Torment: Tides of Numenera Kickstarter Update #5, $2,458,389 and Counting

A fifth update has already been made available on inXile Entertainment’s Torment: Tides of Numenera Kickstarter campaign, and this time we hear from Monte Cook himself about the game’s setting and systems, including the role that the people of the Ninth World play, the mysterious landmarks and structures that can be explored, the way in which character development has been fleshed out, and more.

Of course, I can’t leave you without a sampling from the text:

Another important point to mention is the modular nature in which we’ve crafted Torment’s story. What we mean by this is that our story’s design makes it relatively easy for us to add content, especially optional content, but also critical path content in some cases. Our target funding was what we believed was required to make a worthy game that fulfills the vision we’ve presented to you. Additional resources allow us to make it richer, deeper, more polished. Though to some extent, more funds allow us to make a longer game, that is not our focus. Our focus in this regard is defined by our fourth pillar: (Reactivity, Choice, and Real Consequences.) When we talk about adding content, this is where our emphasis is: to make an even more engaging experience, to truly push the envelope in terms of role-playing game reactivity. This is one reason we’re excited about the expanding upon the Legacy System and the Tides we see possibilities that to us were distant dreams last week when we launched this Kickstarter, when we didn’t realize how much you would support us and the vision we will create for you (and for ourselves, to be honest this is a game we are very passionate about.)

We promise to you that all of the funds will be leveraged to best realize the vision we have presented. (Several in our community have expressed opinions along these lines, including GrinningReaper659 and aratuk.) We won’t be using funds from this Kickstarter to add in features that deviate from this vision. We treat the trust you have placed in us seriously, and will maintain our precise focus on creating the game we have told you about. (For example, there is no total this Kickstarter could reach that would lead us to implement multiplayer.) We won’t be trying to broaden our audience our goal is to provide you with the best embodiment of the game we have presented. Any features we add, any content we add, will be to better deliver on our vision. Especially for a game like Torment, excellence is achieved through focus.

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Compelling dialogue and intriguing companions are at the core of the Torment experience. We’ll use dialogue trees in which you choose the line you speak or the action you take from a list of options, defining your character by what you say and do. We’ll iterate on tried-and-true systems (such as that of Planescapeâ„¢: Torment) to make conversations even more interesting, but we’ll target the same type of experience. We’ll design a new slang unique to the world (just enough to give the world depth, mind you; we won’t pound you on the head with how cool our cant is).

You’ll have optional companions who might accompany you on your journey. You will be able to talk with them, delving into their personalities and histories, even shaping them (or driving them away) with your responses. They, too, might have their own things to say about a given situation and will interject whenever they feel like it. That said, you’ll have full control over your party. Some companions might choose to leave you over an extreme situation, but as long as they’re in your party, they’ll go where you direct them and do what you tell them.

We’ve been asked some questions about what types of relationships the PC might have with their companions. Our position is this: adhering to our four pillars, we are going to craft nontraditional, complex, and believable characters. We are going to develop the companions with enough depth that we understand their motivations and personality. And then we will write them to respond appropriately to the situations they encounter. Love, which comes in many forms, is certainly relevant when exploring themes of legacy, abandonment, and mystery and we expect to explore this emotion in ways that fits the story and characters. Meaningful friendships, even feelings of affection, will be possible, but relationships of the flesh would be inconsistent with our narrative. (Though we must admit we were amused by the Romance with Ball of Goo suggestion by billyboy. =) )