The Awesome of Jeff Vogel

Only a few weeks ago, Spiderweb Software guy Jeff Vogel - the man who gave the world the enduring and much-loved Avernum RPG series - made a blog post entitled "How I Saved the Gaming Industry Overnight By Being Awesome".  In it, he explained in a few simple words what his game development philosophy is and why it works: If you asked me why I used that same old clunky game engine and why I am still using it, I would give this answer: Because I am really smart and cool and awesome. And if more people emulated me, the game industry would not be near so messed up.

The arrogance is, of course, tongue-in-cheek - but Jeff's attitude towards putting the game first and showing fancy-pants effects and graphics second has not only created some of the most enduring, critically-acclaimed RPG games of the last ten years... it's also been paying his rent. Now a new chapter opens up for Vogel; Avernum has had its sixth and final installment. There shall be no more to follow. Instead, he has let the world be known that he is doing something not many of us expected: A brand new game.

How does it feel to end the Avernum era after establishing such a legacy?

It's good and bad. It's terrifying to try something new and leave behind a series that has been so profitable over the years. But, on the other hand, doing something all-new is extremely exciting and liberating.

Why put it Avernum to bed now when it's selling so well and you've done so much with it?

I have done a lot with it. A lot, a lot, a lot. The problem is that I take a huge amount of pride in the creativity and the story-telling aspect of it, and it kind of makes me wince to release a game with a "Six" after the title.

Don't get me wrong. I'm very proud of the series. I think I've told a great, epic story, and I think it took that many games to do it. Avernum 5 and 6 are really fun games, and I don't apologize for them at all. But my brain demands that I move on and do something all-new.

You recently wrote a well-publicized blog post about how you kept your focus by not revamping technology just for its own sake. Surely you must have wondered over the years about creating a full 3D engine with all the doo-dads?

Oh, yes. I'm human. Sometimes I think about making a pretty, cool 3-D game. I look at the engines. I look at the resources available.

And then I stop kidding myself. I'm a very solid writer and designer, but I'm not the greatest coder in the world, and doing stuff in 3-D is hard. Stories are my strength. I focus on that.

I remember playing Dungeon Siege years ago, which was glorious to look at but a complete zero in terms of story. While going through it I remember thinking "Jeff should have teamed up with these guys to make this as fun for the brain as it is for the eyes". So why not do that? Team up with someone who does brilliant 3D eye candy and you handle the rest?

If I was going to do this, I would get a real job and join the Indie developers who used their resumes and experience to get jobs designing games with real budgets. And, believe me, I have considered it. There is something that is very tempting about surrendering a lot of independence in order to take part in creating something that might be big and great.

However, working in the game industry would involve many more hours of labor and, most likely, a pay cut. I like owning my work, running my own business, and spending lots of time with my family. I have, in many ways, modest ambitions.

So tell us something about the future. Avernum has come to a glorious end after so many years, but I know you're not done. Give us some teasers.

Right now, we are working on an all-new RPG series. We've heavily revamped our basic engine. We're making a new game system, new world, new storyline, new graphics. It will play very differently from our previous games, but it will still have much of that old Spiderweb flavor.

The fundamental sort of game will be the same. A RPG, a class-based system, turn-based combat. And it'll be low-budget and retro like everything else we've ever done. But we're going the extra mile to make it the most attractive game Spiderweb has ever made.

And when will we see that? And are you aiming for a similar price point and distribution system? Or going for something new?

I can't say what the exact price will be. We will have to look at the state of the economy and the competition. I seriously doubt it will be higher, though. And we will still be distributing the new game the same way, though we will be trying hard to get it onto Steam and similar channels.

What games are you playing and liking these days?

I've gone on a lot about my love for Dragon Age: Origins. It's my favorite RPG in some years, and available for the Mac to boot. I'm playing God of War 3 right now, because I have a great desire for mindlessness at the moment. But, shameful to say, the game I put the most serious time in is still Rock Band 2.

Have you ever considered offering the Avernum series for the iPhone/iPad? Final Fantasy and Zenonia have taken off like wildfire, and Avernum could easily stand next to them.

At first, I was pretty down on releasing our games on the iPhone. However, I can't really ignore the direction the computer industry seems to be taking, and the iPad is really sweet. And selling a lot.

So, right now, our dance card is full for the next year and a half. We are finishing the new game, and we are released a completely revamped version of Avernum. (The old version is over ten years old now, and it's really, really showing its age.) After that, we are looking very hard at making versions for mobile platforms.