Torment: Tides of Numenera is Most-Funded Kickstarter Game Ever

People sure do like Planescape: Torment.

That is, of course, one of the more beloved role-playing games that graced the Infinity Engine in the 90s with its delicious mix of "you can't die" and "what the heck is going on" kind of gameplay.

We kid, of course, but not that much: When your chief travelling companion is a floating, talking skull, you know you're in for a special time.

Go figure, then, that fans have taken to the Web to dump sackfulls of money into the lap of developer InXile and its spiritual successor to Torment, entitled "Torment: Tides of Numenera." The game's Kickstarter-driven funding campaign officially ended on Friday evening and its final funding total might invariably put you in the grave once you hear it: $4.2 million from Kickstarter alone, with just over 74,000 total individuals backing the project in some capacity.

As one might expect, the most-funded "prize" category for Tides of Numenera was the $20 donation that grants contributors access to a digital version of the game upon its release, backed by a total of 14,992 donors. Only 317 people ended up just tossing their money into the digital ether with a $5 donation – receiving a hearty "thank you" from the developers for their support.

Nine backers ultimately funded the game's top donation tier, requiring a contribution of $10,000 more in order to receive an invitation to Tides of Numenera's launch party, a copy of every single game InXile makes for the next ten years, and a commemorative plaque – among other goodies.

"Thank you to all of our backers for making the Torment: Tides of Numenera Kickstarter the success that it was. We are deeply appreciative of your faith, trust, and support. Now it's up to us to create and deliver the RPG experience we have described, the game you have asked for," reads a new message on Tides of Numenera's Kickstarter page.

Those who missed out on all the pre-development action can still make donations via InXile's PayPal store if you'd still like to get your hands on some of the donation-based goodies.

However, there's a bit of a catch-22 to all the contribution craziness: Although now InXile has a considerable war chest to work with as it proceeds forward with the game's development, all the extra features that the company will now be throwing into the mix as a result of promises made during the funding campaign means that the game will ultimately miss its December 2014 projected release date. It remains to be seen what the projected release date might slip to.

"We will continue preproduction work with a small core group to define the story and key systems (those most closely tied to the story) to establish a strong foundation to bring the writers and designers in to flesh out the full story and its characters." Said InXile CEO Brian Fargo in an interview with Fast Company's Kevin Ohannessian. "The next step is to layout the world and get the writers going on their respective areas. This is the most creative part of the process."