The Geneforge Saga is a true cult classic from the distant history of indie games. Started in 1999, it was a series of unique and innovative role-playing games, with a one-of-a-kind setting, fascinating story, and a level of open-endedness that still stands out today.
They were also really fun, and they still are.
Want to use trickery and diplomacy to win the game without ever attacking a single foe? You can. Want a ton of different factions to join, some of which are actually insane? We're happy to oblige. Want to scorch the earth, devastating every location you find? Um, it's an option.
Geneforge games don't hand you a 'bad guy'. You decide who is bad. Pick a side and start fighting.
And, of course, whatever you do, you can create your own army of custom-made mutant monsters.
Original Geneforge 2, from wayyyy back in 2003. An update is woefully needed.
The Geneforge games have had a cult following for decades, but they are very old.
Our tiny little company worked on the five parts of the Geneforge Saga from 1999 to 2008. They were truly unique games, with a strange and fascinating world, complex characters, tough moral choices, and a blend of fantasy and science fiction unlike anything that had come before.
However, they don't run properly on modern computers, and they don't exist on mobile devices at all. These games were huge successes and developed quite a following, and it pains us to see them disappear from the Earth.
Thus, this remaster. We are going through the Geneforge Saga, one game at a time, and giving each a massive, ground-up remaster. They will always be scrappy, retro indie games, but now they can be that in a bigger, funner, more modern way. We already made Geneforge 1 - Mutagen, and it was a big success. (Playing Geneforge 1 is not at all necessary to enjoy Geneforge 2.)
It is time to return to Geneforge 2, first released in 2003. We want to create Geneforge 2 - Infestation.
And we'd like your help.
Early prototype art for Geneforge 2 - Infestation. Maybe, when all the power conduits are active, something crazy will happen.
The world of Geneforge is ruled by the Shapers. The Shapers are wizards with the awesome power to create life. Need a servant, pet, tool, or a mighty beast to fight and die for you? The Shapers can create it.
Creations and common humans are expected to obey the Shapers completely. If not, they are destroyed. The Shapers guard their magical techniques with fanatical devotion. The penalty for stealing their secrets is death.
The iron rule of the Shapers has brought their world stability and prosperity, but at a cost. Some of the Shapers' creations are intelligent, and they want freedom. The Shapers underestimate their creations. This is a mistake that will lead to disaster.
The five-part Geneforge Saga is a story of intrigue, rebellion, civil war, and utter devastation. You will take part in the creation uprising, both as a Shaper and a rebel. You will guide the war, making choices that will reshape your world.
No Shaper is complete without a small army of customizable mutant monsters. Many strategies are available.
Spiderweb Software spends a lot of time remastering our old games. We've learned a lot over the years. When a game gets too old to run, we like to use our new skills to not just get it to work again, but to make it shine.
With our backers' help, we remade Geneforge into Geneforge 1 - Mutagen, resulting in an expanded, improved game which got a great reception. Now we want to give the same treatment to Geneforge 2. We want to release the new game in early 2024, for Windows, Mac, and the iPad!
We plan to respect what our fans loved about the series. The world, the characters, the story, the game system, they will be mostly the same. We will also expand the world, adding new characters, storylines, abilities, game mechanics, and other ways to go crazy with your mutant monsters.
We also have exciting plans to add something the series has always lacked: A fully developed system for melee and missiles. The new art of Battle Shaping will provide an entirely new path through the game, giving longtime fans a fresh way to experience it.
Geneforge 2 - Infestation includes a new branch of Weapon Shaping powers. A whole new route through the game is coming!
We Have a New Kickstarter, Plus Let's Talk About Remasters
When I'm not asking for your money, I have interesting things to say about the business.
I think this is gonna’ be a good one.
I keep saying this blog is free. Of course, it's not. Nothing is. The price of this blog is that, every so often, I put an advertisement in your inbox.
We have just started a Kickstarter for our next game, Geneforge 2 - Infestation. It will be running for the next month. If you can back us, we would be enormously grateful.
I have a whole bunch of quality blog posts stored up, and I'll be posting them over the next month.
First, however, I want to talk about remasters.
If It Was Fun Once, It's Still Fun
Our Geneforge Saga is one of our most popular and enduring creations. We started this five game series in 1999, and Geneforge 1 came out in 2001. (Dwarf Fortress is the banner Olde Game these days, but the first Geneforge game was out and selling before it was even started.)
The Geneforge Saga is a fantasy-science fiction hybrid with a wildly open-ended world, story, and game system. It was crazy innovative back then, and it's still unique today. It has a loyal, cult classic following, but it is also ancient. It doesn't really run anymore. Thus, the remasters.
The first remaster, Geneforge 1 - Mutagen, came out in 2021. It got a great reception and still sells really well. Happily, after doing them for many years, we've got the hang of doing remasters.
What the original Geneforge 2 looks like. It needs a bit of work.
The Magic of Rewarmed Leftovers
Now that humanity has been making video games for about fifty years, we have a huge backlog of great but forgotten games.
