We’ve got some Das Tal fun coming up! I reached out to Fairytale Distillery, and they responded with an enthusiasm that I love to see in game designers! On Sunday, May 31st, starting by 3PM PST, iTZKooPA will be streaming a portion of the upcoming Das Tal playtest preview on the LoreHound Twitch channel. I’m hoping to join him, although it’s still up in the air as to whether I’ll be able to swing it or not. But if not, I’ll be looking forward to watching the replay of his time in game!
Since Das Tal has several features that are pretty unique, I will extend this Livestream announcement with a description of several things that make this game so intriguing. Hopefully I will have the chance to tag in for an actual first hand play experience, but for now, click the little button below to see what has me watching this game with such interest!
Das Tal has 3 foundation pillars that drive the design of the game; meaningful conflict, skill-based combat, and creation of unique worlds.
Meaningful conflict is something that I dearly miss in the current MMO trends. If you were to ask me about my favorite MMOs of all time – Lineage 2 would be among the top as the open pvp and risk of losing gear upon death made every encounter truly matter. I had to be on my game at all times, and constantly work to improve my skills! Das Tal aims to be a return to that heart-pounding thrilling action by making things matter. Resources, territory, loot; all of it is fodder for exciting battles. But they are also holding the player experience in mind. All gear is crafted by players, and designed to be replaceable. And even naked players to have a place in the battle lines, because…
Skill matters. To quote from the Das Tal page: We want your skill to be the deciding factor in combat – not the gear you bring or your character’s level.
What makes this game truly unique, however, is its focus on exploration and experimentation with different systems. And from what I can see, they really mean it. In most games that feature exploration, the excitement of exploring is open only to those lucky few who are the first round into a game’s beta or alpha. Once players get inside, maps are made and put online, detailed world walkthroughs are created – and if the game allows addons, you can often even find addons that will direct you to whatever feature you want to find, without the need to look for it.
But their time-boxed worlds prevent this issue. Each game world is a campaign that will span several months and end with a massive event. The changing geography in each world will require constant exploration with every new campaign launch. If you want to create a settlement, you’ll first have to scout out the world and locate the resources to do it. That in itself is pretty awesome, but they’ve gone even further. With each campaign conclusion, Fairytale Distillery will take feedback from players and create an entirely new set of campaign rules and from what I can see, it’s open season on what features can be changed! Individual weapon damage, run speed, player health, an amusing example on their webpage is a campaign world filled with constant sand storms – you name it, they are willing to experiment. This means that what works in one campaign will not necessarily work in another, so if you think bows or magic are under or overpowered, rather than simply waiting indefinitely for the devs to agree, all you have to do is wait till the end of the campaign and make your voice heard.
I think it sounds absolutely delightful.
For more information, including videos, check out the Das Tal official page or the Kickstarter. And of course, tune in on Sunday to watch our stream!
