How Torment: Tides of Numenera is leading the charge on transparent game development

The procedure of how games with big budgets are made is guarded as tightly as a mobster in an isolation cell in Alcatraz. We see what the publisher wants us to see when they want us to see it and that’s it. However, inXile are breaking the veil of secrecy by putting the design documents for Torment: Tides of Numenera on an all-access Google doc.

There’s not a lot to see at the moment, unless you’re really into the fine-tuning of roleplaying combat systems and appreciate a good flowchart. But that’s not the point. What’s kind of fascinating is how Kickstarter is changing the dynamics of business as usual, leading the way to more transparency in the game-making process.

As thousands of Torment fans have funded the game’s development, inXile are honoring their investment by making public their progress on the game, allowing avid fans a chance to voice their opinions beforehand. If only Mass Effect 3 had taken this philosophy to heart! inXile are even asking backers to vote on whether combat should be pause-time or turn-based. When you think about how the sequel of one of the most-loved, cult R.P.G.’s is being shaped by those who love it, that’s pretty special.