This may well be one of the worst-kept RPG secrets of recent times, but it is now officially confirmed that Brian Fargo and inXile are in pre-production of a successor to the acclaimed Planescape: Torment and will be attempting to Kickstart the title at a yet-to-be-defined date. In an interview over at RockPaperShotgun, Fargo details the process of moving Torment to a new world and confirms that several key people from the original title will be working on this thematic follow-up.
Why no ‘Planescape’? Because inXile asked license-holders Wizards of the Coast for permission, and were “rebuffed.”
Instead, the new Torment will carry the thematic spirit of the first game into a new world and setting called Numenera (pictured), designed by Monte Cook. Cook previously worked as a writer and designer on expansions for the pen and paper RPG version of Planescape.
Fargo summarises the big ideas of Torment as “… overturning RPG tropes; a fantastic, unconventional setting; memorable companions; deep thematic exploration of the human condition; heavy reactivity (i.e., choice and consequences); an intensely personal (rather than epic) story.” He also confirms that the inXile team working on this follow-up includes Colin McComb (a main designer on the original), Kevin Saunders (a former Obsidian employee and Mask of the Betrayer lead) and Adam Heine (scripter on the original game.)
Chris Avellone, a key writer of the original Planescape: Torment, is currently doing work on Wasteland 2 and has given his blessing for Fargo and company to continue the Torment saga. At present it doesn’t seem as if Avellone will be directly working on the follow-up, most likely because Obsidian has their own exciting RPG (Project Eternity) to be getting on with.
