Joystiq

'Torment: Tides of Numenera' meets Kickstarter goal, raises over $900K

David Hinkle — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 15:02:00 EST

Well, that was fast. After its launch this morning, the Kickstarter campaign to finance Inxile's latest endeavor Torment: Tides of Numenera has reached its goal of $900,000. Funding will be open for potential backers until April 5, 2013.

Torment: Tides of Numenera is a sequel inspired by the classic game Planescape: Torment, a single-player RPG game set in the Numenera role-playing system created by Monte Cook. Inxile's first Kickstarter campaign was a success, and the studio is currently working to produce a sequel to another classic IP, Wasteland 2.

'Torment: Tides of Numenera' meets Kickstarter goal, raises over $900K originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 06 Mar 2013 15:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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'Torment: Tides of Numenera' is inXile's new Kickstarter

JC Fletcher — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 09:30:00 EST

Wasteland 2 is still early, but Brian Fargo's inXile Entertainment has just launched another Kickstarter, this time for Torment: Tides of Numenera, the Planescape: Torment-inspired role-playing game set in the world of the Kickstarted tabletop RPG Numenera.

Torment: Tides of Numenera is a single-player RPG in which you play a "single, specific character" joined by NPCs. As the "Last Castoff," the last incarnation of the Changing God, you find yourself hunted by the "Angel of Entropy" in a world full of mysterious, magical ruins. You can read much, much more about the storyline and setting on the Kickstarter page.

Torment is being developed in Unity for release on PC, Mac, and Linux. In its first morning, the drive has already exceeded $86,000 of its $900,000 goal, with the total rapidly growing. inXile has proven to be good at Kickstarter - or its fans just that ravenous for old-school RPGs - as it raised over $3 million for Wasteland 2.

'Torment: Tides of Numenera' is inXile's new Kickstarter originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 06 Mar 2013 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Spiritual successor to Planescape: Torment in 'very early' stages

David Hinkle — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 22:30:00 EST

While many have anxiously awaited a sequel to Planescape: Torment, it's not the pipe dream it once was. Brian Fargo - the InXile Entertainment founder who has the Torment rights and once ran the original game's developer, Interplay - has said a successor is in the works, though there are a few caveats fans should consider.

For one, the sequel will ditch the Planescape setting for the Numenera role-playing system, the Kickstarter-funded brainchild of Monte Cook blending together sci-fi and fantasy elements to emphasize "story and ideas over mechanics." Cook should be a memorable name to those who played the Planescape pen-and-paper campaign setting, having helped design and write that series and numerous other games for Wizards of the Coast back in the day. "The more we explored the Numenera setting, the clearer it became that it's a natural fit for a Torment game," Fargo told Rock Paper Shotgun.

And with the new setting, Fargo suggests that this sequel will be less so in the literal sense and more so in the ideas Planescape: Torment presented to players. "Rather than overt links, we are trying to recapture the feeling that players experienced through PST -both while playing it and after having completed a playthrough. We will remain true to the essence of PST, but we'll also be looking for ways to improve the areas in which PST could have been even better."

The new Torment game is still a ways off, "very early" in the pre-production phases, Fargo says. "We have a basic story outline, design sketches of the major characters, and thematic concepts defined," Fargo said, adding that with Wasteland 2 in full production, InXile can't focus too great of resources to working on this new Torment game.

However, with writers and concept artists finished their early stages work on Wasteland 2, they're freed up. "There will be some other surprise talent that I'll announce later on but I thought it important to stress the heritage of the great team we have." As for funding this sequel, Fargo is unsurprisingly considering Kickstarter.

Spiritual successor to Planescape: Torment in 'very early' stages originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 09 Jan 2013 22:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Planescape: Torment writer ponders sequel, Fargo owns Torment IP

Jessica Conditt — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 23:00:00 EST

Planescape: Torment designer and writer Colin McComb recently had his hands full with Wasteland 2, but now that his job there is done, he's looking to make a new game in the Torment vein.

McComb outlines his initial thoughts on creating a new Torment iteration in a lengthy blog post that poses the game's grand question, "What does one life matter? ...and does it matter at all?" This is a departure from Torment's question of "What can change the nature of a man?" (McComb has a degree in philosophy, if you were wondering.)

McComb's new game wouldn't necessarily reside in the Planescape universe, but he says he has an "in" with the Torment IP - which is owned by Brian Fargo, founder of Interplay, RPG Codex finds. Interplay published Planescape: Torment in 1999, from developer Black Isle Studios.

"I have a lot of ideas about what to put into a new Torment game, but my primary goal would be to help the player tell a story that was evocative of the original Torment without aping it," McComb writes. "To be faithful to the odyssey of the Nameless One, and to recognize that it has ended, and that stories of Torment are ongoing."

