Each iteration of A Tale in the Desert has players working towards complex goals, then restarting when they are finally accomplished. It's currently on the sixth "Telling." One very early quest involved building a flax comb, which required thorns, bricks and wood. Bricks required straw (which required grass to be dried) and clay and a brick rack; a brick rack required boards; to cut boards into wood I needed to make a plane, which required a slate dagger, which required slate, and so on.
A Tale In The Desert focuses on group projects and cooperative play, but when I was testing, I found it virtually abandoned, with plenty of empty player-constructed buildings but rarely more than a single other person on. The very few people I did meet were helpful and friendly, however. The 24-hour trial (that's 24 hours of play, not a day from first logon) should help you decide if you'd like to vacation in the desert...and maybe bring some friends.
Note: The Download button takes you to the vendor's site, where you can download the latest version of the software.