Torment: Tides of Numenera Kickstarter Update #8, $2,790,871 and Counting

The eighth update for Torment: Tides of Numenera has gone live, outlining some new stretch goal, all the way up to $3.25 million, which will add the contribution of fantasy writer Patrick Rothfuss, a new comic book reward, and including a video with George Ziets of Mask of the Betrayer fame (who joined the project as a stretch goal) talking about the setting. Here’s a snip:

Stretch Goals Epilogue, Cult, and… Pat Rothfuss!

We’re adding additional Stretch Goals based upon your feedback and ideas on in UserVoice. Please keep your ideas, votes, and comments coming! (The most popular Stretch Goal idea is for 2D pre-rendered graphics we’ll have more to say on this topic soon.)

$2.85M Expansive Epilogue

This Stretch Goal idea had the most supporters (283) of any suggested (even beating out the 2D pre-rendered graphics Stretch Goal in number of supporters, though not in votes). With Torment’s emphasis on reactivity, we had always planned a satisfying conclusion to the game the details of which would depend upon your legacy and some specific choices including the fates of your companions as well (at least those you found). But with this Stretch Goal, we’ll take it even further and tie up loose ends throughout the game for many other aspects: regions, cults, factions, etc. The details of what is discussed and what might not be will depend upon what we determine is best for the game and narrative, but we will take it as far as we can. The epilogue will be presented through text, combined with 2D art for some elements. And, as with everything in Torment, its level of polish and detail will increase in general based on overall funding for example, increasing to 11 Legacies at $3M will result in even more variety in the epilogue.

$3.1M Third Cult: Dendra O’hur

At $3.1M, one specific addition will be a third cult: Dendra O’hur. Followers of the Great Queen Sar’lavun, the Lady of Maggots, the Dendra O’hur are a nomadic cult of cannibals and devourers of the flesh. They draw power from their victims, the strength of the fallen meat passing to their limbs and the command of the numenera to their minds. Recognizable from their tattered and moth-holed cloaks and their sharp-but-rotting teeth, the Dendra O’hur have no friends… but they command fear, and this is enough for them.

$3.25M Pat Rothfuss

We are excited to announce that at the $3.25M Stretch Goal, Pat Rothfuss will join our writing team! Most of my fantasy and science fiction reading took place in the ‘˜80s and ‘˜90s, and I’m a bit embarrassed to admit that until a couple months ago I was unfamiliar with Pat’s work. Colin is more literary than me and has been targeting Mr. Rothfuss since even before Torment emerged as a real possibility:

(If you haven’t heard of Pat Rothfuss or read his Kingkiller Chronicles (The Name of the Wind, The Wise Man’s Fear, and the upcoming third book), then what are you waiting for? Go on. Go read them and then come back and finish this Update. Granted, it might take a while, but you’ll be glad you did. Actually, it might be a better use of your time to trust me and read the books at your leisure.

I heard about Pat’s work years ago, but because the series wasn’t complete and I hate being caught between releases, I held off on reading it. Finally, to stop some friends nagging me (‘You’ll love it, Colin!’ ‘Colin, have you read it?’ ‘Colin, I know it’s 3:30 am but THIS IS A GREAT READ’), I read the first book and I was floored at the beauty, wit, skill, and sheer audacity of the narrative. I tore through the second book and then went back and re-read them both. So at GenCon in 2012, I heard Pat was there and went to introduce myself to him and thank him for writing such engrossing fiction. It was a tremendous surprise, then, to discover that he was a huge fan of PS:T, and it was a shock to have PAT F***ING ROTHFUSS praise my work instead.

With that in mind, once Torment started rolling I made it my mission to recruit him for T:ToN. Ladies and gentlemen, I am proud to say: Mission accomplished. From a purely selfish perspective, I’m annoyed with myself for tearing him away from finishing book 3. From a development perspective, I am hard-pressed to imagine a better addition to our writing and story development team, and I am truly excited about the possibilities that have just opened up. This is going to be so cool.)

(And you can read what Pat has to say about this possibility on the blog entry he wrote this morning. (And he was actually writing it this morning – he sent me an email about it a little after 3 AM as I was finalizing this Update.))

$3.5M Stretch Goal …

Oh wait, that’s for a bit later… =)