however, Torque reveals his softer side, and can be quite affectionate, gentle, and lov-
ing. Torque primarily reveals this side of himself when with his children, wife, and some
of his close friends.
When Torque was two years old he was abandoned and ended up a ward of the
state. As a result he has no memory of his real parents and was raised in a group home
in inner-city Philadelphia. Life in the group home was far from pleasant and certainly
not a loving environment, and Torque felt very much alone in the world and soon
learned that he would have to be responsible for bettering his own life, because no one
else would help him. Torque always had a fierce temper and was a bit prone to violent
outbursts. At a young age he drew a picture of a monstrous creature that, though he did
not realize it, represented his dark side. Torque would continue to have visions of this
creature throughout his life.
[...]
Friendly NPCs
Over the course of the game, Torque meets six NPCs who will help him, either by
pointing out solutions to puzzles or by actually joining him in combat against the mon-
sters. These NPCs will speak more dialog than the other NPCs, and will stay alive for a
good amount of time, if not for the rest of the game, assuming the player doesn’t kill
them himself. As with the Back-story section above, not all of the information about
these NPCs will necessarily be communicated to the player. Suggested lines of dialog
contained in this section are intended as a guide, and are not necessarily representative
of the final dialog to be used in the game.
Dallas
Dallas is an African-American prisoner from one of the rougher neighborhoods of Balti-
more. He exudes bravado and confidence, and takes pride in the neighborhood he grew
up in and the friends he keeps. While putting up the front of being extremely tough
around men, Dallas is a great lover of women, being tender and caring around females,
always eager to please them. While on the outside, Dallas slept with as many of them as
would have him, with his good looks and charming personality making him quite a suc-
cess as a ladies man. In Abbott, however, Dallas had to find another outlet for his sexual
energies, and ended up in a consensual sexual relationship with a large Caucasian male
inmate, Byron. Coming across Byron’s corpse will upset Dallas significantly, though he
is quickly able to compose himself. Though obviously intelligent, Dallas did not receive
much of an education and betrays this in his speech. Dallas also presents the first bogus
theory about where the monstrous creatures come from, suggesting that the govern-
ment has been conducting medical experiments on prisoners and that they have now
gone awry: “I heard the government’s been conducting experiments on us inmates,
next phase of MK-Ultra if you can believe that shit.”
Dallas actually was friends with Torque from a previous stint the two of them did
back at the Eastern Correctional Institution in Maryland. Dallas knows what an intimi-
dating and forceful person Torque can be, yet respects him for his inner strength and
integrity. Once Dallas finds Torque, he immediately realizes that Torque is the one man
who can help him stay alive with all of the monsters around. The player’s goal is to keep
Dallas alive as long as possible, which is not an easy feat since Dallas is completely
636 Appendix B: Sample Design Document:The Suffering