What REALLY made Torment so great...

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I have to admit that out of all the games I have played in my lifetime (a lot btw), Torment is probably my favorite. When I think about the reasons why, one of the first things that come to my mind is storyline quality. But then I think of other games that had equally good plots. The gameplay and the engine are pretty good, and the graphics were at one time good as well, and even today they are still servicable. But other games have certainly met or even occasionally exceeded in these factors.

What I think really made the game so unique was the sheer philosophical richness of it. I always believed sci-fi and fantasy were an excellent medium for conceptualizing philosophy, because you can examine things in a different situation and a different light, and then compare them to real-life. And Torment seemed to have so many different occurences like that.

*Possible Spoiler*

I can think of dozens of examples, but I think the best one is perhaps one of the most important themes in the game. "What can change the nature of a man?" As in real life, there are many answers to this in the game. What I drew from the question is simple. We have this man that has done such terrible things that he knows he is going to the abyss. But the key is he not only doesn't remember those things, but he is essentially a completely different person. And yet he still has this past, this nature that is still attached to him. This obviously seems to paralell something in real life. If a person commits horrible enough atrocities can they ever truly repent. Even if that person is genuinely sorry and truly becomes a different person, can they still be forever damned by the stigma of their past, this nature of what they once were?

Something to think about, and I hope I might give a few people a new perspective on the game. Please post any comments you might have, as I would like to know if people agree or disagree with this.

I would also love to see other peoples interperatations of any events or characters in the game.

 

Well, I had a soul-devourer in the Annah-part of the game...

///MAJOR SPOILER\\\
Annah seems to have an impossible relation with you, she is so afraid of you yet she loves you, like so many else, but she knows what happens when someone loves you... they die, and are forgotten... She appears to be so brash and unfeminine and she comes out so fragile:

"I don't *want* ye to go"

That was a real beauty in the game. I also liked the atmosphere and feeling of the game. Curst, for example, is my favorite location simly because you ARE there, and the entire Trias-plot... that could have been a plot for an entire game! The Ravel and Sensory Stone dialogs are touching, and the end is perfect... I just love PT... more then BG, in some kind of funny way I was just more attached to the characters in PT. Not like: "darn, she's dead again" -> wand of resurrection reflex. Really a feeling, an emotion. It awakened my heart.

 

The single fact that the story is left open for interperatation...

 

This may sound stupid - But I think it was well... a sort of 'beautiful' game, it had everything and you felt involved. It was everything a game should be. Nothing could ever be like it again. Even if it was tried.

 

I would welcome someone taking you up on that offer, anyone?

I can summarize the whole thing in one word, plot. The plot was awesome and may it's like grace us again.

 

What really made the game great in my opinion is the storyline and plot. I mean everything's a mystery. Right from the beginning. It gives me this desire to find out who or what I really am.

Plus in Torment talking is just as important as your skills in combat. You can simply talk yourself out of anything. You can even avoid combat with The Transcendant One and win the game just by talking!

Okay, maybe I'm just lazy.

 

Torment was awesome because of all the dialogue.

There were character interactions. Some of them nearly turned into beatings. And there were a lot of them that were downright hilarious. Plus, the level of character development was intense. You found out about the background of everyone, direct or indirect. There just hasn't been another *book*, quite as intense as PsT.

Also, the people they chose for voice actors were just incredible. The Scottish chick really was a Scottish chick. And the English/Puritan chick really was a WASP (White Anglo-Saxon Protestant).

It was just top notch, all the way around.

 

The game developers have put their heart and soul in this game! In my book, this is the best adventure game with some RPG elements. It's just so.. complete but still it opens for tons of questions. The characters are greatly implanted with voiceacting and a good personality.

The 'feel' you get when you get a new vision makes one shed a tear and I nearly cried the first time Fall-from-grace died. This game is just superb.

 

It blurs the line between game and literature. Effectively a interactive game with the depth and complexity of a well writtin novel replete with philosophical controversy, mythological reference, and thoughts into the human condition. Furthermore Torment left a lasting impression. People still discuss facets of the game, taking it above and beyond the original intent of the creators who made it. Thats art for you.

