Interview Spiderweb Software Interview

[VentilatorOfDoom]

Tags: Avernum 6; Jeff Vogel; Spiderweb Software

Gamebanshee had a chat with Indie RPG Guru Jeff Vogel, Topics include <a href="http://gamebanshee.com/interviews/97737-spiderweb-software.html">Avernum 6 and his next franchise.</a>
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<blockquote>Following the Mac release, you mentioned in a post-release blog post that Avernum 6 was outselling its predecessors. Given its success, how do you feel about your decision to end a franchise that's climbing in sales?
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There are always regrets attached to ending a successful series, and Avernum has done very well for us. However, there is a fundamental limit to the process: If I can't write it, it doesn't happen. Seven games (Avernum 1-6 plus Blades of Avernum) is a huge amount of time working on one world, and at a certain point you get squeezed kind of dry. I've already gone too long without writing something all-new.
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It's a big risk making something new, and I'm pretty terrified about it. But it's also really exciting to make a new world. I've having a lot of fun with it.</blockquote>
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Spotted at: <A HREF="http://gamebanshee.com/interviews/97737-spiderweb-software.html?start=1">GB</A>

 

[nomask7]

I have allowed my difficulty curves to get too spiky and unpredictable. I've always liked to put the occasional tough monster early in the game, to give players a chance to face a challenge. I then put warnings that a tough encounter was ahead. But people either miss those warnings or ignore them, fight the tough monster, get killed, and get angry at me. I am going to do less of this in the future and be a lot more careful about how such tough encounters are placed.

Exhibit A. Retarded fan-bitching leads to dumbing down.

 

[Konjad]

its cool he's going to make something new, perhaps better

 

[Awor Szurkrarz]

I have had games in the past with "Leadership" skills that affected the dialogue options available. The new game engine won't have that. Instead, I'm focusing on role-playing. I want there to be lots of decisions and for those decisions to shift the storyline in meaningful ways. I am leaving out Leadership skill because, simply, I want all of the cool decision points to be available to all players.

 

[Clockwork Knight]

I have allowed my difficulty curves to get too spiky and unpredictable. I've always liked to put the occasional tough monster early in the game, to give players a chance to face a challenge. I then put warnings that a tough encounter was ahead. But people either miss those warnings or ignore them, fight the tough monster, get killed, and get angry at me. I am going to do less of this in the future and be a lot more careful about how such tough encounters are placed.

lol

 

[Serious_Business]

I have had games in the past with "Leadership" skills that affected the dialogue options available. The new game engine won't have that. Instead, I'm focusing on role-playing. I want there to be lots of decisions and for those decisions to shift the storyline in meaningful ways. I am leaving out Leadership skill because, simply, I want all of the cool decision points to be available to all players.

Not so much. The leadership skill was a one-way affair, it made conversations linear as hell. It gave you a "best option" decision, which overrides any meaningful choice, except the choice of putting points into the skill of course. I think something similar was said for Bloodlines by MCA.

I'm not sure if Vogel will be able to come up with anything better than that though. He's so scared to create something new, this isn't boding too well regarding his creativity.

 

[yaster]

I'm not sure if Vogel will be able to come up with anything better than that though. He's so scared to create something new, this isn't boding too well regarding his creativity.

Hasn't he just closed both Avernum and Geneforge series? He's bound to make something new, scared or not.

 

[Brother None]

I think srs bznz is talking specifically about new mechanics, but I wouldn't expect mechanical innovation to come from Spiderweb Software. It's not what they do, and that works fine as far as I'm concerned.

Especially when their approach to quest structure and "epic battles" is so much better than that of mainstream developers.

 

[Sceptic]

He could try resurrecting Nethergate again... though I doubt it since it was his least selling game if I recall.

 

[Jora]

Not so much. The leadership skill was a one-way affair, it made conversations linear as hell. It gave you a "best option" decision, which overrides any meaningful choice, except the choice of putting points into the skill of course. I think something similar was said for Bloodlines by MCA.

That's only the case if you want to use it as a one-way mechanic. It doesn't have to be used liked that, though.

 

[Fez]

I can understand why he'd be so reluctant to invest in a new series. For a mostly one-man show it's a lot of effort to create a new engine and graphics. Can't be easy and it must be intimidating if he's relying on regular sales to pay the bills. Despite that he usually manages to add something new with each sequel to keep it fresh.

It should please some here and elsewhere that he's moving on though. I know one of the frequent complaints about him or his games with each release was that he hasn't started up a new series for a while. I'm still enjoying the Avernum and Geneforge games, but an altogether new world has me interested.

Vogel's interviews always seem to have a few things that go against the grain for regulars here (I'm sure I remember SP talking about putting a sock in Vogel's mouth once), but I find it best to just wait and see what he finally produces. Over the years there's some worrying statements in interviews about complaints he's had from fans that may lead to changes (dumbing down, etc.), but the quality has always still been there for me.

