We Released Geneforge 2 - Infestation!
Let me hawk to you my wares.
We have just released Geneforge 2 - Infestation, our newest indie RPG, for Windows and Mac! (iPad version coming soon.) It's a remaster of Geneforge 2, one of our most popular games.
It's huge, it's full of cool story and unique design, and it's really cheap. You can get it on Steam, of course, and it's available on a lot of other stores. Hope you like it!
OK. That's the PR out of the way. This blog is free, and selling games is how we keep the lights on.
Geneforge Saga Refurbishment Continues Apace
The five-part Geneforge Saga is one of my real achievements in this business. I started it in 1999. I was young, full of energy, had made some money, and was determined to create something innovative and unlike any other computer RPG out at the time. Even now, all these years later, these games still have qualities that are all their own (like being able to reach any ending with a pure pacifist route).
Our remaster of the first game, Geneforge 1 - Mutagen, came out in 2019, and it was a big success for us. It's still our biggest seller. This series has a fan base going back a long way, and it's been really satisfying to give them the new, polished versions they deserve. Because Geneforge 2 really needed the polish. The original version had a fixed 800x600 play area. This was entirely adequate in 2003, but it's a postage stamp now. When it runs at all. Just the new interface (plus launching without crashing) makes this a valuable upgrade.
When We Remaster, We Really Remaster
We spend 18 months on each remaster, and we redo everything. Every location, encounter, and line of dialogue gets revised and polished. This takes a while.
There is also a ton of new material. Several new zones. Lots of new characters and quest lines. We added a whole new ability tree, Weapon Shaping abilities that augment your blade and missile attacks, that is entirely new to the series. Thus, if you were a Geneforge 2 fan, there's a whole new way to play through it.
We put in a lot of new content based on the feedback of Kickstarter backers. You will find that a lot of the emptier cracks in the game have been filled with lore and tangential stuff to do. This makes the world seem a lot more fleshed out. A lot more real. Again, I’m really happy with the result.
We put a ton of work into this game, atoning for the flaws of 20 years ago.
The Old Economics Of Our Business
We've been in business for 30 years now. We predated the indie game boom by a long time. Heck, we even predate the consumer internet and world wide web.
In the old days, to make the economics of the business work, we had to write games fast. Each all-new, full-length title got 18 months. This meant that sometimes corners were cut. Geneforge 2 was a beloved game, but it was full of threadbare dialogue and cut corners. The structure is there, but the bones were too bare.
(Other games suffered more. Before long, we will remaster Avernum 4, and that one will need and get a LOT of work.)
We have now spent 3 years total on Geneforge 2. We've come to find that this is about the right amount of time for us to put in one of our RPGs to get them about as good as we can get them (tiny company that we are).
This is the final Geneforge 2. I won’t live long enough to get around to remastering it again. And, as always, I have regrets. As I went to sleep last night, I thought about things I could have done. Motivations and dialogue I could have refined. This or that little tweak. But there comes a point where you have to say, “Enough.” I must force myself to be content.
Looking To the Future
I am probably about 12 years from looking at retirement. In that time, we have six old games that are really cool but need a full remaster treatment to bring them into the present. We also have several other games that need a quick polish treatment (like art and rebalancing) to send them into posterity.
And we have ambitions to make new stuff too.
That said, I’m sort of transitioning into the Billy Joel phase of the career. My best, most creative period is behind me, but there is still a lot that should be done. I've written 18 all-new games. Eighteen! This has already been a hugely prolific career. Now I need to wrap everything up, tie up the loose ends, and take a bow with as many people satisfied as possible.
In a few months, I'll let our fans know what the next two years of Spiderweb will look like. We have some exciting plans!
Your Support Is Greatly Appreciated
When I was a kid, I dreamed of making games when I grew up. I got to live my dream, and it's all thanks to the support of our fans. If you've enjoyed my blog, please consider picking up a copy of Geneforge 2. It's on sale for the first week on Steam. (Also, if you buy it through our web site, we get a slightly larger cut.)
Now back to work. Releasing a game brings on a frenzy of urgent tasks. If I'm going to keep doing this, I got to hustle.
Thank you so much for being here!
Our newest indie role-playing epic, Geneforge 2 - Infestation, is now out! It’s cheap and fun.
Spiderweb Software makes fun role-playing games and also has a mailing list and a Twitter and a Facebook if you want to learn when we do something big. Extra thanks to people who actually pay for this Substack. It gets me off my figurative butt and keeps me writing.