 

This game for me is still the best RPG I have ever played...the plot, the characters, the heart and soul that went into it.

The best part IMO was the end when you had to choose who to bring back. It was a difficult decision! Who would I bring back? In the end I choose not the person who would be the most help, but who I cared about most...who I felt deserved to be brought back after all they had done for me. So I choose Morte...only he wasn't dead...

Almost made me want to cry...then I realised I was too manly for that and how sad it was...but still.

 

The NPCs so made this game. It was so funny, and also fun at the same time!

 

Story (complexivity), PC (NNPC) with a "soul" and some story behind them (their past) and best use of Infinity engine for its time!

For all previous and future questions: It is worth getting (anyway possible)!
Of course for all people that like infinity games...

 

The sheer amount of ethical questions you face is what makes this game great (and, IMHO, also the reason why it didn't sell so well ). Though in the beginning they seem relatively trivial (the how-to-solve-the-quest kind), as the game progresses and the Nameless One finds out more about himself, the questions become so deep that they force you to consider them personally (at least it happened to me). One of the very few games that moved me...

 

The ending saddened me. Dakkon died a true warriors death and it was definitely very dramatic as the Shadows closed around him. I actually chose to resurrect all my characters and it was great as they all chose to fight by my side 'til the end. I wonder if I have friends who would die for me? The scale of the game was so incrediable though. To take it in all at once would be impossible. And Deionara, can you imagine a love as great as that to be false? It would kill me. I had said that I had grown to love her. How could you not return love like that? As for what can change the nature of a man? It seemed anything could. But maybe nothing as my character's fate had not changed. I couldn't tell if he embraced his fate like a Norman warrior, or with dread as he was truly the Restless One. I could barely sleep the night I played the game. So many thoughts went through my mind that it took hours.I wanted to cry though, I couldn't tell if a burden had been lifted or placed on me after finally beating the game. It felt different.Truly art that I hope should be remembered and studied one day. Not sure if games will ever be embraced like that.

[ July 11, 2003, 03:35: Message edited by: BrianIntrepid ]

 

The one thing that stands out for me in this game is probably the question "Who is the nameless one?". This question was the very reason for playing the game, it's the driving force. Finishing the game, you learned so many things, and felt somewhat accomplished. Then you realized that your question remains unanswered... and it actually made you feel good about it.

 

What can change the nature of a man? Add playing thru PS:T to the list. This game lingers in the mind in a way profound, as our beliefs actually do shape the reality in which we live.

Endgame, I felt like Brandon De Wilde at the end of the movie SHANE, "DON'T GO!"

 

Has the game been created over a book?

Because I am definately going to read it, if there is a book with the whole story

 

This game has definently waked up most emotions in me. The only game I can compare this one with is Gabriel Knight 3 where I felt a strange fear and discomfort at many occations. But torment is a bit different.

MAJOR SPOILER WARNING!!!!!!

I felt sad when I met the blind archer and ended his misery, I felt sad when I saw Deionaras fate in the sensory stones, I felt happiness when Dakkon came to understand the circle, I felt happiness when I freed Crust from Carceri, I felt happiness when Annah gave away her true feelings, I felt surprised when Trias turned to be the traitor, I felt despair when I came to the fortress of regrets, I felt greatness when I defeated my incarnations, I felt relief when I found out my name, I felt a mixup of anger and sadness when Trancented One slaughtered all my companions.

In short the game comes up with so many kinds of emotions that I can just wonder how this game didn't sell any more than it did. BG,BG2 I can complete with an evil character, same with fallouts. But in this one I just can't bear to be evil. I actually noticed a tear or two fall on some occations (yes I'm very emotional and proud of it). The game is a masterpiece a true masterpiece and one of the best games and stories ever. Speaking of which... I really should complete this game for the sixth time...

*installs Planescape: Torment*

 

Well if its just half as good as the Torment game is, then it will surely be worth it