planescape
Latest
Six Bioware classics are coming to consoles this fall
A collection of classic BioWare roleplaying games will be arriving on consoles later this year. Physical and digital copies of Baldur's Gate, Baldur's Gate ll and Baldur's Gate: Siege of Dragonspear, Icewind Dale and Planescape: Torment will all arrive in stores on September 24th in North America. Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition will be available on December 3rd. All of the titles will be available for PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch.
Planescape: Torment writer ponders sequel, Fargo owns Torment IP
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."
Exploring Eberron: Neverwinter nightcaps
Depending on how much stock you put in the rumors or in Cryptic in general, this past week's announcement of a second Dungeons & Dragons MMO -- pardon me, an "OMG" -- either rocked you back on your heels or cooled off your heels. Something to do with heels, at any rate. In a Daily Grind this past May, I asked readers how they would make another D&D MMO. There were a lot of thoughtful responses, a few instances of keyboard gibberish, and a contingent adamant that the D&D license was locked up in DDO and couldn't be handed out elsewhere. I guess the latter argument is a moot point right now -- obviously, Turbine doesn't have a monopoly on an online D&D -- although its existence brings to mind not just a few questions. Is the world big enough for two online D&D titles? What does this announcement mean for our beloved DDO? Is Neverwinter positioning itself to be direct competition, or a different entity altogether? Has the Cryptic crew learned its lessons? In my final Exploring Eberron (Rubi returns next week, so you may start doing your happy dance... now), I'm going to answer all of these queries in such a way that your world will forever be rocked. On its heels.
GDC08: The eight best stories in gaming
Tuesday afternoon four well-known games industry writers and designers got together to discuss the best storytelling gaming has to offer in a panel entitled "Stories Best Played: Deconstructing the Best Interactive Storytelling." Each of the authors brought a pair of games that they viewed as some of the narratively strongest yet made. Prior to the panel all four men played the ten titles, and came prepared to talk about the strengths and merits of each. Panelists Richard Rouse (Paranoid Productions), Steve Meretzky (Blue Fang), Marc Laidlaw (Valve Software), and Ken Rolston (Big Huge Games) offered up, in essence, a 'top eight' list for gamers looking to get more from exposition than explosions. Read on for views from a panel of expert opinions on the likes of Loom, BioShock, Phoenix Wright and the legendary Planescape: Torment.
