We had a little chat with Jeff Vogel from Spiderweb Software – developers of the acclaimed oldschool RPG series of Geneforge and Avernum – about the first iteration of his all-new game series (due spring, 2011).

If you can't wait that long, Avernum 6 is already out on Macintosh and will be released for Windows by the end of February. Or you can pick up any of the several huge demos available at http://www.spiderwebsoftware.com.

What is the new game called and why?

I actually don't have a name yet. I have several possibilities, but we're going over them for possible trademark issues. Right now, the working title is "The Game". It'll probably be a couple months before we nail down something exact.

Could you give us a brief summary of the storyline?

The known world is divided into the Pact and the Farlands. The Pact is an alliance of five nations, who have banded together to keep the barbarians and monsters of the Farlands at bay. You are one of the elite warriors of the Pact, given almost limitless authority to hunt enemies inside and out. You get all the best weapons and powerful magic, all the cool toys, but the responsibility and danger are both considerable. And you have a very difficult boss to please. That's where we're at so far.

What was the inspiration behind it?

Believe it or not, a Hungarian opera called Bluebeard's Castle.

Is it pure fantasy like Avernum, or does it include sci-fi elements like Geneforge; or perhaps something quasi-historical like Nethergate?

It'll be pretty straight fantasy, but with a very detailed world. There's a lot of history and cool stuff to discover.

What elements have you transfered over from your other games?

It will be a party-based role-playing game with turn-based combat, like we have always done. However, we have completely streamlined the game system in some ways and made it more elaborate in others, like the tactical combat. The basic genre is the same, but everything else is being redesigned.

What have you learned from developing your previous games that you will put to use in this one?

Everything, really. Even after fifteen years, I find new ways to do things and smooth out processes I've been using forever.

For example, I've always done sound effects at the very end of the development process. This time around, I spend several days at the very beginning making a huge library of sound effects to draw from in the game. It actually gave me lots of ideas for spells and so forth to match those effects. Also, as I write the game, I will be able to incorporate sounds in the final form as I go, helping me to do a better job of incorporating them overall. It's a little, pretty technical change, but it's the sort of thing I wished I did all along.

Should we be expecting a graphical overhaul or are you re-using the assets you already have?

All graphics are being redone. The icons will all be larger and more detailed. Some of the models will be the same, but they're being rerendered at a larger size. It will be the nicest looking game we've ever written.

How big of a difference do you expect this to make? Would someone, who has been put off by the quality of the graphics in even your more recent games find this completely acceptable?

Spiderweb Software is a small company. We make low-budget rpgs. There are some people who require graphics quality of the level of, say, Dragon Age or Fallout 3. I will never sell a game to those people, and I wish them well. But our recent games have still had big improvements in the visuals. Avernum 6, in particular, looks better than any game we've ever done, and our new game will be better. Not 30 million dollar budget better, but, yes, the pool of people who find the graphics reach the minimum standard should increase.

What, if anything, does the game offer to expand your current pool of customers?

Better graphics and a more streamlined game system. I've worked hard to have character development give a lot of cool choices without making it possible to make a weak or ineffective party.

How would this dumbing down of the game system affect your more hardcore fans?

Dumbing down? That's really a hostile way to put it. Dragon Age: Origins and Diablo 2 had character systems where there were lots of choices and ways to customize your character, but it was still simple and accessible and it was really difficult to make a character which wouldn't be effective in the late game. It is possible to make a rich, flexible system without "dumbing" it down.

As for how it will effect my fans, my job is to write a fun game, a game I would want to play. Then I release it. Some people will like it and some people won't. But trying to design based on my guesses regarding the thoughts of imaginary people leads to endless waves of second-guessing.

By the way, I'm hoping to release the game in Spring of 2011, so I have a lot of time to change my mind about everything.

Are you finally done with the Geneforge and Avernum series, or might we expect another game along those lines?

My plan right now is to do a ground-up rewrite of the (now over a decade old) Avernum, using a much-improved engine and the really nice new Avernum 6 graphics.

Of course, Avernum isn't really done. We will soon release Avernum 6 for Windows, the final chapter of the Avernum saga. It's been a big hit for us on the Macintosh side, and we're really excited about putting out the Windows version.

