Classic video game Planescape gets Kickstarter reboot

The game will try to live up to the story-based standards of the original title

A project to make a "spiritual sequel" to classic video game Planescape: Torment has taken six hours to hit its funding goal on Kickstarter.

Torment: Tides of Numenera launched on 6 March seeking $900,000 (£600,000) to make a follow-up to the original game.

The project reached its initial cash target soon after launch and now more than $1.6m (£1m) has been pledged to the game, on the crowd-funding website.

The game is scheduled to be released in December 2014.

Released in 1999 by Black Isle Studios , Planescape: Torment was a single-player video game that, since its debut, has been lauded as a classic of story-led gaming.

It lets players take on the role of a character called The Nameless One who journeys through the strange city of Sigil, gradually re-discovering who he is.

The game was not a financial success but has won many fans since as word about its complexity and characters has spread.

Some of the designers of Planescape game have signed on to help create Tides of Numenera, as have other developers and artists involved with the original.

It also has the blessing of Chris Avellone, lead designer of Planescape: Torment.

In the description on Kickstarter, the team behind Numenera said the game would be set in a different world but would aim to emulate the "deep, thematically satisfying story" of the first game.

It would be less about combat and more about interaction with characters in the game.

Writing on the Rock, Paper, Shotgun games news site Alec Meer said it was always likely that the game would be funded given the amount of "backlogged adoration" for Planescape.

However, he was surprised it hit its funding target so swiftly despite there being no in-game footage available nor any direct involvement of original designer Chris Avellone.