Some folks (such as yours truly) sign up and spend loads of time serving as a ‘volunteer QA army’ in private beta tests for so-called ‘indie developers’. (My most recent work was on Spiderweb Software’s Avernum 6 which recently launched for the Mac and is coming soon for Windows). Some companies small and large like to have ‘open beta’ tests that serve to ramp up hype for a game while providing developers with a broader array of (less structured and objective) feedback that can help in the final tuning of a release.

Soldak Entertainment won many loyal fans with their excellent 2007 RPG Depths of Peril, then targeted casual gamers with last year’s Kivi’s Underworld, and are now getting ready for their third game, the highly anticipated Din’s Curse.

In Din’s Curse, the god Din has cursed you to a second life because of your actions causing misfortune and misery in your first life. In your second life you must rebuild your reputation with Din by helping others and ultimately helping solve the major problems facing the town. The entire world is randomly generated – as opposed to most games which only generate dungeon layouts – and there are reportedly 141 class combinations for the character to try.

The other big thing is that not only does each game play completely differently due to different characters and quests and problems, it is also different because the game sets up choices that actually matter. If you choose not to rescue a NPC, not only do their quests go away, but their death can impact the way other characters in the game relate to you.

Soldak has opened preorders of their upcoming game, Din’s Curse. In return for placing an order, you’ll get the game for the discounted price of $19.99 and get to download and play the current beta version *immediately*. The game is in beta for both Mac and Windows.

Source: Soldak Games