Planescape: Torment successor announced. Set in Numenera universe.

[GhoulishVisage]

inXile will be developing a spiritual successor to Planescape: Torment set in Monte Cook's kickstarted Numenera universe.

Chris Avellone does not seem to be working on the project, although he gave his blessing and recommended several key figures currently involved.

 

Fargo: A Torment game requires big ideas and a truly exotic setting in order to explore the underlying thematic elements. Colin described it best when he said “Torment’s themes are essentially metaphysical, getting to the heart of what it means to be alive and conscious, and it’s easier to ask those questions in a setting that is far removed from the familiar.” Numenera is such a setting, and it has tremendous potential to cultivate those ideas. We won’t have faeries or devils, but we’ll have diabolical creatures from far dimensions with schemes beyond human imagination. We won’t have gods, but we’ll have creatures who have lived for millennia with the powers of creation and destruction at their fingertips, with abilities honed over countless lifetimes. We won’t have other planes per se, but we’ll have pathways to hostile worlds and bizarre landscapes and ancient machines that catapult the players into places where the ordinary laws of nature no longer apply. In terms of role-playing mechanics, we won’t be attempting to literally translate the Numenera tabletop system into electronic form. However, its gameplay mechanics are very solid and include several components that will lend themselves to great (and innovative) cRPG gameplay. It’s great to have the Numenera rules as a starting point and to be working with Monte to adapt them for a cRPG.

 

Thoughts?

[C2B]

Well, it has been announced a while ago.

 

Thoughts

 

Great team so far, excited.

[Oerwinde]

Well, it looks promising. I kind of like the idea of the "xxxxx:Torment" being the link between games. I don't think you can get exclusive rights to a subtitle so its a good way of letting people know exactly what it is without having to license anything. It also means if Obsidian wants to do one down the road they can too.

Edited January 9, 2013 by Oerwinde

[Keyrock]

I know nothing about Numenera so I need to do some research, but everything sounds really promising and I will surely be backing this.

[WorstUsernameEver]

I'm intrigued, but frankly I'm against them starting a Kickstarter before Wasteland 2 is done. Prove you can once before trying to get my money again, please?

[AwesomeOcelot]

They have to start other projects before Wasteland 2 is released. They might be able to pay for pre-production by themselves, meaning that they can use that for the KickStarter campaign. By the Wasteland 2 beta we will know that they can deliver, at least deliver a game.

[alanschu]

In any case, while PST is my favourite RPG, I'm actually not all that interested in this. I find it akin to Interplay reviving the Black Isle label. If you want to make a kickass game with metaphysical themes about what it means to be alive and conscious, it doesn't need to have "Torment" in the title.

Edited January 9, 2013 by alanschu

[Volourn]

It's likely to be crap. I doubt it's gonna capture what PST is, and gonna fall its face. Just not gonna live up the hype. EPIC FAIL IS ACOMING.

 

 

"We will focus on the same things that made people appreciate PST so much: overturning RPG tropes; a fantastic, unconventional setting; memorable companions; deep thematic exploration of the human condition; heavy reactivity (i.e., choice and consequences); an intensely personal (rather than epic) story."

 

This is exactly what I mean. This isn't actually desribing PST literally but describing various aspects of a certain type of RPG. Totally irrelevant and totally meaningless.

 

 

At best, it'll be aplayable and fun game. But, it will not be remotely a 'spiritual successor' to PST. Then again, 'psiritual successor' is one of those terms that has lost nearly all its meaning after its misuse, abuse, and spamming of it.

Edited January 9, 2013 by Volourn

[TSBasilisk]

Don't let the use of a title be the deciding factor, eh? I actually like the concept of pursuing these themes in different RPG settings; the use of "Torment" merely reflects that they are linked by that central theme, rather than by series.

 

It's similar to the Bioshock shift; the theme there is it takes place in what was built to be a utopia, only for its inhabitants to twist it into something terrifying by trying to make an ideal real,

 

If they can produce a good game(Wasteland 2 is a trying ground to see if they can), they face two dangers:

 

1.) Hype builds up expectations and fans will be displeased no matter what. If Wasteland 2 is fantastic, that just makes it worse.

 

2.) Trying to invoke PST creates a backlash among fans who don't want to see it tarnished with a poor imitator. That greatly weakens the fanbase.

Edited January 9, 2013 by TSBasilisk

[Osvir]

Experience Points and Advancement

Characters earn XP when they make new, interesting discoveries (not from killing things, although combat is often necessary to make discoveries and accomplish missions). They also earn XP when the GM “intrudes” on the action of the game to introduce new complications. Lastly, players have the ability to award XP to other players for great ideas, useful actions, or other reasons.

 

XP can be spent to increase character abilities, or to affect events in the game (such as rerolling dice), gain short-term benefits or advance in levels.

 

Yes! Yes please! That is so awesome on so many levels if this is what they intend: Multiplayer-possibilites with one player playing GM/DM unless the "GM" is what they simply call the "driving force" (i.e. in-design plot), basically a God in Numenera.

 

I think it looks awesome, check that artwork:

http://www.numenera.com/overview/

[Malekith]

In any case, while PST is my favourite RPG, I'm actually not all that interested in this. I find it akin to Interplay reviving the Black Isle label. If you want to make a kickass game with metaphysical themes about what it means to be alive and conscious, it doesn't need to have "Torment" in the title.

Some of the same writters work on this.Yes, it doesn't need to have "Torment" in the title, but i like the idea of a "thematic" francize, where the link between games is only the metaphysical themes,walls of text etc.

