IMG Interview: Jeff Vogel of Spiderweb Software May 18, 2007 | Marcus Albers

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Recently, IMG sat down with the head of RPG developer Spiderweb Software, Jeff Vogel to talk about upcoming projects, current projects like Nethergate: Resurrection and Avernum 5, and Jeff's "hate" of the RPG genre.

IMG - Everyone knows that Spiderweb Software is all about RPGs. How did you come to decide on developing for this particular gaming genre?

Jeff - I think that you can't really make it as a small Indie if you don't have a real passion for the games you write. I love role-playing games, and I have ever since I first played Wizardy in 1983. I love the genre, and it's that love that enables me to wade through all the grief of developing a whole, full-length game. Or, in my case, a dozen of them.

I still love RPGs, though I'm taking a break from them right now. 24 years is a long time. But I'm sure I'll be back someday. World of Warcraft always calls...

IMG - You’ve stuck with the (very successful) isometric perspective for your games. Have you ever considered trying first- or third-person RPGs?

Jeff - I've considered just about everything. Playing "What if I did this?" is a lot of fun.

When I have wrapped up the Avernum and Geneforge series, I am considering licensing a 3-D engine and writing a 3rd person fully 3-D RPG. I think it would be a lot of fun. And, of course, it'll be out for Macintosh first.

But I am, well, I'm a good designer, but I'm not the best programmer. I fear the new and I fear things that require serious technical skill. I feel the need to evolve and try new things, but it scares me.

IMG - I remember playing the original Nethergate on my Performa back in the day. Now, you are working on Nethergate: Resurrection. What are the changes that we will see with this new version of the game?

Jeff - I am writing Nethergate: Resurrection with the Avernum engine, so it will be a bit more older and old school than our most recent titles (like Avernum 4 and Geneforge 4: Rebellion), but it has many improvement over the old game. It's bigger, with more adventures and quests. There is more dialogue and more characters. The interface is much better. There's a pretty world map and better art and sound. It looks and plays much nicer, and I'm very happy with it.

IMG - What are some of the challenges you have faced in updating Nethergate?

Jeff - The great thing about updating an old game (as opposed to writing a whole new one) is that it is far, far less of a challenge. Updating Nethergate to Nethergate: Resurrection has taken months, but it's been relatively fun and relaxing. I love going through the old game and rediscovering all of the neat things in it. Nethergate really had a wide assortment of cool ideas and fun stuff, and I'm very happy to get it back out there. It has a large share of my most clever ideas.

IMG - Do you plan on turning Nethergate into a series, like Avernum or Geneforge?

Jeff - Once, oh so long ago, I thought that Nethergate would be a series. It didn't work out, for two reasons.

First, Nethergate's sales were a little disappointing. Now don't get me wrong. Over the long run, I've been very happy with how it did. But, at the time, I didn't think sales justified a sequel.

Second, and this was the killer, Nethergate: Resurrection is awesome as a self-contained story. It's got a really cool ending, and I couldn't bear to mess with it by tacking another game onto the end.

IMG - Have you considered revisiting the Exile series in the same way that you have with Nethergate?

Jeff - I already did, actually. I rewrote the Exile games as the Avernum games. So I am writing new Exile games, except with a new name. Right now, I am writing Avernum 5, which will continue the second trilogy started with Avernum 4. Avernum 4 has sold like mad, so that is a sequel I can really get excited about writing.

I will most likely write Avernum 6 later, completing the second trilogy. At that point, Avernum will be almost a decade old (and it's already really showing its age). So I will probably revisit, rewrite, and expand it again. The original Exile/Avernum series is something I will never let die if I can help it. It's just too good.

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