Black Isle Unveils Next RPG

Baldur's Gate publisher, Black Isle Studios/Interplay announced its latest RPG development, Planescape Torment. The game, based on the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons world of Planescape, uses BioWare's BioWare Infinity Engine (the same engine used in Baldur's Gate). Planescape Torment will feature fully rendered, nontiled backgrounds, real-time lighting, and weather effects.

Guido Henkel, best known for his work on Sirtech's Realms of Arkania, will be the game's producer. Among the staff members on the project is Colin McComb, one of the original creators of the TSR tabletop version, who will help make sure the design of the original is intact in the digital version.

"This is something I wanted to be associated with," recalls Henkel. "After just paging through the design document, I knew that this was to be a game unlike any other AD&D game. It is a much more harsh and mature world than I think most AD&Ders are used to."

If you aren't up to date with the Planescape universe, Torment revolves around an immortal character suffering from a nasty case of amnesia. It is your goal to help discover his past, identity, and destiny. If you fail in completing your mission, you'll wake up only to find that your memory has been erased. But the game isn't focused on just discovering the character's history, he must discover what keeps killing him and erasing his memory.

Planescape Torment should be hitting Windows 95/98 PCs this spring.