A book printed in 1980 is still perfectly readable. A computer program written in 1980 requires emulation. And then, when it runs, you're still running a program written in 1980, which is going to feel pretty archaic. Interface design back then was not so good.
Archivists work hard to preserve old video games, which is awesome, but I want my games to not just function. I want them to be fun. Geneforge 2, which came out in 2003, still kind of runs on Windows 10 (which is surprising and awesome), and we still sell the old Geneforge games on Steam and GOG.com.
But I don't want my best work to be "barely functional". When I retire, I want as much of it as possible to shine. Pride in craftsmanship, and all that. Other developers feel the same way.
There are lots of remasters of classics out there. Recent examples: Demon's Souls. Final Fantasy VII. The Last of Us. (Repeatedly.) Classic World of Warcraft. There's a deep well of beloved products to draw from.
But how to do the remaster? That is a tough question.
I’m sure the Final Fantasy VII remaster is a decent game. However, when you turn a turn-based RPG into an action game, it’s not the same game anymore.
How Much Do You Change?
If there is anything I've learned from all the remasters I've done, it's this: Respect what made people love the original.
When I did earlier remasters, I often redid things like the game system, because I thought my wiser game designer brain could make the old stuff better. Nope. Never forget that nothing ruins a good game faster than more game design.
My old worlds and game systems were done when both I and my art form were a lot younger. They were crude, weird, and unbalanced. People also loved them. When I changed them into something more in line with current design standards, players were vocally unhappy.
With Geneforge, I kept the old game system intact as much as possible. When I changed it, it was to add options. More spells, more stats, more strategies, more content. Players generally like getting more stuff.
Combined with updating the interface and graphics (something that never gets complaints), and you have a solid remaster that keeps a game playable for another few decades.
Geneforge 2 - Infestation will have an entirely new set of skills for characters who use melee and missile weapons. It’s a good idea to add lots of new toys to remasters for longtime fans.
Big Developers Having Varying Success
The most successful AAA remasters are the ones that keep the original game as much as possible and add to it. The new Demon's Souls plays really close to the original, but it has terrific graphics now. Same with the multiple new versions of Last of Us.
The Final Fantasy VII remake, on the other hand, seems largely forgotten. The original was beloved and a blast to play, but it was also retro. The new version is really arcadey, and watching it left me with no desire to play it.
The story of Final Fantasy VII is a lot of why it is so fondly remembered. So that should have been left alone. Instead, they really changed that too. Also, the whole story is being released over like seven years. So at a certain point, I have to ask, "Why did you do that?"
It's also a shame because the old Final Fantasy games are still surprisingly playable and work great on mobile. This is not true of all old games.
Ultima IV is one of the most influential of all video games. Yet … It is of the past.
Some Games Are Unremasterable
This is an aside, but I think it's an interesting one.
Some games are worth keeping for archival and historical purposes, but nobody should actually play them. You can't remaster them because there's nothing there to remaster. You would have to build a whole new structure on top of the original, and this will always be disappointing.
My best examples of this are Ultima III: Exodus and Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar. These games are unquestionable classics. They were huge hits that had enormous effects on how games were designed. Without them, I probably would never have written games. I speedran Ultima IV before anyone knew what speedrunning was.
There is no reason to play them today. They're just too crude and simple. If you are learning to design games, there are better examples to play.
The most interesting cases are the games that are still fun after all these years. The original Final Fantasy games are. So is Robotron: 2084. So is Pong.
The Importance of Humility
I can understand why the creators of Final Fantasy VII changed so much. Creators want to create. Young, ambitious designers don't want to be like medieval monks, reverently copying the ancient scrolls. They want to make new things. I understand completely.
The problem is that, when you're remastering a classic, you probably aren't as good as the people who created the original.
Fortunately, I don't have that problem. I have no difficulties letting the work made by younger-me speak for itself. I can easily get out of my own way. Speaking of which, I'm getting old.
Making your own army of customized, weird, freaky monsters is always fun. Twenty years later, it’s still a great hook.
Preparing For Posterity
I have written eighteen full-length, all-new games in my career.
That is a LOT.
A novelist who has written 18 books has had a very full career. I am at the point where retirement is in sight. I want to leave my work in as modern and playable a state as possible. The Geneforge games being so hard to enjoy in their current state is painful to me.
I currently have 7 games, counting Geneforge 2, that I want to remaster. I put a huge amount of work into these projects, going over everything carefully. It takes about 18 months for a full remaster. Which means this is a project that will carry me to retirement age.
However, it's a tough business, we're still a tiny company, and children gotta' eat. We can only make these games with the support of our supportive, awesome fans, all of whom have terrific taste.
Hence this crass self-promotion. If you've enjoyed my work (games or writing), we hope you'll consider backing the Geneforge 2 - Infestation Kickstarter. In return, you will get a game that, I believe, will be really quite fun.
Thank you! Without you, we're nothing.