[GhoulishVisage]

I know nothing about Numenera so I need to do some research, but everything sounds really promising and I will surely be backing this.

 

It's a pretty awesome sounding setting that is set one billion years in the future where many great civilizations have risen and fallen leaving behind various artifacts of immense technology. It's somewhat post-apocalyptic in that the current inhabitants live at about a Medieval level of technology with these immense, powerful and unknown creations lying around them.

Some of these are extremely helpful: advanced tools, valuable means of communication and learning, transportation, defenses, and weapons. Others are dangerous: genetically altered monstrosities, flesh-warping radiation, creatures transplanted from distant stars, and clouds of out-of-control nanobots, just to name a few.

 

It's being made by Monte Cook, and I've heard more than a few muttered complaints about this, but I don't know exactly what for as I never got into PnP gaming.

 

Anyhow, whilst I love the setting I'm not certain about transplanting the Torment name onto it, as this will only lead to disappointment, no matter how good the game is.

[Volourn]

"It's a pretty awesome sounding setting that is set one billion years in the future where many great civilizations have risen and fallen leaving behind various artifacts of immense technology. It's somewhat post-apocalyptic in that the current inhabitants live at about a Medieval level of technology with these immense, powerful and unknown creations lying around them.

Some of these are extremely helpful: advanced tools, valuable means of communication and learning, transportation, defenses, and weapons. Others are dangerous: genetically altered monstrosities, flesh-warping radiation, creatures transplanted from distant stars, and clouds of out-of-control nanobots, just to name a few."

 

Sounds like 99% of fantasy and SF games/movies/books ever created. L0LZ

[alanschu]

Don't let the use of a title be the deciding factor, eh? I actually like the concept of pursuing these themes in different RPG settings; the use of "Torment" merely reflects that they are linked by that central theme, rather than by series.

 

It's similar to the Bioshock shift; the theme there is it takes place in what was built to be a utopia, only for its inhabitants to twist it into something terrifying by trying to make an ideal real,

 

If they can produce a good game(Wasteland 2 is a trying ground to see if they can), they face two dangers:

 

1.) Hype builds up expectations and fans will be displeased no matter what. If Wasteland 2 is fantastic, that just makes it worse.

 

2.) Trying to invoke PST creates a backlash among fans who don't want to see it tarnished with a poor imitator. That greatly weakens the fanbase.

 

 

The main issue I have is that, of the things listed, the vast majority I want in my RPGs in general. I also don't know how "Torment" really links it, as torment as a verb was very common in the game, in that people suffered from Torment.

Edited January 9, 2013 by alanschu

[Malekith]

RPS – Given no Planescape and presumably none of the PST characters, what makes a Torment game a Torment game to your mind?

Fargo: We know it hasn’t been done often in the game industry, but we’re envisioning Torment as a thematic franchise with certain themes that can expand over different settings and stories. We will focus on the same things that made people appreciate PST so much: overturning RPG tropes; a fantastic, unconventional setting; memorable companions; deep thematic exploration of the human condition; heavy reactivity (i.e., choice and consequences); an intensely personal (rather than epic) story.

Edited January 9, 2013 by Malekith

[Zoraptor]

I find myself less than enthusiastic about this. It seems to me to be a rather poor match up in that most of the 'creative' principles were primarily involved in the Planescape part of PST which they don't have access to rather than the Torment part, and- to be brutally frank- seems to be specifically and primarily designed to get maximum KS exposure by obtaining a Big Name rather than standing on its own merits.

 

It's an opinion that is subject to change as more information becomes available, but Fargo's list of stuff includes basically one thing that is PST specific (overturning RPG tropes), all the others I can think of multiple other examples off the top of my head.

Edited January 9, 2013 by Zoraptor

[GhoulishVisage]

Sounds like 99% of fantasy and SF games/movies/books ever created. L0LZ

 

Whilst similar concepts may have been used in literature and other mediums, there hasn't been a video-game with a like setting to my knowledge.

[pmp10]

Very little noteworthy imo.

Sounds like more name milkage for kickstarter.

Only 'overturning RPG tropes' could be interesting but it will most likely involve minor details.

[Volourn]

Are you kiddin'? The Forgotten reams setting -bwhich is the basis for many CRPGs - is exactly that. Well, the 'awesome' part is personal opinion obviously.

[TSBasilisk]

You seem rather dedicated to hating everything about this.

 

Maybe before you completely dismiss the campaign you should look at the actual details rather than a hasty paraphrasing by somebody not part of the project. Just because they have similar elements doesn't mean the new one is just a rehash. Maybe it is, but judging that based on one paragraph is a bit of a leap.

Edited January 9, 2013 by TSBasilisk

[alanschu]

Very little noteworthy imo.

Sounds like more name milkage for kickstarter.

Only 'overturning RPG tropes' could be interesting but it will most likely involve minor details.

 

This is pretty much the way I see it too, unfortunately.

[Volourn]

Some things are easy to hate. Lap tops being one, this being another.

 

The game might need up being alright, but it won't be PST or even PST like.

 

I don't like liars and this guy is lying.

[sorophx]

I hope MCA will be one of the stretch goals

[Malekith]

I hope MCA will be one of the stretch goals

MCA will be too busy with P:E to work on this one

[alanschu]

I hope MCA spends all of his time on making Obsidian's games as awesomesauce as possible, TBH. At this point, time spent on other studio projects is time not spent on his own studio's. I could understand when things were somewhat slow (and probably uncertain) for Obsidian's future.

 

Fortunately, with Project Eternity that is no longer the case. I hope it stays that way for them.