Jeff Vogel Interview
My next interview this week is with Jeff Vogel of Spiderweb Software., and was requested by Gilliatt in my suggestion thread on the forums.
Couchpotato: First of all thank you for the chance to ask you a few questions in my latest interview. So to start with, could describe what your daily job is like at Spiderweb Software?
Jeff Vogel: I work afternoons and late nights. I've always been a night owl. I start and end the day with email, tax forms, and any other business junk., The rest of the work day I spend working on whatever game I'm working on. I'm also picking up the kids from school and other parent stuff sometimes. It's a pretty pleasant schedule.
Couchpotato: What are some of your favorite RPG games you have played over the years?
Jeff Vogel: There have been so many. I started with Eamon on the Apple II+ in 1980 or so. Then Wizardry in 1983. Then a lot of classics through my teenage years, like other Wizardry games, Phantasie, and, most importantly, Ultima. Later, Baldur's Gate. Planescape: Torment. Fallout. Everquest and World of Warcraft. Dragon's Age. Those are the biggest ones for me.
Couchpotato: So I was curious what made you decide to make your own games?
Jeff Vogel: It's a calling. I didn't choose games. They chose me. I've been utterly compelled by games and puzzles since I made mazes with pencil & paper when I was five, and since I was introduced to Dungeons & Dragons in 4th grade. RPGs compelled me in a way I've never fully understood.
Couchpotato: What's your opinion on the game industry, and the current state of Indie games?
Jeff Vogel: I really can't say much about the AAA game industry. I don't pay enough attention to it. I play some big AAA releases (like Bioware stuff), but not a lot. I mostly play indie games.
As for indie games, there's a lot of money being made and a lot of remarkable, innovative titles being produces. So much cool stuff out there. Competition is really tough and a lot of young developers are getting their dreams crushed, which really sucks. But the opportunities are there and the games are cool. I really am blown away by the quality and innovation out there.
Couchpotato: As a follow-up to the last question; what do you think about modern CRPG games?
Jeff Vogel: Wow, so many cool, innovative titles have come out in the last year. I'm playing a lot of Divinity: Original Sin and Darkest Dungeon, and belief me, the genre is super-healthy. Which is good for me. A lot of gamers, when they're done with the more high profile indie RPGs, will then discover me.
Couchpotato: You been a developer for over 20 years, what lessons have you learned about game development?
Jeff Vogel: Everything. I mean, it's really hard to answer a question like that because there are so many parts of development, and I learn more things about every aspect every year. It's a really deep and complex field, and I will never be close to mastering it. Or any element of it.
Couchpotato: One of the latest trends nowadays is the rise or crowdfunding. So whats your opinion on crowd-funding, and would you ever consider making a new game with it?
Jeff Vogel: It's awesome. Anything that can give a leg up to small development teams is terrific. And yes, when we make our next new engine, we may well give Kickstarter a shot.
Couchpotato: Some members are curious about why you keep making re-makes and why don't you use a new game engine? How would you respond to them?
Jeff Vogel: I will make an entirely new game engine in the next couple of years. It's a really tough job, though. Very time-consuming. That's why we try to really revamp things every 3 games or so.
As for remakes, well, our newest game, Avernum 2: Crystal Souls, is a rewrite of Avernum 2, which came out in 2000. That's 15 years ago. Fifteen! It doesn't run well on new machines, and we can do such a better job with the design, graphics, etc. Also, when we rewrite it, we can port it to tablets. So I think rewrites are entirely justified, and our customers agree. They sell really well.
Couchpotato: You once mentioned you can't make games as you used to. Can you elaborate on that statement? I was just curious as most of your games turned out to be enjoyable.
Jeff Vogel: I just have a different brain than I did when I was 25. Back then, I was more energetic, less guarded, more willing to do crazy, off-the-wall things. I was more concerned with making neat, cool things than perfecting game balance or whatever, and that produced games a lot of my fans really love.
So when I rewrite them, I need to be respectful and leave the things the fans love the most alone.
Couchpotato: Your latest remake was Avernum 2: Crystal Souls and it seems sales were decent from your latest blog update. Is there anything you wish you had more time to change?
Jeff Vogel: Oh, there's always things you wish you could improve, if you had more time, money, etc. I would love more elaborate graphics and production values, but I lack the cash and the technical skill. That's probably what I'd change first.
Couchpotato: Your latest newsletter mentioned Avadon III is your next game in development. So I was wondering if you can you share any details on the game yet?
Jeff Vogel: It's super-early in the process. I have a skeleton of a plot, and that's it. I hope it's out in mid-2016.
Couchpotato: I noticed you offer free demos, and have no DRM in any of your games. I was wondering why, since most developers don't offer demos, and use DRM nowadays?
Jeff Vogel: There tends to be a feeling int he industry that demos don't sell games. Also, indie games tend to be a lot shorter these days, so there isn't really room to carve out a demo.
I like demos because I'm old-school, a tired remnant of my shareware days. Players having a fair chance to test out my games before they buy them makes me feel better about myself ethically, which is really important to me.
Couchpotato: So whats next next after Avadon III, and the next Avernum re-make?
Jeff Vogel: I have a lot of ideas. Which might all change tomorrow. I don't want to lock myself down on anything, as dreaming and coming up with crazy ideas really is the fun part.
Couchpotato: Thank you for your time Jeff do you have anything you would like to add?
Jeff Vogel: If you like retro, indie, turn-based RPGs with really cool stories, give us a try. We have stupidly large demos of our games at spiderwebsoftware.com, so you have nothing to lose but time.
Don't forget to check out the developer's website!
Link - http://www.spiderwebsoftware.com/
And we also covered every game on our website.
Link - http://www.rpgwatch.com/developers/spiderweb-games-18/games.html
