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Torn would've been a traditional fantasy game. |
What sort of game was Black Isle Studios: Torn intended to be? It would have been a traditional, medieval fantasy role-playing game that used the detailed character development system that Black Isle previously devised for the Fallout games. Most of the development team had just finished Planescape: Torment, and Torn would have featured a similarly story-driven experience, although it would have unfolded in a more linear manner and been more action-oriented. Battles in the game would have been frequent, and combat would have occurred in real time and been resolved relatively quickly. Players would have been able to create a primary character that would meet, and be joined by, a number of computer-controlled companions. The companions would have had strong personalities and been driven to accomplish their own objectives. A cooperative multiplayer mode was a key aspect of the game, and it was designed to significantly improve upon the multiplayer gameplay offered by Icewind Dale and the Baldur's Gate games.
Although it was to be the first 3D game produced by Black Isle Studios, Torn would have maintained an isometric perspective that was consistent in style to the viewpoints offered in all of the division's previous RPGs. The licensed LithTech engine promised to deliver some impressive character graphics and spell effects, but the development team ultimately found the difficulties inherent in creating a detailed 3D environment more formidable than they initially expected. The interface and character development systems were streamlined to be intuitive even to gamers new to the RPG genre. Torn was intended to be a RPG that both satisfied traditional fans of the genre and also appealed to a broader range of gamers by featuring better graphics and more accessible gameplay than typical RPGs.
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Dwarves would have been short, greedy blacksmiths. |
While Torn would have featured a completely original setting, its developers also wanted to ensure that the game included many familiar elements expected by fans of fantasy RPGs. After all, fans of the genre expect elves to be dexterous archers and dwarves to be ornery miners and tough fighters. Those familiar elements are a key aspect of the appeal of swords-and-sorcery games. Relying on fantasy archetypes also allowed the developers to immediately inject recognizable personalities into the game's characters. Instead of having to spend a great deal of effort establishing that a particular town's blacksmith was a greedy, grumpy character who hated magic, all the developers had to do was make him a dwarf, and players would more intuitively attribute those traits to the character. Since the developers could reasonably assume that players would have some background knowledge about fantasy characters, they could focus on making dialogue and other character interactions immediately more interesting, rather than mundane and solely for the purpose of establishing personalities.
While many of Torn's character and monster types were deliberately familiar, the developers intended to distinguish the game from other fantasy games by giving Torn's setting an elaborate, original background history. The developers devised intricate explanations for how the races originated, why magic existed, and even why gold was particularly valuable. Instead of fleshing out only those aspects of the gaming world necessary to convey the game's basic plot, the developers strived to create a more involving gaming world replete with details that were ancillary to the main storyline. In fact, an entire creationist theory was devised, simply to rationalize the existence of the gaming world and explain the origins of various forces in the world.
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