Spiderweb Software Interview

Spiderweb Software’s Jeff Vogel took the time to answer a small batch of questions over at 1UP about his Exile and Avernum RPG series, their influences, and his commitment to the Macintosh platform.

1UP: What exactly does it entail to bring a long-running series like Avernum to a close? The series’ world has developed quite a history, not to mention certain tics and trademarks. Was it difficult to bring all these things together to offer payoff to long-time fans and create a sense of closure, or did the pieces simply fall into place?

JV: A good question. It’s pretty rough. The hard part is ending the story. This was really, really hard for Geneforge. I agonized about it for weeks. It wasn’t as rough for Avernum because I’ve known for years how it would have to end, but the process still began with thinking about the end point.

Then I made up the storyline, the series of events that gets everything from A to B. What the player will do, in other words.

And then, in that structure, I cram in as many beloved characters, dangling plot threads, and blatant fan service as I can. I really try to reward the longtime fans (without alienating new people).