The pen and paper influences begin in character creation, where my name is rolled from a pool of setting-appropriate choices (Ari Arin, because I'm a gremlin for alliteration), as is my starting gear. It shares the Journey philosophy of multiplayer - occasional player meetups facilitated by an emote system rather than text chat - but set in the world of a classic cRPG. Each time you log in, you'll select a server instance to join with a current maximum player count of seven. The "T" is for "tiny" as opposed to "massive". It’s a bit daunting playing an MMO with so little direction and with the threat of death hanging overhead, but those facets only deepen the mystery presented by this strange, enigmatic little game.Book Of Travels is what Might And Delight are calling a TMORPG. The game is quite lovely, though, and its presentation is beguiling, easily pulling me into its world.
Just how players will respond to this remains to be seen. I suppose this makes Book of Travels the first combination MMO and rogue-lite I’m aware of.
There’s no current way to revive and your character will end up locked as, well, they’re no longer among the living. If your life ends while playing, that’s it. There’s combat as well, but that comes with a kicker - the game bizarrely features permadeath. But, your stamina runs out quickly, so you’ll need to rest, which is achieved through a prompt in the bottom-right corner of the screen. Left-clicking causes your character to walk, while right-clicking makes them sprint. Each object in your inventory has value and you can trade for something of equal or lesser value by offering to barter them with NPCs. Trading is a simple affair in Book of Travels. Upon making it to the ferry, I traded for a ticket, but it was night, and I would have to wait to continue my pilgrimage. Although Book of Travels isn’t in your face with obvious direction, it doesn’t truly expect you to fumble. She suggested I board a ferry that could be located to the North West. Seeking out this teahouse was a simple feat, and the proprietress did just as I was told she would, offering me tea, untattered clothing, and some insight. This person suggested I speak with the owner of a tea house, as they would mend my wounds and point me in the right direction. Sure enough, an icon under my stats clued me into this fact.
A person near the entrance remarked on how badly I appeared to be mangled. One such point was to the East and following it led me to a small settlement. Areas are comprised of a large screen that you can travel from upon reaching exit points. You get to choose your starting region, so experiences will vary. Granted, the game isn’t at all reluctant to offer you breadcrumbs that press you on your way into the great unknown. Upon finishing this, I was plopped into the previously mentioned field with no direction given. Then you can reroll your starting equipment. You don’t appear to be able to create your own name from scratch and must randomly generate your first and last names separately, although you can give yourself a nickname. After settling on a form, you pick a name. If you want one, you have to write it yourself. Your character doesn’t have a filled-in backstory either. These are archetypes, each with their pre-set looks. While much of it is built on recognizable frameworks, the end result is something that I simply haven’t seen before.īook of Travels begins with you creating a character from a set of forms. While I’m not entirely sold on it, I’m impressed by the art and the dedication to an idea that feels as foreign as it sounds.
Book of Travels is an MMORPG, but not of the sort we’re all familiar with. No glowing exclamation point urged me forward and no wild animals nipped at my heels. No light, save for the stars shining overhead, graced my presence. My character awoke in the middle of a wide field in the dead of night.
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