Torment: Tides of Numenera - Post-Funding Update #30

April 2nd, 2014, 17:24

In this update George Ziets informs us that he will be joining the team full-time as a Lead Area Designer and in the process provides some updates on area design as well.

So what convinced me to come back to an in-house job? After all, I’ve been a freelance designer for the past two years, and that’s not a bad gig, especially when my commute consisted of walking up the stairs to my (not at all creepy) attic.

First of all, I love the Infinity Engine games – they’re still my all-time favorites – and this is a chance to work on a thematic successor. While it’s satisfying to contribute to a game like Torment from afar, nothing beats the hands-on experience of designing areas on paper, blocking them out in the engine, working directly with artists to make them look great, and seeing the game world take shape before your eyes.

What’s especially great about Torment is that it combines the design sensibilities of the classic Infinity Engine games with a setting that’s weird and unpredictable. As designers, we’re not bound by the conventions of reality. The original Torment could have a giant anarchist golem, a brothel of intellectual lusts, and a pregnant alleyway. Buildings and levels could come in all shapes and sizes. Characters were never conventional archetypes, and inspiration could be drawn from almost anywhere. Numenera gives us the same kind of creative freedom, and that’s typically the sort of environment where I function best.

Another big incentive: we’re putting a part of the old Mask of the Betrayer team back together. That includes Kevin Saunders and me, of course, but also Jesse Farrell, who was a content designer (and our QA lead) on MotB. Notably, he was responsible for the awesome “soul contract” dialogue in the Chamber of Dreamers. At present, Jesse is blocking out levels and implementing basic quest mechanics for the first zone we’re fully implementing – the Bloom (the one I described in my Kickstarter video).

Oh, and the InXile studio is a block away from the beach, so there’s that too.

More information.

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#1

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April 2nd, 2014, 17:24

Well I know some people who will be happy about that.

I just hope this doesn't mean we're going to end up with something like the MotB spirit meter.

Last edited by rjshae; April 2nd, 2014 at 17:36.

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#2

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April 2nd, 2014, 18:28

I wonder what the pay-for-work ratio is like working in house, as opposed to in your attic on contract.

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#3

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April 2nd, 2014, 18:39

Originally Posted by rjshae
Well I know some people who will be happy about that. I just hope this doesn't mean we're going to end up with something like the MotB spirit meter.

Afaik Eric Fenstermaker was in charge of the spirit meter.

I'd just like to interject here and point out that I'm not going to say anything to spoil the mood, Chief. I'll just float here and watch. Don't mind me, just sitting here, floating and watching, that's me.

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