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Torment: Tides of Numenera - Post-funding Update #20

by Couchpotato, 2013-05-30 09:22:39

There's a new Torment: Tides of Numenera update on Kickstarter. The update talks about a new writer, a design update, some new details on the process of revision of the story outline, and news on the novellas.

Team Additions

As we mentioned in the last Update, the current team working on Torment is very small, focusing on the story and design while our production team (programmers, artists, etc.) is working on Wasteland 2. We will have some openings for Torment over the next few months, with the first being for an experienced programmer. If this may be you (or someone you know) and you want to move to southern CA and work on Torment, check out our job opening.

We’d also like to introduce another of our writers, Natalie Whipple. She was discovered by Adam, who writes:

“I know, I know. More writers, right? But every writer means more reactivity and more content for the production team when they move onto Torment. It's gotta start somewhere. I've been a fan of Natalie’s science-fiction and fantasy writing for a long time and have even been lucky enough to critique a few of her works. Her stories are hugely imaginative, and she has a unique voice that's memorable and intriguing. Her debut novel, Transparent, was released just last week and her second will be out next year. Transparent is a science-fiction novel for young adults that is something of a cross between the X-Men and the Godfather. It’s a story about an invisible girl who works for her father, Vegas's biggest crime lord – at least, she does until her father pushes her too far and she goes on the run.

Story Outline (Colin McComb)

Kevin asked me to write a few words about the process of fleshing out the game's story, so here goes: It's fun!

I suppose technically that was only "a couple" of words, so I'll put down a few more. Without giving away any spoilers, here's how the process works. First, I sat down with the outline and bare bones that Adam, Kevin, and I had assembled before the Kickstarter (with the input of a few others; thanks, Nathan Long!) and started to get it into a more cohesive shape. Our first goal was a story document we could show to Brian Fargo and Matt Findley for their input. I… I overwrote a little. What should have been a 4-5 page document turned into 25 pages; the initial document turned into a bit of a brain dump with a lot of area ideas with less of a uniting framework.

In order to create a better focus, I took that document and re-emphasized the story structure, breaking the game apart into modules for design and thematic consistency, with a rough guide for how much content we were aiming for in each section. I put our main cast of characters up front, along with a quick sketch of their motivations and defining characteristics, and defined a little more about how we're going to pursue some of our mechanics (Tides, Legacies, and Meres, among others).

Then I sent the revised document around for high-level review -- Fargo, Findley, Avellone -- and I've gotten some excellent feedback from them on a number of more technical issues. I've been spending some time integrating those comments; they do nothing but enhance the story.

 


Information about

Torment:ToN

SP/MP: Single-player
Setting: Technofantasy
Genre: RPG
Platform: PC
Release: Released


Details