Avadon Interview
Avadon Interview
Interview - posted by VentilatorOfDoom on Tue 5 October 2010, 11:36:30
Tags: Avadon: The Black Fortress; Jeff Vogel; Spiderweb SoftwareJeff Vogel talks to Inside Mac Games about his Dragon Age rip-off Avadon: The Black Fortress.
FP: One of the more time-consuming tasks has always been starting your party from scratch each game. Do you think you'll eventually allow a party importation from a previous Avadon like the Mass Effect series does?
JV: The simple truth is that simultaneously balancing a game for a party that starts at level 1 and a party that starts at level 50 is incredibly difficult. RPGs work best when they are about people who start weak and develop or earn great strength. To let the party keep their mega-powerful characters from the previous game really defeats a lot of the appeal.
Also, for what it's worth, Mass Effect 2 kept around individual decisions the party made, but your character had to go back to good old Level 1 and re-earn everything.
FP: Will the enemies still be along the same lines as the previous games: tank, spawner, magician, and archer?
JV: One class is definitely a tank and one is definitely a caster, but the other two are a bit different. They don't fit into established archetypes as closely.
FP: And last, but not least, what major changes are there between Avernum and Avadon on the combat side?
JV: Oh, it's very very different. It's a class-based system, where each class has its own suite of abilities. There is very little healing, and each ability can only be used every few turns, which means you have to use lots of different powers. Because of these changes, combat works very differently. I'm hoping for an experience with a lot of variety and "What power should I be using now?" tactical thought.
He better take care that the combat feels visceral enough.
Spotted at: RPGWatch
FP: One of the more time-consuming tasks has always been starting your party from scratch each game. Do you think you'll eventually allow a party importation from a previous Avadon like the Mass Effect series does?
JV: The simple truth is that simultaneously balancing a game for a party that starts at level 1 and a party that starts at level 50 is incredibly difficult. RPGs work best when they are about people who start weak and develop or earn great strength. To let the party keep their mega-powerful characters from the previous game really defeats a lot of the appeal.
Also, for what it's worth, Mass Effect 2 kept around individual decisions the party made, but your character had to go back to good old Level 1 and re-earn everything.
FP: Will the enemies still be along the same lines as the previous games: tank, spawner, magician, and archer?
JV: One class is definitely a tank and one is definitely a caster, but the other two are a bit different. They don't fit into established archetypes as closely.
FP: And last, but not least, what major changes are there between Avernum and Avadon on the combat side?
JV: Oh, it's very very different. It's a class-based system, where each class has its own suite of abilities. There is very little healing, and each ability can only be used every few turns, which means you have to use lots of different powers. Because of these changes, combat works very differently. I'm hoping for an experience with a lot of variety and "What power should I be using now?" tactical thought.
Spotted at: RPGWatch