 

[Thrasher]

Yes, his recent interviews have raised the dumbing down concern for me too. It seems he's willing to risk his core customer base to attract more casual gamers. It's all about the $$$.

 

[StrangeCase]

Yes, his recent interviews have raised the dumbing down concern for me too. It seems he's willing to risk his core customer base to attract more casual gamers. It's all about the $$$.

You might be surprised at how much "the $$$" helps in, say, paying bills, or fixing a car, or growing a business...

 

[Thrasher]

Really?

 

[Elwro]

HOLY SHIT ALERT THE MEDIA

Hello, Fez :D

 

[mondblut]

One of the reasons Lord of the Rings was such a compelling story is that it focused on Bilbo, not Gandalf.

:picardfacepalm:

Similarly, when I released polished new revisions of the first Avernum trilogy over the next few years...

Fucking LOL. Why am I not a least bit surprised?

 

[madbringer]

One of the reasons Lord of the Rings was such a compelling story is that it focused on Bilbo, not Gandalf.

:picardfacepalm:

It did in The Hobbit. Y h8.

 

[Elwro]

Fucking LOL. Why am I not a least bit surprised?

I really hope he was joking; this is the first time I hear about this.

 

[nomask7]

Fucking LOL. Why am I not a least bit surprised?

I really hope he was joking; this is the first time I hear about this.

Meaning, Exiles as Avernums. Notice the tense. Duh.

 

[mondblut]

It did in The Hobbit. Y h8.

He says LOTR, not Hobbit. Not to mention Hobbit is anything but a compelling story.

 

[madbringer]

I know, not sure where i was going with this. Carry on.

 

[mondblut]

Meaning, Exiles as Avernums. Notice the tense. Duh.

Tense, which one?

Similarly, when I released polished new revisions of the first Avernum trilogy over the next few years, I will have a lot of the graphics redone, including the old character portraits.

(he clearly says Avernum trilogy, not Exile. Exile had no character portraits, old or new. one misplaced past tense hardly outweights the rest of his phrase)

 

[nomask7]

Meaning, Exiles as Avernums. Notice the tense. Duh.

Tense, which one?

Similarly, when I released polished new revisions of the first Avernum trilogy over the next few years, I will have a lot of the graphics redone, including the old character portraits.

(he clearly says Avernum trilogy, not Exile. Exile had no character portraits, old or new. one misplaced past tense hardly outweights the rest of his phrase)

The bit you quoted had only one verb. "Over the next few years" is a perfectly possible usage in describing the past. "I killed that guy ten years ago, and over the next few years his ghost travelled to me every day from beyond the grave to haunt me in my sleep."

But sure, with the added bit, things change.

 

[Elwro]

Fucking LOL. Why am I not a least bit surprised?

I really hope he was joking; this is the first time I hear about this.

Meaning, Exiles as Avernums. Notice the tense. Duh.

Well, the sentence sounds strange to me. I thought the past tense in "released" was a mistake, since he says "when I released polished new revisions of the first Avernum trilogy over the next few years, I will have a lot of the graphics redone, including the old character portraits." What would be the point of using "will have" if he was talking about the Exile series remake? He'd have presumably said "I had a lot of the graphics redone". Seems to me he wants to, release, well, as he says, new revisions of the first Avernum trilogy over the next few years with a lot of graphics redone.

edit: goddamn I post so slowly

 

[Fez]

HOLY SHIT ALERT THE MEDIA

Hello, Fez :D

Hello!

I'm wondering about the tense in that sentence from Vogel now. I read it at first as him talking about what he had done with the Exile to Avernum update. It didn't really make much sense otherwise. Perhaps he's going to go back and upgrade the earlier titles to the Avernum 6 standard? It might not take a lot for him to bring them all up to the same interface and graphical standard. This could be aimed at encouraging new customers to buy the older titles, rather than aiming this at current fans.

 

[Carlos' Bitch1]

HOLY SHIT ALERT THE MEDIA

Hello, Fez :D

Hello!

I'm wondering about the tense in that sentence from Vogel now. I read it at first as him talking about what he had done with the Exile to Avernum update. It didn't really make much sense otherwise. Perhaps he's going to go back and upgrade the earlier titles to the Avernum 6 standard? It might not take a lot for him to bring them all up to the same interface and graphical standard. This could be aimed at encouraging new customers to buy the older titles, rather than aiming this at current fans.

I would say this is spot on. There are plenty of new people at the Spiderweb forums that refuse to play the first Avernums due to the graphics and UI. I cannot really see a huge difference, but whatever floats their boat.

Of course, there are still people that refuse to play the Avernums because they prefer the Exiles. Perhaps Jeff could also port the entire Avernum series into the Exile engine as well. :idea: