Planescape: Torment Interview, Part Two
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Q: Do you feel it would be a good idea to make a sequel to PS:T? If so, how do you envision it? If not, how about another game in the Planescape setting?
Chris Avellone: A long time ago, I did kick around the idea of two sequels. One was "Lost Souls," an adventure that allowed the player to experience the events surrounding Torment (both past and future) but the Nameless One wouldn't be in it - it would, however, feature Deionarra, some of the members of the player's first party (Xachariah), Fall-From-Grace, Ravel, Trias, and other major characters and see the Planescape universe from a different perspective. This didn't go much beyond a one-page vision statement, though, and I never submitted it for serious consideration.
One I felt less strongly about (but still liked) was "Planescape: Pariah", which allowed the player to take on the role of Dak'kon and try to unify the githzerai and githyanki, but again, that never went past the vision doc stage.
The reason I never submitted either one was because a direct sequel somehow feels wrong (I feel the game stands on its own, and I don't want to drag a rake through the first game).
I'd be up for another game in the Planescape setting, though. Some of the Planescape mods I've seen for Neverwinter Nights 2 would probably put any ideas I had to shame, though - they're pretty amazing. I know there's a few guys at work who would also like to do a Planescape game.
Colin McComb: I have mixed feelings about it. I thought Chris did an excellent job in ensuring the loose ends were tied off neatly, but at the same time, he didn't kill off all the NPCs. They were so richly imagined and so involved in great events that it's hard to imagine them just saying, "Well, that's enough excitement for THIS life," and then going and settling down by a nice little fire made up of the souls of damned petitioners. I would especially like to see more done with Dak'kon, and I'd like to see more of Morte, and I'd like to see more of Annah, if only so I could go to the recording studio when Sheena Easton came in again, because she was hilarious.
So a direct sequel? Not so much. Another game in the Planescape setting, one that references Torment and ties a few characters in without making them the centerpieces of the game, absolutely.
Embedded in the interview is "an extracted sample of the dialogue evolution" and Avellone's original Torment PDF pitch, so be sure to check those out as well.