Jeff Vogel said:
Jeff Vogel said:
Four Geneforge games and three Avernum sequels. Nethergate fans btfo.
Nethergate Ressurection Remastered Release.
"
Four Geneforge games and three Avernum sequels. Nethergate fans btfo.
Geneforge 2 - Infestation Kickstarter One Week Update!
Greetings, supporters! It has been a week since the Geneforge 2 - Infestation Kickstarter started, and it’s time for the first of several weekly updates.
We are thrilled with how the Kickstarter has gone. It funded almost immediately, and we’ve already reached our first stretch goal. There will be a game (out early 2023), and it will have a new creation to send into battle. After the Kickstarter is done, we’ll begin asking your opinions for what it should be and what it can do.
We’re looking good for our next stretch goal: Adding a new, long quest storyline with a bunch of new sections to explore. Hopefully, it will fund before next week’s update.
Almost all of the design rewards have sold out. We’re both grateful and overwhelmed. That’s a lot of quests, characters, and artifacts to create. Yet, we’re excited about it. We’ve done this several times. It’s difficult, but it also results in a more varied and interesting game. We can’t wait to hear your ideas!
We’re going to spend the next few weeks finding places to spread the news about this Kickstarter. We’d love to reach more goals and add more adventures to the game.
Thank you again for your support! Back to work, and you’ll hear from us next week.
- Jeff Vogel
One of the many test settings we made to see how the new terrain types and creatures are looking in the game. We're going to have a lot of weird new machinery to interact with.
Geneforge 2 - Infestation Kickstarter Week Two Update!
(This is the original cover art from 2003 Geneforge 2, by the way. It will be redone, but it's nice to bring it out one last time.)
Hello from Spiderweb Software! The Geneforge 2 - Infestation Kickstarter has just completed its second week, and things are going great. Here is an update.
We have reached our second stretch goal! This means that we’ll be adding a whole new storyline to Geneforge 2, with its own characters, sections, sweet loot, and a new creation to discover. The world of Geneforge is full of stuff that can be expanded in interesting ways. There are things we can expand upon that people have been asking for for twenty years, and we were listening!
We also just got a very nice write-up from PC Gamer magazine. We have a huge fondness for PC Gamer. It’s one of the last old-school game magazines around, and they have been covering us since the 90s. Them stepping in to help us out in our old age gives us a warm feeling in our hearts.
As for development itself, we are slowly gearing up to begin development of the game itself. Thinking up new ideas. Taking a second look at the game elements we’ve already designed and seeing what we’re still happy with. The Geneforge 1 remaster got a very kind reception, and we want to make sure you still like us. Right now we’re still taking a bit of a breath, but serious development will begin the moment the Kickstarter ends.
Thank you again for your support! We’re hoping to make our next stretch goal and make even more content. Next week, we’ll let you know how it’s going. Have a great week!
- Jeff Vogel
All dialogue in Geneforge 2 will be reworked and expanded. Your favorite character will have more interesting things to say and questions to ask.
Geneforge 2 - Infestation Kickstarter, One Week Left!
The Geneforge 2 - Infestation Kickstarter is entering its final week! We’re really thrilled with how it’s turned out. We’re still a ways from our next stretch goal (a new storyline with a bunch of content), but there is always a surge of backers and interest near the end. Fingers crossed!
To try to get attention, I’ve been writing a flurry of blog posts on our Substack. There isn’t a huge market for really long articles on game design, but we’re working every angle to get attention. Also, though it’s a lot of work, it is a nice hobby.
Meanwhile, we’re working on the game. Our freelancers are producing a bunch of really nice new art, including a variety of new creatures. Hopefully some of it can be shown off next week. We’re also doing the million things necessary to write a new game: Picking through the code and updating things. Looking at new versions of the game engine. Loading in new graphics assets and making chest sheets with bits of into I constantly need to refer to.
We’re also looking at how the game will be expanded. Geneforge 2 has some much-loved characters and factions. They will be fleshed out with expanded dialogue, side quests, and other things to make them more fun. This takes a lot of planning, and we’re starting early.
Finally, we have a cool bit of cross-promotion. From Lone Shark Games comes the new base set and expansions for Lords of Vegas, a game that I helped playtest! It's a modern classic city-building game about sprawling giant casinos across Sin City. Lone Shark is releasing the game's first-ever 6-Player Base Set, plus the multicity expansion Americana and the convention deck Con Jobs. If you've ever wanted to build a gambling capital from the ground up, Lords of Vegas is the game for you.
Anyway, it's time for the final push! Wish us luck, and we’ll let you know how everything worked out when the Kickstarter is done. See you on the other side!
- Jeff Vogel
A screenshot from the tutorial. Here, we learn how to sneak past a slimy rogue artila. The new stealth system in Geneforge 1 worked really well, and we remain dedicated to ways to achieve all your goals without brute force.
We're still sketching out everything on graph paper, just like in the old days. We've only copied over the old map so far. This will be expanded a lot.
