Geneforge 2 Interview

2003-04-24

Jeff Vogel from Spiderweb software is currently working on Genforge 2. As this game is scheduled to be released in a few months, Val had a short interview with him.

RPGDot: To begin, could you please tell our readers about the mysterious world of the Shapers in which the Geneforge series takes place? Who are the Shapers and what do they do?

Jeff: They're a secret and power sect of wizards, with the ability to create life and edit it to serve their purposes. They can ender a wasteland and create forests and animals to populate it.

They jealously guard their secrets. Any outsider who tries to use Shaper magic tends to wind up dead.

The practical upshot of this is that you get to make your own army of totally obedient mutant monsters.

RPGDot: Will the player meet more groups of people who are not Shapers, like the Sholai?

Jeff: There are plenty of non-Shapers, though no Sholai. You will get plenty of chances to lord your mighty powers over the outsiders. Most, but not all, will treat you with the appropriate level of awe.

RPGDot: In the previous game all players saw was the work of the Shapers. You could only meet one other living Shaper, Goettsch. What sort of attitudes will the player run into from their fellow Shapers? What will they be like and will more be revealed about this secretive group?

Jeff: You will meet a lot of different Shapers in Geneforge 2. However, the game takes place ina very remote region, and some of them have gone a bit funny. Some are loyal to the Shaper ideals. And some have developed some very dangerous ideas.

You will have to decide whether to crush these rebel Shapers or join them.

RPGDot: The first Geneforge had several endings. Will one of these endings have an effect on Geneforge 2 and if so, which one? How much has the first game affected the Shapers?

Jeff: In the end, I did have to select one ending from Geneforge and have that be the starting point for Geneforge 2. It was a very neutral ending in which the world wasn't destroyed.

RPGDot: In the previous game there were various factions that the player could work with or against. Will it be the same in Geneforge 2? Will there be more factions than before?

Jeff: There will be four factions (instead of 3 in Geneforge). Some are loyal to the Shapers. Some are fighting for justice. And some are insane.

RPGDot: You've mentioned that the game will contain the same three classes as the original. Will the class you play have an effect on the game? Will people react differently to the different classes?

Jeff: People react the same to the different classes, but the class you are has a big difference in strategies and play style.

RPGDot: What sort of new skills can players expect to see in Geneforge 2?

Jeff: There are many new spells and several new creations you can make. The spell system is much more advanced.

RPGDot: How large is the world of Geneforge 2? In the original you were restricted to the barred island of Sucia. Will there be more places to roam? Also, will there multiple paths that favor different skills to get to places like the first game?

Jeff: It takes place in some remote mountains where some very unusual things are happening. The game will have 84 zones, 10 more than Geneforge.

There will be many different paths to win, and different ways to do just about everything. There is a stealth and diplomacy route, and a battle route.

RPGDot: You have mentioned that the barred canisters, which were instumental to the growth of your character in Geneforge, will again appear in Geneforge 2 in a lesser degree. In the first game the full effects of the canisters was only hinted at. It seemed to physically change the player and others could notice this. Will we learn more about them and their effects? If you use canisters, will it effect how people react to you?

Jeff: The canisters change your DNA, writing magical abilities into your being. They have unfortunate side effects, however. For example, they drive you slowly mad. This will make a difference.

RPGDot: You have mentioned that the game will have multiple paths to victory. Is it safe to assume that there will again be multiple endings to game? Geneforge was rather free-form and non-linear. Will it be the same in Geneforge 2?

Jeff: There will be many possible endings to the game, more than with Geneforge.

RPGDot: You have talked briefly about some of the new spells that will be available in the game. Will it be possible for players to use these different spells to fit their play style? Could one play a diplomat, a warrior, or a spy?

Jeff: The general paths are warrior or stealth/diplomacy/mechanics. I have added the new spell, however, with an eye to adding a wide variety of new strategies.

RPGDot: How large will the demo be? Will the player get a good sense of the game from the demo?

Jeff: The demo will be almost a quarter of the full game, almost 20 areas. It's quite large. A player will be able to get a very good idea of what the game is about from it.

RPGDot: You have said that again you are doing Windows and Macintosh versions of the game. When do you expect them to be finished and released?

Jeff: I hope to have the Mac version out in early July, and the Windows version out about 2 months after that.

RPGDot: Is there anything else you would like to add?

Jeff: Thanks to the many people who registered Geneforge. I was really pleased by it, because it game me the chance to write Geneforge 2. It's a fun world and a fun engine to design for. The new game will have a lot of cool stuff, funky encounters, and things to do.