Planescape: Torment writer ponders sequel, Fargo owns Torment IP originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 04 Dec 2012 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original Fallout and Planescape: Torment dev Black Isle Studios re-opens [updated]

Ben Gilbert — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 11:50:00 EST

The studio that created classics like Fallout and Planescape: Torment may be rising from the ashes - at least in name. A website for Black Isle Studios popped up with the image you see above and a mailing list signup, as NeoGAF discovered. There's also a Twitter account and a Facebook page tied to the website, and if you sign up for the mailing list, Black Isle is said to be a "a division of Interplay."

InXile's Brian Fargo doesn't seem to be involved, as he tweeted, "I just read that Interplay is bringing back Black Isle. Hmmm... Not enough info for me to comment." We've already reached out to Obsidian - where many ex-Black Islers went when the studio shut down in 2003 - and have yet to hear back.

Update: Interplay CEO and entrepreneur Herve Caen is behind the resurrection of Black Isle, we're told. The studio's website is also registered to Interplay, per WHOIS search. It's unclear who - if anyone - from the original Black Isle staff is involved with the studio.

Update 2: Obsidian tells Joystiq that the new Black Isle, "Doesn't involve Obsidian at all." We've yet to hear back from Interplay or Herve Caen.

Update 3: Obsidian creative lead Chris Avellone says on Twitter, "I know nothing about the Black Isle Studio news announcement, doesn't involve me or Obsidian... or well, anyone that I know. ;)"

Original Fallout and Planescape: Torment dev Black Isle Studios re-opens [updated] originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 22 Aug 2012 11:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Obsidian will help with Wasteland 2 if Kickstarter reaches $2.1 million

Alexander Sliwinski — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 20:00:00 EST

Brian Fargo's Wasteland 2 Kickstarter, having already surpassed two funding goals, has laid out a third one that will ensnare Obsidian Chief Creative Officer Chris Avellone if passed. With 17 days of funding left to go and $1.7 million already pledged, Fargo's company inXile wants to hit $2.1 million on Kickstarter, after which Avellone will agree to work directly with the design team on the project.

Fargo and Avellone's relationship goes back to the better days of publisher Interplay, where the pair worked on titles like Fallout 1 and 2, and Planescape: Torment.

"Wasteland is one of my favorite RPGs of all time, and when Brian asked if I wanted to work on the sequel, I jumped at the chance," said Avellone. "While I've worked on Fallout 2 and Fallout: New Vegas, getting the chance to work on the spiritual predecessor to the Fallout franchise is a honor."

Developer Obsidian will also lend a hand in the game's creation, providing "experience they have in the development of RPG games and tools to inXile."

Fargo stated, "Obsidian has an incredible library of story, dialog and design tools that they have used to create hits like Neverwinter Nights 2, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II, and of course, Fallout: New Vegas. Regardless of the tech we use to develop the game, experience with these tools will help us efficiently design the game without wasting time and resources on the tools needed for development."

If you're looking to support the dream, you know where to go.

Continue reading Obsidian will help with Wasteland 2 if Kickstarter reaches $2.1 million

Obsidian will help with Wasteland 2 if Kickstarter reaches $2.1 million originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 30 Mar 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wasteland 2 Kickstarter exceeds goal (and is still going)

Ben Gilbert — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 10:40:00 EST

That Wasteland sequel you've been waiting for is about to go into production, as the game's Kickstarter crested its goal of $900K while we slept last night. The Kickstarter has started to pick up some momentum, it seems, as the total currently sits at just over $967K, with another 32 days to go.

As stated on the project's site, the goal is actually to raise $1 million, but inXile head Brian Fargo had agreed to put $100K of his own scratch on the line -- it's looking like that won't be necessary any more. Which isn't to say there aren't plans should the team raise even more money. If they reach $1.25 million, the extra dough will go to "making the world bigger, adding more maps, more divergent stories and even more music."

If the fundraiser reaches $1.5 million, that depth goes further, with, "more adventures to play, more challenges to deal with, and a greater level of complexity to the entire storyline. We'll add more environments, story elements, and characters to make the rich world come alive even more." Oh, also, it'll come to OS X. So, hey, how about we get things to $1.5 million so your buds at Joystiq can play the game on their writing machines? That'd be just capital.

Wasteland 2 Kickstarter exceeds goal (and is still going) originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 15 Mar 2012 10:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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inXile plans to launch Kickstarter drive for Wasteland reboot

David Hinkle — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 21:30:00 EST

Developers must have Kickstarter fever right now. After one of the most successful campaigns ever with Double Fine, inXile Entertainment has announced intentions to start its own Kickstarter fundraiser.

The Hunted: The Demon's Forge developer wants to use Kickstarter to fund a reboot of Wasteland, CEO Brian Fargo told IGN. Fargo, who recently acquired the rights to the classic PC RPG, is one of the creators -- apparently fans have been bugging him for a new game since they saw Double Fine achieve success. Soon after, Fargo was having meetings and mapping out a production schedule.