You've been in this business for a long time now, what sort of changes has the indie game market experienced over the years? How have these changes affected your own business?

Everything is different. Indie games are a far bigger thing, and the resources available to write, market, and sell them have multiplied a thousand-fold. There are tons of opportunities, and I hope I'm not too old and slow to take advantage of them.

Hot on the heels of the anticipated release of Aliens Versus Predator, Simon got the chance to speak to Dave Brickley, senior producer at Rebellion studio's Oxford:

What’s your role at Rebellion and what does it entail?

As senior producer I'm basically responsible for the delivery of the game, day to day. I joined when it was already well into development with the role of ensuring a very complex juggling act, essentially four games in one, came together.

Was it tough to balance the three species? In straight up death match do you think everyone stands an even chance?

It required a lot of evolution, as with any game which features varying classes, but it was always fun. I think the team's done a great job of creating a satisfying feeling being each of the species, but they are so distinct we had to retain that - it couldn't just be the same basic abilities in different skins.

So as a Marine, you've got a motion tracker and you're armed, plus you can defend yourself with the block / counter system when you go toe to toe and it's so satisfying to outwit a Predator or an Alien player with all their attributes.

But there's no doubt in that mode in particular a Marine will have to be smart about how they arm and position themselves to put the other species out of their comfort zones.


In the Predator films, the predator is portrayed as an unstoppable killing machine. After discussion with colleagues we agreed that it should be incredibly hard to kill, much harder than a marine or alien, even though this would make straight up death match an unbalanced affair. We felt the balance should be redressed through special multiplayer modes where the predator will be outnumbered. Do you agree with this and is this reflected in the game?

Certainly it is reflected - Predator Hunt is devoted entirely to showing how one Predator player must use their abilities to take on overwhelming odds, and not to camp out either since Honour is enforced by a time limit on kills. Additionally DM modes are capped on the amount of Predators that can appear.

We recognised though that there's a difference between difficult and unstoppable. The Predator is the ultimate hunter, but he seeks worthy prey, so Marines can't simply be fodder. Each is well equipped and needs very different tactics.

Was there any talk of making the marine campaign co-op?

Talk, but never serious. We've got Survivor of course since the original AVP basically invented the concept of that game mode. But the campaign on the Marine side is about isolation, and fear, so the two don't really go together.

Infestation mode and predator hunt sound great, is co-operative play rewarded in these modes?

It's rewarded in the sense that you're not going to survive if you don't work together. There's a lovely evolution in Infestation of each Marine player going through the emotions of trying to hang together to stay alive, yet ultimately falling and switching to being a malevolant Xeno trying to pick off former comrades. Similarly Predator Hunt creates some of the best realised classic moments in the whole game of Marines moving together, watching the trees, and then BAM. I still love watching it as much as playing it.

You seem to have polarised a lot of opinions looking at some of the reviews, why do you think this is?

As franchises go it's as iconic as Star Wars, maybe bigger. Everyone's got an opinion on what it should be and given the time since 1999 I don't think we could have delivered something to satisfy every single demand.

But I think there's a consensus we got right how it should feel to be each of the species and what you should be able to do, hence there's a lot to explore and master, especially in multiplayer. I think once the initial launch heat dies down it'll maintain a really dedicated fan base.


Several reviews have suggested that it should have spent a bit longer in development, were deadlines tight? Was there anything you would have liked to included that you simply didn’t have the time/resources to add?

I think everyone who's made a game would say that. In a sense we're the worst people to ask since you're too close to it to be objective at times. We'll learn from this game, we've established a good base for the characters to return to the genre and we've got strong ideas how we can evolve both the single and multiplayer in the future.

Is Hudson in it? I‘m sure it would have got ten out of ten everywhere if he was.

Forget him. He's gone.

You have captured the atmosphere of the films excellently, even in multiplayer playing the marine is terrifying. Is it fun to work with such source material or does it create a lot of pressure when dealing with things that so many people love ?

Both. Go back and watch Aliens. You never see the bloody things. Now look at the game. See how they move, how they behave. Taking it from your imagination and putting it on screen is not an exact science, but hell yes it's fun.

Do you think the films have been inspirational to videogames as a whole?

No question, and not always in a good way. But overall yes, you can see the influence everywhere. We think they still have an awful lot to contribute, too.