Editing Planescape: Torment (section)

==Development==
In 1997, the game's designers produced a 47-page document that outlined the game's premise and [[vision statement]], and was used to pitch the idea to management at [[Interplay Entertainment|Interplay]].<ref name="last rites">{{cite web|url=http://www.rpgwatch.com/files/Files/00-0208/Torment_Vision_Statement_1997.pdf |title=Planescape CRPG: ''Last Rites'' Product Review Packet |date=July 12, 2007 |publisher=RPGWatch |last=Last Rites team |access-date=March 6, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090319190803/http://www.rpgwatch.com/files/Files/00-0208/Torment_Vision_Statement_1997.pdf |archive-date=March 19, 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Initially, the game was to be called ''Last Rites'',<ref name="RPGWatch1">{{cite web|url=http://www.rpgwatch.com/show/article?articleid=55 |title=Tales of Torment, Part 1 |last=Beekers |first=Thomas "Brother None" |date=July 30, 2007 |publisher=RPGWatch |access-date=March 6, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090713222318/http://www.rpgwatch.com/show/article?articleid=55 |archive-date=July 13, 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and they described the game as "avant-garde" fantasy to distinguish it from [[high fantasy]]. The document also contained concept artwork for characters and areas of the game.<ref name="last rites" /> It was released for [[Windows]] on December 10, 1999, in the United States and on January 7, 2000 in the United Kingdom, as one of three ''Planescape'' games being developed by Black Isle at the time, along with a [[PlayStation (console)|PlayStation]] game by [[Colin McComb]] based on [[FromSoftware]]'s ''[[King's Field (series)|King's Field]]'', and a [[PC game]] by [[Zeb Cook]]; the other two were canceled, and only ''Last Rites'' was released as ''Torment''.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2000-12-09 |title=Interplay - News |url=http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/micro_stories.pl?ACCT=000952&TICK=IPLY&STORY=/www/story/12-10-1999/0001093898&EDATE=Dec+10,+1999 |access-date=2023-10-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001209094600/http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/micro_stories.pl?ACCT=000952&TICK=IPLY&STORY=/www/story/12-10-1999/0001093898&EDATE=Dec+10,+1999 |archive-date=December 9, 2000 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=1999-12-21 |title=Planescape Torment in the UK? |language=en |work=Eurogamer.net |url=https://www.eurogamer.net/article-25470 |access-date=2023-11-27}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-03-25-planescape-playstation-black-isle-kings-field-from-software|title=The story behind Black Isle's cancelled PlayStation Planescape game|website=[[Eurogamer]]|date=March 27, 2015|access-date=February 12, 2017|archive-date=November 6, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161106214619/http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-03-25-planescape-playstation-black-isle-kings-field-from-software|url-status=live}}</ref> McComb, one of the designers of the overall ''Planescape'' setting, joined the ''Torment'' project after his game fell through.<ref name="McComb">{{cite web |last1=Purchese |first1=Robert |title=Planescape: Torment: a podcast post-mortem with the game's makers |url=https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-08-22-planescape-torment-a-podcast-post-mortem-with-the-games-makers |website=Eurogamer |date=August 24, 2012 |access-date=June 30, 2018 |archive-date=January 31, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180131085628/http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-08-22-planescape-torment-a-podcast-post-mortem-with-the-games-makers |url-status=live }}</ref>

{{quote box|align=right|width=30em|quote=''Planescape Torment'' aims to provide its players with a sense that they are excavating a history (the avatar's forgotten past) while exploring, more or less at will, a vast and bizarre invention. |author=Diane Carr |source=''Game Studies''<ref name="gamestudies" />}}
From the outset, ''Planescape: Torment''{{'s}} designers intended to challenge traditional role-playing game conventions: the game features no [[Dragon (Dungeons & Dragons)|dragons]], [[Elf (Dungeons & Dragons)|elves]], [[Goblin (Dungeons & Dragons)|goblins]], or other common fantasy races; there are only three swords; the rats faced in the game can be quite challenging to defeat; and the undead sometimes prove more sympathetic than humans.<ref name="IGN interview1" /><ref name="RPGWatch2" /> The designers explained that most RPGs tend to have a "correct" approach to solving problems, which is almost always the morally good approach.<ref name="last rites" /> They called this "predictable and stupid" and wished to make a game with greater moral flexibility, where a particular problem might have "two wrongs or two rights".<ref name="last rites" /> The main quest is not about saving the world, but about understanding The Nameless One and his immortality.<ref name="last rites" /> Death (of the protagonist or his companions) is often just a minor hindrance, and even necessary at times.<ref name="allgame overview" /><ref name="spyreview">{{cite web|url=http://archive.gamespy.com/legacy/reviews/torment_a.shtm |title=''Planescape: Torment'' Review |first=Joost |last=Loijens |date=January 22, 2000 |publisher=[[GameSpy]] |access-date=February 27, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081023180024/http://archive.gamespy.com/legacy/reviews/torment_a.shtm |archive-date=October 23, 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="last rites" /><ref name="AV">{{cite web |first=Chris |last=Dahlen |title=Inventory: 11 of Video Gaming's Strangest Moments |url=https://www.avclub.com/inventory-11-of-video-gamings-strangest-moments-1798209461 |work=[[The A.V. Club]] |publisher=[[The Onion]] |date=May 24, 2006 |quote=And in the best moment, flagrantly defying the laws of gaming, you actually have to kill yourself to trick someone into sneaking you into a morgue. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090508052154/http://www.avclub.com/articles/inventory-11-of-video-gamings-strangest-moments%2C1552/ |archive-date=May 8, 2009 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Chris Avellone.jpg|thumb|left|Lead designer and writer Chris Avellone in 2009|alt=A Caucasian male sitting in front of a laptop. He has brown hair, a black shirt, and a red lanyard.]]

According to lead designer and writer [[Chris Avellone]], ''Planescape: Torment'' was inspired by books, comics, and games, including ''[[Archie Comics]]'', ''[[The Chronicles of Amber]]'', ''[[Elementals (Comico Comics)|The Elementals]],'' and ''[[Shadowrun]]''.<ref name="gsaward" /> The game's 1997 outline also makes references to ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' to describe some characters.<ref name="last rites" /> While working on ''Planescape: Torment'', Avellone was simultaneously working on ''[[Fallout 2]]''.<ref name="RPGWatch1" /> In an interview from 2007, he says that ''Fallout 2'' helped him rethink the possibilities of dialogue in ''Planescape: Torment'' (and in later games he was involved with, including ''[[Neverwinter Nights 2]]'').<ref name="RPGWatch2" /> Producer [[Guido Henkel]] commented on simplifying the ''AD&D'' rules: "I think we still take the ''AD&D'' rules very seriously and we follow those rules. We just take the liberty of removing some of the 'overhead'."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://desslock.gamespot.com/features/planescape/interview.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010526134552/http://desslock.gamespot.com/features/planescape/interview.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 26, 2001|title=Planescape: Torment Interview -- page 1 of 5 -- Desslock's RPG News|date=May 26, 2001}}</ref> The game's credits also cite ''[[Final Fantasy VII]]'' as an inspiration.<ref name="Hardcore101"/>

On developing the character of Ravel Puzzlewell, Avellone thought a cryptic puzzle maker who was in love with the player character and who genuinely tried to help people only to have it backfire on her would make an interesting antagonist.<ref name="Ravel"/> Avellone likened Ravel's life to a branching bramble "stretching across the planes" and alluded to other incarnations of her that exist as characters in Avellone's other video game works; in a 2007 blog post, he considered his work on Ravel to be one of the experiences he is most proud of in his career, and that it informed his writing for the ''[[Knights of the Old Republic II]]'' character [[Kreia]].<ref name="Ravel">{{cite web |url=http://forums.obsidian.net/index.php?automodule=blog&blogid=1&showentry=91 |title=Un-Ravel-ling Torment. |author=Chris Avellone |date=September 21, 2007 |publisher=Obsidian Forum Community |access-date=June 10, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151103140727/http://forums.obsidian.net/index.php?automodule=blog&blogid=1&showentry=91 |archive-date=November 3, 2015 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

Avellone remarked that many of the ideas in the game "could only have been communicated through text, simply because no one would have the budget or resources to fully realise many of these fantasy works through TV or movies".<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.next-gen.biz/features/games-due-lit-course |title=Games Due for a Lit Course |date=May 21, 2007 |magazine=[[Edge (magazine)|Edge Online]] |access-date=August 9, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100113184932/http://edge-online.com/magazine/games-due-a-lit-course |archive-date=January 13, 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Ultimately, Avellone has expressed some regret about the game's heavy focus on dialogue, as he feels this interfered with the overall [[game mechanic]]s, particularly the combat system.<ref name="RPGWatch2" /><ref name="escapist2">{{cite web|url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/85666-Chris-Avellone-Talks-Planescape-Torment |title=Chris Avellone Talks ''Planescape: Torment'' |first=Andy |last=Chalk |date=August 14, 2008 |publisher=[[The Escapist (magazine)|The Escapist]] |access-date=May 13, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081205053256/http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/85666-Chris-Avellone-Talks-Planescape-Torment |archive-date=December 5, 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The game's script contains around 800,000 words,<ref>{{cite journal |journal=[[PC Gamer|PC Gamer UK]] |volume=137 |date=July 2004 |pages=104–105 |title= Planescape: Torment}}</ref> after early previews had indicated that the game would be only about 20 hours long.<ref name="nextgen" />

In several interviews, producer Guido Henkel stated that he was increasingly frustrated by the pressure the management of Interplay put on the development team after Interplay's [[initial public offering]].<ref name="pcgames">{{cite web |first=Daniel |last=Kreiss |title=Nase voll |url=http://www.pcgames.de/Guido-Henkel-Person-18330/Specials/Nase-voll-32590/ |work=PC Games Online |publisher=Computec Media AG |page=5 |language=de |trans-title=Fed up |date=February 27, 2002 |access-date=September 1, 2009 |archive-date=September 8, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100908081804/http://www.pcgames.de/Guido-Henkel-Person-18330/Specials/Nase-voll-32590/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="dsa">{{cite web |last=Luley |first=Armin "Avantenor" |title=Interview mit Guido Henkel |url=http://www.dsa-game.de/content/view/218 |work=DSA – Drakensang |page=4 |language=de |trans-title=Interview with Guido Henkel |date=September 23, 2007 |access-date=September 1, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121115105205/http://www.dsa-game.de/content/view/218 |archive-date=November 15, 2012 }}</ref> Although only a few additional subplots and characters had to be discarded to meet the planned release date, he accused the Interplay management of disregarding the development team regarding things like [[package design]] and [[marketing]].<ref name="pcgames" /> Henkel said that it was his main goal to prevent the game from being "crippled" before leaving Interplay when the game reached beta status.<ref name="dsa" /> He also claimed that his overall influence on the game was greater than that of Avellone, Eric Campanella, or Dave Maldonaldo, but since a producer often has to make unpopular decisions, his role was later downplayed.<ref name="dsa" /> In 2011, Henkel also revealed that The Nameless One's face on the game box art is based on his real face, because the day before the cover photo shoot was scheduled to take place, the model contracted to appear on the box backed out over a scheduling conflict, so Guido Henkel was proposed to use his face.<ref name="tnoface">{{cite web|url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/113839-Meet-the-Real-Face-Behind-The-Nameless-One|title=Meet the Real Face Behind The Nameless One|date=October 26, 2011|access-date=April 19, 2017|website=escapistmagazine.com|archive-date=May 10, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180510082004/http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/113839-Meet-the-Real-Face-Behind-The-Nameless-One|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Cosmetics|Make up]] lasted for about two hours, and photography took 45 minutes, Henkel said: "My face was red as a beet and burned for the rest of the day, because of the solvent that was used to remove the appliances. Nonetheless, it was all well worth it".<ref name=tnoface/>

The game used the [[Infinity Engine]], a [[game engine]] initially developed by [[BioWare]] for ''[[Baldur's Gate (video game)|Baldur's Gate]]''.<ref name="allgame overview" /><ref name="ign" /> However, ''Planescape: Torment'' was being developed using the Infinity Engine before ''Baldur's Gate'' had been released, leaving the engine's acceptance in the market still unknown.<ref name="pcg scoop" /> Black Isle made modifications to the engine to suit the game. For example, playable characters were able to run, and both the character [[sprite (computer graphics)|sprites]] and backgrounds were larger and more detailed.<ref name="pcg scoop" /> The greater size and detail was achieved by bringing the perspective closer to the ground.<ref name="gsreview" /> Magic was also an important part of the game's design, and a team of four designers worked solely on the visuals and mechanics of spells.<ref name="IGN vault">{{cite web|url=http://rpgvaultarchive.ign.com/features/previews/pstorment-3.shtml |title=''Planescape: Torment'' Preview |access-date=December 8, 2008 |date=July 13, 1999 |work=[[Vault Network|RPG Vault]] |publisher=IGN |page=3 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081229071244/http://rpgvaultarchive.ign.com/features/previews/pstorment-3.shtml |archive-date=December 29, 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In addition to official [[Internationalization and localization|localizations]], for example the one by [[CDP.pl|CD Projekt]] for the Polish market,<ref>{{cite web|first=Will |last=Porter |title=PC Interview: Looking Back ... The Witcher |url=http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=185601 |work=[[PC Zone]] |date=March 28, 2008 |access-date=June 1, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081206191735/http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=185601 |archive-date=December 6, 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Metropolis Joins CD Projekt Group |url=http://pc.ign.com/articles/852/852937p1.html |website=IGN |date=February 18, 2008 |access-date=June 1, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110613184916/http://pc.ign.com/articles/852/852937p1.html |archive-date=June 13, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> fan communities developed Spanish, Hungarian, and Italian [[fan translation]]s of the game.<ref>{{cite news|first=Ciro |last=Galante |title=Planescape: Torment |url=http://www.elcorreodigital.com/vizcaya/prensa/20070610/sociedad/planescape-torment_20070610.html |work=[[El Correo]] |publisher=[[Grupo Vocento]] |date=June 10, 2007 |access-date=June 1, 2009 |language=es |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130110192305/http://www.elcorreodigital.com/vizcaya/prensa/20070610/sociedad/planescape-torment_20070610.html |archive-date=January 10, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Torment fordítás projekt |url=http://member.rpg.hu/peterpg/index.php?doc=rpg:adnd:torhu |work=PeteRPG |date=October 10, 2007 |access-date=August 31, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120227030318/http://member.rpg.hu/peterpg/index.php?doc=rpg:adnd:torhu |archive-date=February 27, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Planescape Torment |url= http://www.itpteam.org/traduzione.aspx?tradu=1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080430032030/http://www.itpteam.org/traduzione.aspx?tradu=1 |archive-date=April 30, 2008 |work=ITP Team.org |access-date=August 31, 2009 }}</ref> When Interplay dropped support for ''Planescape: Torment'' after the official 1.1 [[patch (computing)|patch]], several not yet fixed [[Software bug|bugs]] were corrected by fan-created [[unofficial patch]]es.<ref name="weidufixpack">{{cite web |first=Paul "Qwinn" |last=Escalona |title=Planescape: Torment Ultimate WeiDU Fixpack |quote=''Fixing literally hundreds of bugs and thousands of typos, thereby restoring a lot of lost and inactive content'' |publisher=Spellhold Studios |url=http://www.spellholdstudios.net/ie/pst-fixpack |access-date=February 16, 2011 |archive-date=January 16, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116145839/http://spellholdstudios.net/ie/pst-fixpack |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Platter |title=Platter's ''Planescape: Torment'' Fix Pack v1.37 |url=http://planescape.outshine.com/ |work=Planescape: Torment Fix Pack |date=August 23, 2004 |access-date=August 31, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121227081223/http://planescape.outshine.com/ |archive-date=December 27, 2012 }}</ref> Other [[mod (computer gaming)|mods]] add back items and quests omitted from the final version of the game or new features such as [[widescreen]] support.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mod and fixes for ''Planescape: Torment'' |url=http://www.sorcerers.net/Games/Torment/index_mods.php |work=Sorcerer's Place |access-date=August 31, 2009 |archive-date=February 13, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130213001548/http://www.sorcerers.net/Games/Torment/index_mods.php |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=G3: Widescreen Mod |url=http://www.gibberlings3.net/widescreen/ |work=The Gibberlings Three |access-date=August 31, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130207101320/http://www.gibberlings3.net/widescreen/ |archive-date=February 7, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Useful Files & MODs for Planescape: Torment |url=http://www.bootstrike.com/Torment/files.html |publisher=Bootstrike.com |access-date=February 23, 2010 |archive-date=March 5, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130305173448/http://bootstrike.com/Torment/files.php |url-status=live }}</ref>

