Torin's Passage

Infobox VG
title = Torin's Passage


developer = Sierra On-Line
publisher = Sierra On-Line
distributor =
designer = Al Lowe
engine =
version =
released = 1995
genre = Adventure
modes = Single player
ratings = ESRB: K-A
platforms = MS-DOS, Windows 3.x, Windows 95, Mac
media = Floppy disk, CD-ROM
requirements =
input = Mouse

"Torin's Passage" is a graphic adventure game developed and released by Sierra On-Line, designed by Al Lowe. The game holds the distinction of being a family friendly game by Lowe, designer of the adult-oriented "Leisure Suit Larry" series of games.

Gameplay

The player interacts with Torin and the in-game environments using a point-and-click interface. Placing the cursor over certain "hot spots" in the environment allows him to move around, examine things and pick up items. There is also an inventory system used to access the items Torin collects during the course of the game. The player can switch to Boogle as well, although he is mainly used to morph into various items. The items he can morph into replace the items in Torin's inventory. Any item can be viewed as a 3-D model by using the item viewer. The game has a variety of puzzles, from puzzles involving item collection to sliding puzzles. Points are given after solving puzzles. A hint system is included as an in-game feature, and the player can ask for hints after certain time intervals, at the cost of game points. The specific time interval can be set as an in-game option. The hint system can also be turned off entirely.cite web|title=Adventure Gamers: Torin's Passage review|url=http://www.adventuregamers.com/article/id,221|last=Wood|first=Claire|accessdate=September 25|accessyear=2006]

Plot

The protagonist of the game is Torin, the son of a farming family on the planet of Strata. A witch named Lycentia captures his family with a magic spell, and he embarks on a quest to the dreaded "lands below" traveling to worlds beneath the surface of the planet in search of her. He is aided by a purple cat-like creature called Boogle, who is able to change itself into a variety of shapes.cite web|title=Torin's Passage at GameBoomers|url=http://www.gameboomers.com/reviews/Tt/Torinsbysyd.htm|accessdate=September 24|accessyear=2006]

Characters

;Torin :He is the prince of The Lands Above, but he doesn't know about his origin. Being kidnapped by his nanny, who tried to save him from an evil warlock, he is later found by farmers, who adopt him. While growing up, Torin finds a mysterious creature that can change its shape and turn into different objects. Torin calls it “Boogle” and becomes friends with him. After the mysterious disappearance of his "parents", an old traveler tells him about the evil witch Lycentia, who has captured them. Torin then travels through all five worlds of Strata, having different adventures. In Pergola he falls in love with Leenah, the missing princess of Escarpa, who had been trapped by the diminutive natives of this world. Torin saves Leenah and himself, but they then part: Leenah returns to Escarpa, Torin goes on to Asthenia.

:When he reaches Tenebrous and meets with Lycentia, he learns her secret: she's his nanny, and was arrested for kidnapping by mistake. After being ostracized to Tenebrous, she became evil and helped further the machinations of Torin’s uncle, Pecand (the murderer of Torin's true parents and the old traveler Torin meets at the game's beginning). Torin also learns he’s the prince and must become the next king. Torin frees Lycentia from the magic golden ostracizing collar that prevents her from returning to the Lands Above. Lycentia helps Torin to defeat Pecand. Then they return to Lands Above with Torin’s foster parents and Boogle, who was earlier kidnapped by Lycentia’s sidekick, Dreep. Torin becomes the ruler of the Lands Above.

;Lycentia :She plays the role of the main villain of the game (until the very end). While babysitting Torin, she kidnapped him to save from the evil magician Pecand, who killed Torin's parents. Upon her return, her intentions were misinterpreted and she was sent to Tenebrous in exile. The judges put the magic golden collar on her to stop her from returning to The Lands Above (the collar would choke her if she tried to do so, and was so tight it nearly did anyway). There, she turns into a witch and Pecand fools her, promising to get rid of her collar and making her his . Using a whirlwind, she kidnaps Torin's "parents". With the help of Pecand, Lycentia watches Torin with the intention of killing him in order to fulfill her deal with Pecand. When Torin arrives to Tenebrous, she orders Dreep, a blue animal she created, to follow him. Torin finds her and she tries to kill him. Her collar begins to squeeze around her neck and Lycentia falls unconscious. Torin touches the collar and it opens, releasing Lycentia from its grip. Lycentia awakens and realizes Torin is actually the prince that she tried to save long ago. She becomes good, casts a spell on Pecand and defeats him. After that, she frees all her victims from the crystals that they were trapped in. She returns back to The Lands Above along with Torin. It is not known if Lycentia was held accountable for her actions but it is assumed that Torin, now the king of Lands Above, must have pardoned her.

