KickStarter Geneforge 1 - Mutagen - remake from Spiderweb Software

[Infinitron]

No, I think he actually planned from the beginning not to remake Avernum 4-6, because they were released on Steam while the original trilogy wasn't.

Geneforge 1 and 2 are on Steam though, so by that logic he wouldn't be remaking them either.

Yeah his plans changed at some point.

 

[Sykar]

I really loved the story in Geneforge. I am glad he is remaking that instead of Exile: Escape from the Pit once again. I really hope he adds more complexity to character creation though.

Wait you did not indulge in your usual?

 

[luj1]

So Geneforge remake, Umbra and Realms Beyond are all coming out in February? I doubt RB will, but otherwise not bad.

 

[Infinitron]

So Geneforge remake, Umbra and Realms Beyond are all coming out in February? I doubt RB will, but otherwise not bad.

? The Geneforge Kickstarter is this month. The game itself will come out later, maybe even next year.

 

[baud]

New fans are going to be incredibly disappointed when he remakes Geneforge 3, though, as it's completely unlike 1 and 2.

New fans will buy anything he throws out, they didn't complain for Queen's Wish, and QW is flat out horrible compared to GF3.

To be fair, QW, compared to the first games of the Avadon trilogy and nuAvernum trilogy, wasn't received as well: only Mostly Positive in review, compared to Very Positive for the other two and way less reviews:
Avadon 1: 300
nuAvernum 1: 700
QW: 150

But I don't think he'll react to this decline, he can't and will just persist in what he's been doing for 25 years. It's likely that the market has changed more than he can adapt to.

 

[PulsatingBrain]

Project is live!

 

[Infinitron]

Good god Jeff, why would you post tweets like "We're starting our Kickstarter in the next few days" and never one with the actual date?

The Geneforge Saga is a true cult classic of indie games, a groundbreaking role-playing series with ideas that are still fresh and bizarre today. We started it wayyyy back in the year 1999, with the goal of breaking every design rule we could think of.

Want to use trickery and diplomacy to win the game without ever even attacking a foe? Sure. Want to blast through the game barbarically killing every single person you meet? Seems reasonable. Want a ton of different factions to pick from to help, some of which are actually insane? Why not?

Want to meet the final evil boss of the game, find out he's actually reasonable, switch sides and join him, and still get a good ending to the game? You can do that!

And, of course, whatever you do, you can create your own army of custom-made mutant monsters.

The original Geneforge, released in 2001. It is long overdue for a freshening up.

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.

The games were big successes for us, and they have a passionate following that continues to this day.

They are also old. Really, really old.

The first Geneforge game is old enough to vote now. It is really showing its age. It doesn't run on a lot of computers and the interface and graphics are hopelessly crude. We have been wanting to give it a loving, ground-up remaster for years now.

And, with your help, that time has come!

Your army of vicious creations in battle with a pack of rogues. There are many ways to build your team and many battle strategies (and there is always a way to never fight at all).

 

[Infinitron]

Stretch goals are worth pointing out:

Much of the money we collect will go to freelancers to create assets for the game. Skilled artists cost money. (And they're worth it!) However, we have a bunch more things we'd like to do ...

$50K Level - A New Creation

Geneforge is about making magical, mutant monsters and sending them to do your will. We already will be bringing back all of Geneforge's classic creations. At this funding level, we will also add a new, special, powerful endgame creation to serve you. Even better, you can help design it! We will let ALL backers make suggestions, and we'll pick one of your ideas.

$75K Level - A New Storyline

The original Geneforge wasn't as long as we wanted it to be. At this level, we will create a new multi-zone region, with its own characters, quest lines, and epic loot to hunt for.

 

[Tacgnol]

Good god Jeff, why would you post tweets like "We're starting our Kickstarter in the next few days" and never one with the actual date?

Jeff often puts me in mind of a slightly luckier Pierre Begue. They both seem to be shockingly lacking in common sense and self awareness.

 

[Alienman]

From low quality 2D graphics to low quality 2D graphics. Is that worth 30k?

 

[Grauken]

I like Felipe but sometimes his shilling becomes too obvious.

 

[newtmonkey]

When we remaster our games, we put serious effort into it. We want to bring the Geneforge games into the modern world, with a better interface, graphics, and design. The remaster will not only be for Windows and Macintosh, but we will be bringing Geneforge, for the first time, to the iPad!

