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Re:Planescape: Torment pitch document (1997) [pdf] by badsectoracula on Saturday June 17, 2023 @09:31AM (#36370014)
> 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.

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Re:Planescape: Torment pitch document (1997) [pdf] by the_af on Saturday June 17, 2023 @12:37PM (#36371800)
The disconnect between the look and the actual description of the two main female characters, Fall-from-Grace and Annah, is interesting.

Annah looks like a bimbo in her 3D model, but in game most NPCs find her repulsive or at least off-putting. She's not sexualized in-game, but her portrait is that of a "sexy babe".

Fall-from-Grace is described as a tempting succubus (though she doesn't behave like one) and is supposed to be extremely attractive, yet her 3D portrait is rendered in shadows, very skinny, with scary bat wings and no hint of "babe" characteristics. She is not "sexy".

I wonder if the people who drew the character portraits were going by the early pitch draft, because the disconnect with the actual characters is extreme.

Re:Planescape: Torment pitch document (1997) [pdf] by ksaun on Saturday June 17, 2023 @11:54AM (#36371301)
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 of him. The self depreciation, noted in the comment below by ricardobayes, is also on brand for him.)

Source: I've worked with Chris very directly on three games and indirectly on several others. We've talked about this document in passing before (though I didn't know him until a few years later).

Re:Planescape: Torment pitch document (1997) [pdf] by sho_hn on Saturday June 17, 2023 @12:14PM (#36371533)
This might be widely inappropriate to bring up, but do you know how Chris' lawsuit against his cancellers is going? Like many players I used to look up to his work, and then was of course taken aback by the serious allegations against him; it's one of the messiest he said/she said cases I've encountered, though. Still very curious about the ultimate outcome.

Edit: https://kotaku.com/fallout-new-vegas-avellone-sexual-miscond...

Re:Planescape: Torment pitch document (1997) [pdf] by Popeyes on Saturday June 17, 2023 @01:12PM (#36372152)
https://chrisavellone.medium.com/joint-statement-from-kariss...

They completely recanted their allegations and paid him a sum of money.

Re:Planescape: Torment pitch document (1997) [pdf] by ethbr0 on Saturday June 17, 2023 @01:39PM (#36372436)
For younger folks, I would suggest looking at E3 convention 1998 and 1999 galleries.

That will tell you what you need to know about the state of the computer gaming industry and publishers at that point.

This was circa-"John Romero's about to make you his bitch" [0] as acceptable copy for a full-page ad.

[0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daikatana#Promotion_and_rele...