GB Feature: Spiderweb Software Interview

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Written by Brother None on May 5th, 2010

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What are the main things you learned from Avernum and Geneforge that you are taking into your next franchise?

Many things. Even after fifteen years, I am learning new things all the time.

For example, I've learned a lot about the difficulty curve. My last few games have been, frankly, too hard. I want a smoother, gentler difficulty curve with fewer surprises. For people who want a challenge, that are what the tough difficulty levels are for.

I've also learned a lot about graphics. Avernum 6 is the nicest looking game we've ever done, and the next game will be even prettier.


Please expand upon what you mean exactly by "too hard". Should I expect the new game to simply have an easier standard combat difficulty setting? Or are you also referring to quest design, meaning that I should expect the game to "hold my hand" while resolving quests?

I like the quests the way they are. Some of them should be simple, and some should require more digging and thinking. In terms of puzzle-solving, I think we're in a good place.

By difficulty, I am referring to toughness of fights. I have allowed my difficulty curves to get too spiky and unpredictable. I've always liked to put the occasional tough monster early in the game, to give players a chance to face a challenge. I then put warnings that a tough encounter was ahead. But people either miss those warnings or ignore them, fight the tough monster, get killed, and get angry at me. I am going to do less of this in the future and be a lot more careful about how such tough encounters are placed.

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