This is a page for me to jot down my various musings on tests and technologies I might like to see in future Tellings. Some of these ideas go back to my Tale 2 page.
If you've got ideas or commentary of your own, and you feel like adding it to this page -- by all means, feel welcome!
New test discussion page from Tale 1
No real details here, just vagueness. It would somehow involve that while running through the desert, a player would occasionally see what appears to be water on the horizon. The player would have to approach it to determine if it was a real pool of water or only a mirage. If it is real, the player can drink from it, and this allows progression through the test. Or something? I dunno, I just think mirages would be neat.
Egyptians are presently accustomed to pulling their leather supplies straight off the backs of their sheep and camels, but in reality the process of converting raw hides into leather is a process intensive in time and labor. By simulating tanning in ATITD, we provide another simple low-tech activity, add a little complexity to the economy, and find some more uses for materials such as oil.
Thoughts:
(Actually, given that metal salts already exist in the game, for all I know Teppy could already have something like the following in store for us. But if not, at least the game already supports the material types necessary to make this work.)
Some speculate that historical ancient civilizations already knew something about primitive batteries. We ATITD'ers, as their fictional counterparts, deserve some of this action. Electrochemistry would be a later technology that would allow for the creation of chemical batteries to produce very weak electrical charges.
I'm not suggesting that this technology could lead to electric lights, Clappers, or any such modern conveniences. The current produced by these primitive cells would be extremely weak. However, one obvious use for all this would be electroplating, which would allow for the design of new metal goods. For instance, you might create such goods as "Steel sheeting: zinc-plated" or "Iron bar: gold-plated". These might be used in various buildings and art projects.
In Tale 1, drinking alcohol was a primary method of improving Perception. In Tale 2, smoking herbs has been added to the repertoire of useful vices. At this point only one mind-altering pastime has remained unexplored, and I hope that it will be introduced in Tale 3: licking hallucinogenic toads.
You close your eyes, inhale deeply, and drag your tongue slowly across the toad's back. You hallucinate the following sensations:
Rainbows (Visual), Itching (Tactile), Melting Camels (Visual)
An interesting new trip! Your Toad Licking skill improves by 1.
I believe that toad licking will provide fascinating new content to ATITD, as well as a fun new activity to share at parties!
(Okay, this idea is meant as a joke. Could you tell?)
Although camels? were and are a source of meat, milk and hides for nomadic desert-dwelling folk, historically they weren't a part of ancient Egyptian life until very late (around 500 BC). Far more widespread were regular, ordinary cattle -- which in ATITD are not to be found at all.
It's often commented that ATITD camels don't seem to have many "camel-like" qualities. They sit in a pen and wait around to be slaughtered. My wish is that, in future tellings, cattle will be used in place of camels. They'd work the same as camels -- the change would basically just be a name and artwork swap.
As for camels themselves, they wouldn't be removed from the game, but would be given different properties. For instance, they might be one of the wild animals in the Test of the Safari. Or they could make an indirect appearance as modes of travel -- e.g. "camel posts" instead of chariot stops.
Another option is to have camels spawn randomly in the wild, just as sheep do. However, wild camels cannot be picked up. They can be hunted, though, making camel meat a rare delicacy.
Royal jelly is a substance produced by bee colonies as reproductive food for a queen. Some say it also has health benefits. In ATITD, royal jelly could be another product of apiaries, its production triggered by the introduction of essential extract. This would be the only way to obtain royal jelly, and it would only produce in very small amounts.
The use of royal jelly, I'm less sure about. It could possibly be used as a cooking ingredient, but it might find its way into various Worship tests (such as Vigil sacrifices, or as something used in an altar ritual or Festival).
You invited comments, so I'll make one :)
Your idea about camels spawning in the wild is an interesting one. Maybe there could be some sort of interactive game for you to lead the camel to a pen. Or maybe you could select "Hop on the camel" - the camel would run in the direction it's facing for usually 100 coordinates, occasionally 400 coordinates, and very rarely 1000 coordinates. In game you would effectively teleport to the new location before "You fell off the camel, and it disappears into the distance." Perhaps the camel would stop if there was a mushroom spawn in it's path (and of course eat one of the mushrooms). -Matk