Salem Preview

A few more bits of information about Seatribe’s permadeath-inducing MMO Salem can be scavenged from this new preview on IGN, where they’ve organized the article into something of a FAQ for easy consumption. An excerpt:

Is there any sort of progression?
There is to some extent. Creating things has an inherent progression, in that you can’t make bricks without making a kiln and lighting a fire in it first. You can’t make a house without bricks. There are also “stats” in the form of your four cardinal humors: Blood, which acts as your health; Phlegm, which allows you to craft things; Yellow Bile, which acts as your mana or stamina during combat; and Black Bile, which is used to acquire new skills.

Health and stamina, huh? Does that mean there’s combat?
Yep. The plan is to make combat very directional — if you’re standing on a hill then your punches will have a greater impact, for example. You’ll be fighting things like deer for meat, but there will also be more fantastical animals like the Squonk, which is a hideous, blistered, miserable creature.

So… what’s the point?
There’s not really a “point” per se. It’s a sandbox game, so you and all the other players playing can mold the world as you see fit. You can also affect other players directly, as Salem will have open-world PvP. But be careful — if you commit murder you put yourself at risk.