures before a vote, and passed laws can restrict options, change ownership, or ban players; an elected Demi-Pharaoh can ban up to seven characters.
- [Persistent shared world](../mechanic/persistent-world.md) (core): The world runs in Tellings that average about a year and a half and end in a full wipe; disciplines with 127 participants can propose a new test for the next Telling.
- [Elections](../mechanic/elections.md) (supporting): A Demi-Pharaoh is elected roughly monthly through the Test of the Demi-Pharaoh.
- [Resource extraction](../mechanic/resource-extraction.md) (supporting): Players gather wood, mine, and harvest flax.
- [Hand crafting](../mechanic/hand-crafting.md) (supporting)
- [Production chains](../mechanic/production-chain.md) (supporting)
- [Player organizations](../mechanic/player-organizations.md) (supporting)
- [Seasonal world reset](../mechanic/seasonal-world-reset.md) (core): The world runs in Tellings that average about 18 months and end in a full wipe, and what players achieved shapes the rules of the next Telling.

## Backlinks (computed)

**precedent for:** [Natural-language legislation](../opportunity/natural-language-legislation.md)

## Sources

- [A Tale in the Desert](../source/src-wikipedia-a-tale-in-the-desert.md)

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Provenance: created in run `2026-10-24-catalog-gi`.