Games

InXile Entertainment have launched their Kickstarter campaign for their roleplaying game, Torment: Tides of Numenera . This game is a spiritual successor to Planescape: Torment , the 1999 PC game which is widely regarded as the best (and certainly the best-written) computer RPG ever made. Eschewing traditional fantasy conventions (no elves, no dwarves, precious few action sequences), the game delved deeply into themes of identity, responsibility, consequence and if people can every truly change themselves. It sold modestly but has attracted critical acclaim like no other RPG in history. Since inXile do not have the rights to the Planescape setting, they are instead setting this game in a different universe altogether. The setting is Numenera, a pen-and-paper setting conceived by Monte Cook, one of the chief designers on the 3rd Edition of the Dungeons and Dragons game. The setting is Earth, approximately one billion years in the future. Our world has been rendered almost unrecognisa...

inXile have released the first gameplay video for their upcoming, Kickstarter-funded, retro-RPG, Wasteland 2 . Wasteland 2 is a stand-alone sequel to the original, released, way back in 1988. The new game features similar turn-based combat and text-based descriptions of events, but also a vastly more advanced graphics engine based on 3D models. It'll be interesting to see how this old-school style of gaming resonates with modern audiences, but there's a lot here that looks promising (particularly the fully-customisable UI). The game is due for release at the end of the year.

InXile Studios may be hard at work on Wasteland 2 , the crowd-funded sequel to the seminal 1988 computer RPG Wasteland , but they have already announced their next project . With most of the writing and concept art completed for Wasteland 2 , those teams have started work on a game that may be called Numenera: Torment . This game will be a spiritual sequel to the classic 1999 RPG Planescape: Torment , widely-regarded as the finest (and most literate) computer roleplaying game ever made. The new game will not involve any of the characters or situations from Planescape: Torment (which is copyrighted by Atari and Wizards of the Coast), but will share a similar focus on characterisation and philosophical matters, such as the nature of life, death and consciousness. The setting will be Numenera , a new roleplaying setting created by Monte Cook. Cook is a highly respected RPG game designer and worked extensively on the original Planescape setting for the Dungeons and Dragons game in the 1...