Jeff Vogel: I know that some people will be like, “No, don’t rewrite Geneforge, you’ll just screw it up,” but I swear to God, I’m going to do my best to do that game justice and make it way cooler.
Above: The original Geneforge is a favorite among classic RPG fans.
GamesBeat: Is it safe to assume that’s somewhere coming up close on your to-do list now that Avernum 2 is behind us?
Vogel: Not close. The next is Avadon 3, to close out that trilogy. Then I have to rewrite Avernum 3: Ruined World. Avernum 3 is probably our biggest hit. It is arguably our most beloved game and most beloved design. Rewriting that is a huge priority, because that game has serious fans. It’s really neat. But I’m dreading rewriting it because it’s enormous. It’s a frighteningly huge game. Rewriting that is going to take a long time, to do it up right.
GamesBeat: What new projects are you working on?
Vogel: After Avernum 3, after Avadon 3, before the Geneforge rewrite, I want to write a whole new game with a whole new engine. I’m thinking about that a lot, probably a lot more than I should be thinking for a game that I shouldn’t be able to start for three years. But I have some neat ideas about what I want to do.
Above: The original Avernum 3.
GamesBeat: You wrote a blog entry about the end of the indie bubble. Can you explain?
Vogel: Four or five years ago, indie games really super took, and there was a huge demand for indie games and very little product, and a small handful of fortunate people managed to make a lot of money.
Then everyone who was working in the computer game industry and hated life, because that’s what working in the computer game industry does to you, they said, “Holy crap, I’m gonna quit my stupid job writing Call of Duty 83, and I’m gonna go out and write my dream indie game, which is Pong but a 2D platformer, or something like that.”
Oh, thank God for 2D platformers. They’re like indie game development Viagra.