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In a second developer diary Spiderweb Software's Jeff Vogel revealed some background information about the upcoming fantasy RPG, Avadon: The Black Fortress. This time Vogel discussed the theme, mood, and choices he plans to incorporate into the new RPG title.

Avadon is described as an epic adventure in a strange and dangerous world in which players take the role of a spy and warrior who must fight the enemies of his homeland. Avadon: The Black Fortress will feature four different character classes, dozens of sidequests, hundreds of items to discover, and many different possible endings.

Now I needed to decide what sort of game I was going to write. So the next step was to decide on the theme, the mood, and the choices. This process took weeks of thought and is worth attention. It might be a little bit technical and vague though, so if you aren't interested in the artsy parts of game design, you should probably wait until the next part, when I get into the game system and the cool number-based hacky-choppy stuff.

Once I had the skeleton of a plot and setting, I think about how the game will "feel". What will the player be doing? How will I get the player emotionally involved? What gripping choices will the player make? You see, I make small budget games. Fancy graphics and sounds aren't going to happen. My main weapon is the ability to tell a good story, so I focus on that. For Avadon to succeed, I have to make it interesting. How do I do that?

The Bottom Feeder: Avadon Dev Diary #2

Spiderweb Software

Avadon: The Black Fortress

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