;Pecand :He is the king's spiteful brother and Torin's uncle. Using dark magic, he kills the king and queen, but Lycentia saves baby Torin. Pecand tried to manipulate her into helping him become the highest judge in the land and eventually the king. It was Pecand's plan to use Torin's adoptive parents as a "bait" for Torin. Then he, disguised as an old traveler, "helped" Torin by telling him that Lycentia was the one to blame. He then warned Lycentia of Torin's quest to find her. When Torin reached Tenebrous, Lycentia tried to murder him, but Torin was able to free her from the collar and thus, from Pecand influence. Lycentia became good and Pecand tried to kill Torin himself. Using magic, Torin threw him into the cauldron of lava, but Pecand survived. It was not lava, but a stew for Dreep (blue monster, Lycentia's sidekick and pet). Pecand attacked Torin again, but Lycentia cast a spell on him and froze him into the crystal. He fell into the Null Void and was never seen again.

Development history

Al Lowe states on his official website that he wrote "Torin's Passage" in 1994 after seeing the film "Mrs. Doubtfire" with his daughter. He states that while watching the film, he realized that audience was laughing in two different pitches: "high little giggles when the kids laughed at the slapstick parts of the film, and deep knowing guffaws when the adults caught something that they knew the kids wouldn't get." Lowe thought, "Why isn't there a computer game that my 9-year-old daughter and I could play that works like that?"cite web|title=Torin's Passage at Al Lowe's Humor Site|url=http://www.allowe.com/Torin/index.htm|accessdate=September 24|accessyear=2006] Lowe's daughter would take a small role in the development of the game, designing the maze puzzle seen late in the game.cite web|title=Game Trivia for Torin's Passage|url=http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/torins-passage/trivia|publisher=MobyGames|accessdate=September 24|accessyear=2006]

The game's developers included a variety of easter eggs in the game. Some of the more obvious ones occur near the end of the game. Several characters make cameo appearances at the same time, including Darth Vader, Yoda and Taylor from the original "Planet of the Apes" film. Hotaru Tomoe, also known as "Sailor Saturn" from "Sailor Moon" also makes an appearance. While the other characters were placed in there by the game's background artists, Hotaru was placed in the game by Bryan Wilkinson, an art tech working on the game. There are also various references made to "Torin's Passage" in a subsequent Al Lowe release, "".cite web|title=Torin's Passage Unofficial site: Easter Eggs|url=http://www25.brinkster.com/akril/Torin/EasterEggs.html|accessdate=September 25|accessyear=2006] The final version also contains some unused content.cite web|url=http://www25.brinkster.com/akril/Torin/Mysteries.html|title=Torin's Passage Unofficial site: Mysteries|accessdate=2007-01-09] Some members of the development team who worked on "Torin's Passage" went on to work for notable companies. Lead Animator Jim Murphy went on to work for Pixar and Lead Background Artist Bruce Sharp went on to work for Microsoft.cite web|title=Game Credits for Torin's Passage |publisher=MobyGames|url=http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/torins-passage/credits|accessdate=September 24|accessyear=2006]

The game was intended to be the first in a series similar to Sierra's "King's Quest", but the declining popularity of adventure games put a stop to such plans.

Reception

"Torin's Passage" was designed to be suitable for children, which surprised many of the fans of its designer, who was known for making rather "adult" games. In an interview Al Lowe stated: "I think many people misunderstood Torin's Passage, however. It was designed for a parent to share with a child, because I wanted a game that Megan (my then 11-year-old daughter) and I could play together."cite web|title=verbosity - Leisure Time with Al Lowe|url=http://verbosity.wiw.org/issue7/allowe.html|accessdate=September 24|accessyear=2006]

Critical reaction to the game is mixed, GameSpot's Jeffrey Adam Young gave the game a 7.0 out of 10, a "Good" rating. Young lauded it as an adventure game for players of all ages, although he commented that younger children and novice adventure game players might find some of the puzzles challenging. Young also noted that although the game is child-friendly, some of Lowe's characteristic toilet humor remains in the narrative.cite web|title=Torin's Passage review|url=http://www.gamespot.com/pc/adventure/torinspassage/review.html|last=Young|first=Jeffrey Adam|publisher=GameSpot|accessdate=September 24|accessyear=2006] The adventure video game website Adventure Gamers published a less glowing review in 2003 though, calling the game "A promising fairy tale that just never breaks through the wall of mediocrity."

References

External links

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* [http://www25.brinkster.com/akril/Torin/index.html Torin's Passage fanpage]
* [http://www.allowe.com/gamedesign/Torin%20Design.pdf Torin's Passage Game Design document] (PDF)