Planescape: Torment pitch document (1997) [pdf]

Post by fbdab103 » Sat, Jun 17, 2023, 3:17 PM UTC

xanathar wrote: post #22

WastingMyTime89 wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People have rose tinted glasses when they talk about old games. PS:T was a cut above the other cRPGs of its time mainly because it had adequate writing and an engaging story when most other cRPGs were trite. Still everything after Raven’s maze is just average until the ending where it gets good again and the gameplay outside of dialogue is frankly uninteresting. It’s in a lot of way like the original Dark Soul whose…

I am a Planescape Torment extreme fanboy and... I have to agree. But it's still worth playing, it is still better than the median cRPG almost 25 years later, and it remains a milestone in cRPGs history: i.e. just like Sgt Peppers or Dark Side of the Moon are still worth listening today.

Post by User23 » Sat, Jun 17, 2023, 3:53 PM UTC

watashiato wrote: post #25

v-erne wrote: post #11

>> Tons of Total Babes: This game will have lots of babes that make the player go “wow.” >> There will be fiendish babes, human babes, angelic babes, asian babes, and even undead babes. Well, I did not expected this level of honesty about what target audience really want. It almost like finding "and its also addictive, in most profitable kind of way" in Marlboro brand pitch deck. Its kinda refrshing.

For those who haven't played the game, it should be noted that the game is nothing like what the pitch implies. PS:T is a well written and introspective RPG and in this capacity it is rivaled by only a handful of contenders.

Post by hombre_fatal » Sat, Jun 17, 2023, 4:01 PM UTC

checkyoursudo wrote: post #47

smcl wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then a few sections later > Babes: Think babes. Then think more babes. Slightly different times :)

It strikes me as not a little weird that the word for a hot, sexy member of either sex is the same as a word for a very, very small child. Like, "Why, hello there, infant." dogwhistle

Post by sho_hn » Sat, Jun 17, 2023, 4:14 PM UTC

ksaun wrote: post #54

badsectoracula wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Well, I did not expected this level of honesty about what target audience really want. IIRC it was the other way around, the pitch document went overboard with that because it was what the executives/publisher believed audiences would want :-) Remember this wasn't the design document but the document to convince those with money to spend that money to make the game.

I believe your recollection to be accurate. The lead designer (Chris Avellone), who I think was the primary author of this document, is often playful and energetic/hyperbolic with his language, yet is extremely focused and professional in his approach to the actual game design. (I.e., this exact type of disconnect between the energy/tone of this document and the energy/tone of the game is consistent with what I know…

Post by pmoriarty » Sat, Jun 17, 2023, 4:23 PM UTC

NelsonMinar wrote: post #38

Not mentioned: "over 800,000 words of dialogue, our game will be remembered as the best eight D&D visual novels ever written". It's interesting how much of this pitch focusses on the gameplay when it's the extensive writing that ends up being memorable.