Planescape: Torment - The Power of Narrative

Medium.com has an interesting editorial about the narrative of Planescape: Torment.

The thematic symbolism in the original Torment revolves around the question of predestination, consequences and redemption. It communicates its take on the archetype in a variety of different ways: through quests, allegories, myths, legends, truths and lies.

What makes it unique in its presentation, and serves as a good example of juvenile bravado of the designers, is that it cuts to the chase quickly, dialing down the pathos so prevalent in other RPGs. There is no world to save, no princess to rescue. There is only a character, and his introspective quest to answer a specific, explict question. The game reiterates the phrase many times over, nagging you, with an ever increasing frequency. It reaches a fever pitch in the grand finale:

"What can change the nature of man?"

For me it’s an easy one: a game of Torment.

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More information.

"What can change the nature of man?"

For me it’s an easy one: a game of Torment.

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As soon as I do my time with equal exchange, this goes streight into my sig.

"What can change the nature of man?"

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Alcohol

"What can change the nature of man?"

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Female hormones or beer -> same effect

Last month, Leeds University scientists released the results of a recent analysis that revealed the presence of female hormones in beer.

Men should take a concerned look at their beer consumption.

The theory is that beer contains female hormones (hops contain phytoestrogens)and that by drinking enough beer, men turn into women.

To test the theory, 100 men drank 8 pints of beer each within a 2 hour period.

It was then observed that 100% of the test subjects :-

• Argued over nothing.
• Refused to apologise when obviously wrong.
• Gained weight.
• Talked excessively without making sense.
• Became overly emotional.
• Couldn’t drive.
• Failed to think rationally
• Had to sit down while urinating.

No further testing was considered necessary.

That was a terribly misogynist joke, HiddenX. Also, hilarious!

What goes on in those minds of yours? This is a topic about Planescape: Torment.

coyote said:

That was a terribly misogynist joke, HiddenX. Also, hilarious!

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Okay - one for the women among us (before Omga Planescape torments me)

A Spanish teacher was explaining to her class that in Spanish, unlike English, nouns are designated as either masculine or feminine.
"House" for instance, is feminine: "la casa."
"Pencil," however, is masculine: "el lapiz."
A student asked, "What gender is 'computer'?"

Instead of giving the answer, the teacher split the class into two groups, male and female, and asked them to decide for themselves whether "computer" should be a masculine or a feminine noun.
Each group was asked to give four reasons for its recommendation.

The men's group decided that "computer" should definitely be of the feminine gender
("la computadora") because:

1. No one but their creator understands their internal logic.
2. The native language they use to communicate with other computers is incomprehensible to everyone else.
3. Even the smallest mistakes are stored in long term memory for possible later retrieval; and
4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending half your paycheck on accessories for it.

(THIS GETS BETTER!)
The women's group, however, concluded that computers should be masculine
("el computador") because:

1. In order to do anything with them, you have to turn them on.
2. They have a lot of data but still can't think for themselves.
3. They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half the time, they ARE the problem; and
4. As soon as you commit to one, you realize that if you had waited a little longer, you could have gotten a better model.

The women won.