The idea is only 48 hours old at this point, but Fargo is on board. He likes the Kickstarter model since it would eradicate publisher influence on the project, but warns that a reboot would likely need a million dollars.

Fargo hopes to launch the Kickstarter campaign sometime next month.

inXile plans to launch Kickstarter drive for Wasteland reboot originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 16 Feb 2012 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Interview: Brian Fargo on Hunted: The Demon's Forge

Kevin Kelly — Mon, 10 May 2010 20:00:00 EST

Brian Fargo is no stranger to the world of video game development, having originally founded Interplay back in 1984. He's worked on titles like the original Bard's Tale and Wasteland, and Interplay developed everything from Battle Chess to Fallout to Baldur's Gate. When Interplay was acquired by Titus in 2002, Fargo left and founded InXile Entertainment, which later released an updated Bard's Tale for PS2, Xbox, and PC. Now both Fargo and InXile are moving onto next-generation consoles with the swords and scorcery co-op title Hunted: The Demon's Forge.

We recently spoke to Fargo about the game, which you can find just after the break. But be warned! Just prepare yourself for the sheer about of verbiage manages to foist upon us when we asked what the initial genesis for the game was. It's quite an answer! Read on to see what he has to say about the upcoming title, including why they limited to two characters, the depth of the puzzles in the game, and boob jiggle. Yes, boob jiggle.

Gallery: Hunted: The Demon's Forge (05/04/10)

Continue reading Interview: Brian Fargo on Hunted: The Demon's Forge

Interview: Brian Fargo on Hunted: The Demon's Forge originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 10 May 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Impressions: Hunted: The Demon's Forge

Kevin Kelly — Tue, 04 May 2010 18:30:00 EST

Clicked: The Full-sized Gallery

Bethesda's undoubtedly one of the best developers in the industry; however, as a publisher, it's had its fair share of ups and down. Last year's Wet and Rogue Warrior illustrate both extremes quite well. Earlier this year at GDC, when Bethesda unveiled the clumsily titled Hunted: The Demon's Forge - a new co-op dungeon crawler from inXile Entertainment, Interplay-cofounder Brian Fargo's new digs - we immediately wondered which side of that gulf it would live on. Would it be worthy of the Bethesda name on its packaging, alongside promising shooter Brink, surefire-hit Fallout: New Vegas, and id Software's Rage? Fargo certainly thinks so.

In fact, Fargo is so sure about his new game, that he wasn't afraid to recall the past glory of games like the original Bard's Tale and Wizardry at a recent Bethesda press event, and Fargo had previously introduced the concept, saying "What you're going to see here today is a reimagining of the dungeon crawler, the classic game that got me into this industry." He continued, "It was the Might & Magic series, it was the Ultima series, Dungeon Master from FTL was a bit of a breakthrough product ... that's very much the experience I grew up with." And as action games supplanted the dungeon crawlers, Fargo "felt like the core experience of that good ol' dungeon crawl, getting lost in the dungeon, had sort of fallen away. And it hadn't fallen away because the titles were doing bad. People forgot or something."

While we don't know if they forgot - Demon's Souls, Torchlight, and Diablo 3 say hi! - Fargo's "reimagining" certainly doesn't look like what you imagine when you think dungeon crawl. "The gamer today has a different metaphor for engrossing themselves, which is more the action, Gears of War-type thing," Fargo explains. "So what we need to do is take today's experience and mix those two together but ... we the take you someplace very different, and in the beginning we need to get your attention." Read to to find out where your attention will be going, and to find out if inXile has been successful in grabbing our attention.

Gallery: Hunted: The Demon's Forge (05/04/10)

Continue reading Impressions: Hunted: The Demon's Forge

Impressions: Hunted: The Demon's Forge originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 04 May 2010 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GDC09: Joystiq lunches with gaming luminaries

Joystiq Staff — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 20:54:00 EST

From L to R: Rob Pardo, Dave Perry, Neil Young, Gary Whitta, Brian Fargo, Will Wright, and Warren Spector

Story contributed by N. Evan Van Zelfden

Imagine sitting at lunch with Will Wright, Neil Young, and Warren Spector. They're each eating, laughing, and talking about game design with animation and enthusiasm. On the other side of the table are David Perry, Rob Pardo, and Brian Fargo.

Collectively, you have the founder of Interplay, Blizzard's top designer, the father of Earthworm Jim, the man credited with Deus Ex, an iPhone pioneer, and the mind behind Spore - guided in discussion by screenwriter and former game journalist Garry Whitta.

Also at the table, a dozen of the top game industry journalists sit quietly, taking notes and typing into small laptops. And excellent food is entirely secondary: it's the conversation that matters at this luncheon.

Continue reading GDC09: Joystiq lunches with gaming luminaries

GDC09: Joystiq lunches with gaming luminaries originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 25 Mar 2009 20:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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