Weve used the term TMORPG ever since Book of Travels was announced back in September 2019, and if youve ever wondered why, were here to explain... Those letters stand for Tiny Multiplayer Online and represent one of the most important aspects of the game. Essentially, it means that players per server are limited and meetings between players will be uncommon.
If youve seen our Kickstarter campaign video the abbreviation may sound familiar, and weve been really pleased to notice that for some, its one of the games biggest attractions. While its not exactly a genre, we think it works pretty well to describe a game where the amount of online players is capped. The result is that meeting other players is not commonplace and therefore, something a bit special.

It all began with Meadow

Might and Delights first networked game, Meadow , was something of an experiment, bringing the style and ambience of the Shelter series to an open game world where small groups of players can bound around together in animal guise, unlocking magic obelisks and communicating with emotes. The response we had from players was incredibly positive - they loved the magic of sharing wordless adventures together. Four years on, were proud to say that the Meadow forum and Discord channel is filled with stories of special moments of meeting and connection.

Find the Few

Feedback on the emotional impact of these connections took us by surprise, and we soon knew that the TMO experience was something we wanted to explore further. Players of Journey will know exactly how moving it can be to chance upon another player, especially in a non-directive, non-linear game world. In Journey, the multiplayer aspect is pushed to the limit of its definition: meetings with companions being as few as one per game (and make for a truly sublime emotional beat). In Meadow up to fifty animals share a grove, and in Book of Travels well be using our Early Access period to experiment with player numbers.

The game design challenge

While this isnt entirely new ground for us, we know it's going to be a challenge. There are many table top roleplayers in the Book of Travels dev team, and they know just how important player interactions are in bringing adventures to life. So, striking a balance between rich roleplay and sparsity of player meetings is the challenge that we now face! Well be counting heavily on your feedback and the help of beta testers to finetune that balance.

Help us in our endeavours!

What games have you enjoyed where player meetings are infrequent? Do you love RPGs? How do you feel about fewer meetings? Wed love your input, right here in the comments section. Thanks again for spending time with us! Best Wishes, Helen and the Dev Team x https://store.steampowered.com/app/1152340/Book_of_Travels/