Torment: Tides of Numenera Interview

Colin McComb has been interviewed by GameFront as part of their ongoing "Game Front 1-on-1" feature. As you might expect, the interview focuses on Torment: Tides of Numenera:
(We'll have some reactivity based around the character's sex (for instance, you may be able to join a secret society of female assassins),) McComb says. ([A]nd there will be isolated communities that may have different reactions based on males or females possessing certain types of powers or items. The Ninth World (the setting in which Numenera is based) is a far different place societally speaking, though, so seeing outright sexism at least in the form we know it will be a deep exception, rather than the rule.)

(Planescape is about belief, spirit, and will,) McComb says. (Numenera is about exploring, understanding, and developing knowledge. Or as (Numenera creator) Monte [Cook] said, (Planescape is about what you believe. Numenera is about what you do.) Planescape dealt with the nature of faith, with souls and spirits, and with mythology in its many forms. Numenera is about abandonment, about the unknown, about finding cool things and discovering awesome secrets; it draws from a more futuristic vision, and generally doesn't approach the issue of soul and mortality. They both share the sense of awe and wonder and the idea that there's something bigger and cooler around us if we just take the time to learn how to see it.)

McComb explains that the Ninth World has been abandoned by countless civilizations with power far beyond imagination that their detritus litters the world. The people of this setting are explorers finding answers for themselves about the world around them as it exists, rather than trying to imagine what it might be.

He says that even though the world has its share of religions and philosophies, and though people are concerned about the afterlife, these questions remain unanswered and perhaps unanswerable. Due to this sense of uncertainty, the people of the Ninth World prefer to engross themselves in action, trying to make a difference in the world they know instead of dwelling on the unknown. They have a real concern for the consequences of their actions.