Torment: Tides of Numenera Interview

We have managed to find a new interview for Torment: Tides of Numenera, the spiritual successor to Planescape: Torment developed by inXile Entertainment, courtesy of the folks at GameStar.ru, who had the chance to sit down with “triumvirate” members Adam Heine (writer/designer), Colin McComb (creative director) and Kevin Saunders (project director). Here’s a snippet:

What about the gameplay? What can you say about the role-playing system of Tides of Numenera?

Adam: We’re adapting the system for Monte Cook’s tabletop RPG Numenera. Numenera has a ridiculously smooth tabletop system, with only three character statistics, broad skill definitions, and a strong emphasis on collaborative storytelling. But we won’t be creating a computerized version of the tabletop game that would be too simplistic for a CRPG. Instead, we’re working closely with Monte to adapt and add to the tabletop rules in a way consistent with Monte’s vision for the game, while still being complex and interesting enough for a CRPG.

We’re still at work adapting it, but what we do know is there will still be three character stats. There will be a defined set of skills, including some skills not found in a typical RPG. And we’re working on ways to adapt Numenera’s unique GM intrusion and XP mechanics.

There are some companions will be in the game. Tell us, how much they will affect the main plot and story development? Will we be able to communicate with them, to reveal their secrets? Will we get some unique quests from our companions?

Colin: I don’t want to give away too many details this early in production, but we do anticipate that the companions will have an effect on the storyline, that they will have some unique storylines of their own, and that you’ll get the same rich sense of a real personality that you’d expect from a Torment game. Given that we have Chris Avellone and Patrick Rothfuss (among others) designing companions, I expect that they will be truly memorable.

How much the player will be free in choosing what he will do? Will an open world be in Torment: Tides of Numenera?

Adam: It won’t be a true open world in the sense that you can go wherever you want in search of the next story thread. But giving the player choices that matter is very important to us. So while the player might not be able to walk all over the world map until they meet certain story beats, they will have a variety of choices of how to reach those beats, each of which will have a significant impact on the story and the world. Additionally, though the story beats may determine which locations the player has access to, they will have significant freedom of movement within those locations.