Torment: Tides of Numenera Interviews

Soon after the announcement of the Kickstarter launch date and first interviews, more write-ups have been coming out concerning Torment: Tides of Numenera. Most have been containing the same info we’ve already reported, but a couple of them have some interesting tidbits.

First, Polygon chatted with project director Kevin Saunders and creative lead Colin McComb:

“It’s about finding your place in the world, about understanding who you are, about what legacy you leave,” McComb said. “What does one life matter?”

Set amidst a world in which several ancient empires and civilizations have risen and fallen, the single-player RPG will attempt to have players answer that final question from an individual’s perspective. It’s about being forced to confront the reality wherein you’re just one link in a seemingly endless chain.

“Everything sort of spun out from there,” McComb said.

Torment: Tides of Numenera won’t attempt to answer its central question, however. It’s up to the players. As they discover the ruins of ancient civilizations, how will they put them to use? Whether for good or for evil, the game will adapt.

“Characters in the game will judge you the world will judge you but the game won’t,” Saunders said.

Much of that will play out in the game’s Tides system, alluded to in the title.

“The Tides are our version of the alignment system in D&D, which is perhaps the closest parallel,” he said. “There are five of them, but they don’t oppose each other directly. It’s not like good versus evil. There’s much more complicated interactions between them.”

While GamesBeat has some additional info on the funding goal and Brian Fargo’s contribution:

Fargo said the company is hoping to raise $1 million. He will match every dollar raised above that, up to $2 million, by throwing in another 10 percent. So if the company raises $2 million, Fargo will throw in $100,000 of his own money.