Initially, Interplay hired [[dark ambient]] musician [[Lustmord]] to create the musical score for the game. He worked on the project for four months, writing over 40 original pieces. However, just six weeks before the game released, one of the producers had a change of heart on the game's musical direction, who wanted it to sound less ambient and "more along the lines of [[John Williams]]". His first time working on a video game project, Lustmord considered the experience "terrible", eventually reusing some of the elements from the score in his 2001 album, ''Metavoid''.<ref name="lustmord">{{cite web|url=http://www.lustmord.com/interview_seven.html |title=Lustmord interview |first=Nicolas |last=Chevreux |date=July 31, 2001 |work=Recycle Your Ears |access-date=February 27, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090504010117/http://www.lustmord.com/interview_seven.html |archive-date=May 4, 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Needing a replacement soundtrack done quickly, Interplay then reached out and asked [[Mark Morgan (composer)|Mark Morgan]], who had worked on other Black Isle Studios games, to do it. Two additional themes were penned by [[Richard Band]].<ref>{{Cite AV media notes |title=Planescape: Torment The Soundtrack |year=1999 |url=https://vgmdb.net/album/2244 |type=Liner notes |publisher=[[CDP.pl|CD Projekt]] |access-date=June 29, 2018 |archive-date=December 30, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171230203204/http://vgmdb.net/album/2244 |url-status=live }}</ref> The game's cast of [[voice acting|voice actors]] included [[Michael T. Weiss]], [[Sheena Easton]], [[Rob Paulsen]], [[Mitch Pileggi]], [[Dan Castellaneta]], [[Keith David]], [[Jennifer Hale]], [[John de Lancie]], and [[Tony Jay]].<ref name="credits">{{cite web |url=http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=19285&tab=credits |title=''Planescape: Torment''&nbsp;– Credits |publisher=[[Allgame]] |access-date=March 19, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110531070320/http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=19285&tab=credits |archive-date=May 31, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

After the game's release, a reviewer for [[Game Revolution]] praised its sound, saying that "When you're in a crowded city, it ''sounds'' like a crowded city. Walk past a bar, and you'll hear the noise of the drunken patrons inside. Wander near a slave auction, and you'll hear the auctioneer calling. Go to a party in the festival hall, and it sounds just like a party". The same reviewer also stated "''Planescape''<!--NOTE: Bold text, not italics, is used in the reference text--> has just about the best sound I've ever heard in a game."<ref name="grevolution" /> IGN gave the sound 8.5 out of 10<ref name="ign" /> and noted that "The game has fantastic speech and sound effects, but what's more impressive is the way they fade in and out depending on how close you're standing to them."<ref name="ign" />