When we remaster our games... we want to bring the Geneforge games... to the iPad!

 

[Dayyālu]

50k to add a new Creation!

Considering that we know how little art is required for a Creation, that's frankly ridiculous. But it's baby steps. Baby steps.

Sometimes I get this weird feeling Vogel (despite being ferocious that he never reads forums, that listening to your customers is poisonous and you should ignore everyone) manages to skim through other people's opinions nonetheless.

THE GAME IS OLD VERY OLD LIKE ME

SKILLED ARTISTS COST MONEY MY MONEY IS WELL SPENT MY ART IS GOOD

 

[flushfire]

Are the "new" screenshots just mockups? Saw no mention of mockup or temporary on the KS page.

 

[JarlFrank]

From low quality 2D graphics to lower quality 2D graphics. Is that worth 30k?

Fixed.

 

[Alienman]

50k to add a new Creation!

Considering that we know how little art is required for a Creation, that's frankly ridiculous. But it's baby steps. Baby steps.

Sometimes I get this weird feeling Vogel (despite being ferocious that he never reads forums, that listening to your customers is poisonous and you should ignore everyone) manages to skim through other people's opinions nonetheless.

THE GAME IS OLD VERY OLD LIKE ME

SKILLED ARTISTS COST MONEY MY MONEY IS WELL SPENT MY ART IS GOOD

I don't think he does. I remember something that he never read Steam forum feedback. Think he mentions it in one of his talks.

 

[Terra]

Will probably sit this one out. The money certainly won't be going towards new assets, as with the QW KS grand unveiling, what we see here is what we'll get, aka Geneforge with a bunch of asset reuse from Avadon. I've no faith he'll do anything more than the bare minimum based on what's been shown so far.

He'd probably be better off if the KS failed as he'd have to re-evaluate his approach and actually put some effort in, but it won't so it's a moot point.

Besides, the QW KS ended up being slightly pricier than the release price, so no need to give Jeff extra money for nothing.

 

[V_K]

Of the screens not shown pre-kickstarter, this actually looks kinda promising:

I was worried he's gonna dumb down the creaures' customization, but it seems like the opposite is the case.

 

[Viata]

It's sad that he forgot some of those tilesets are green, even though he didn't forgot the UI is green.

 

[baud]

50k to add a new Creation!

Considering that we know how little art is required for a Creation, that's frankly ridiculous. But it's baby steps. Baby steps.

Sometimes I get this weird feeling Vogel (despite being ferocious that he never reads forums, that listening to your customers is poisonous and you should ignore everyone) manages to skim through other people's opinions nonetheless.

THE GAME IS OLD VERY OLD LIKE ME

SKILLED ARTISTS COST MONEY MY MONEY IS WELL SPENT MY ART IS GOOD

I don't think he does. I remember something that he never read Steam forum feedback. Think he mentions it in one of his talks.

He still read some of what's posted on the Steam forums, since he's posted a few message there, mostly related to bugs. You can see his messages there: https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198046210947/posthistory/

 

[thesecret1]

Geneforge is about making magical, mutant monsters and sending them to do your will. We already will be bringing back all of Geneforge's classic creations. At this funding level, we will also add a new, special, powerful endgame creation to serve you. Even better, you can help design it! We will let ALL backers make suggestions, and we'll pick one of your ideas.

Who is he kidding, he already has an asset from the Avernum remake that he wants to use, and there's no way backer suggestions will change his mind on that. Chiefly because he won't read them.

 

[Serious_Business]

Jeff is Anxious, he wants you to have a Good Time. This is the secret to his Impotence

Alright alright, Geneforge was pretty cool. It was the only thing happening in the crpg genre for a while, it definitively deserves more recognition. I still don't care about the man's anxieties though, makes me want to step on him like he was some kind of shit bug

 

[felipepepe]

I like Felipe but sometimes his shilling becomes too obvious.

So we DON'T promote cool indie projects? I genuinely like Geneforge and want this kickstarter to succeed, and I will do the same for Knights of the Chalice 2 next month.

 

[Viata]

cool indie projects

 

[amurath]

It looks like the campaign is already funded. I guess Jeff has a group of hardcore fans that will fund pretty much anything he does. Personally, I hope he hits the $75K stretch goal to expand the story more. Geneforge was certainly his most unique game but it feels a little short next to some of the sequels.