Spiderweb developed a number of other RPGs during this time, which we will hopefully have an excuse to go into in future articles, but the relevant point for now is that after Avernum 6 ($6.99) was completed in 2009, Vogel was inspired to go all the way back to the first one and start remaking them again.
AVERNUM 6 ITEM CRAFTING SERIES
The remakes introduced a lot of new content along with the improved presentation, providing groundwork for the series to continue into a second trilogy that continued the story. This new engine was used to remake the Exile games under the name Avernum from 2000 to 2004. The Exile series was followed by Nethergate in 1998, which introduced a new engine with an isometric point of view similar to the Infinity Engine that powered Baldur’s Gate. The latter included a scenario creation kit, allowing ambitious fans to create their own adventures in the Exile engine. This game had a top-down look to it similar to most of the Ultima games, and after it proved successful, it was followed by two sequels that expanded the world and story, along with one non-canon entry. On his website, he describes it as something he did to stay sane. The first Exile game was made by Vogel while he was in graduate school working on his Masters in Applied Mathematics.
As the Ultima series has more or less ceased to be, Spiderweb’s games are now perhaps more valuable and essential than ever. Going all the way back to the first game, Spiderweb’s RPGs have often been described as low-budget (or as we say today, indie) Ultima homages. The years pass by, but no matter how things change, Vogel keeps doing what he feels he has to, and that’s a wonderful thing for RPG fans. When Exile: Escape From The Pit launched, the Internet itself was still getting its footing, with services like the App Store and Steam sitting firmly in the realm of science-fiction.
AVERNUM 6 ITEM CRAFTING SOFTWARE
It’s even more impressive when you realize that when Spiderweb Software started, things were very different for indie developers compared to today. Vogel has often mentioned how he has felt compelled to keep making games, and it must be quite a compulsion, because the company has released more than 20 games in its 20 years of existence. Spiderweb Software really only has two employees: Jeff Vogel, who makes the games, and his wife Marian Krizsan, who seemingly wears just as many hats on the business and support side as Jeff does on the development side. Let’s cut past the company’s name, for a second. Spiderweb Software, on the other hand, is still here, and the company doesn’t look to be going anywhere. Ultima did not survive, Wizardry somehow transformed into a largely Japan-only niche series, Interplay and Black Isle are both essentially past-tense, and even Bioware seems to be less interested in the kind of games they used to make. Spiderweb Software has been consistently releasing indie RPGs for almost 20 years, a remarkable achievement all on its own.
AVERNUM 6 ITEM CRAFTING PC
Released on Mac in late 2011, with Windows PC and iPad versions following a few months later, it’s a remake of Avernum, released in 2000, which itself was a remake of the 1995 game, Exile: Escape From The Pit, Spiderweb Software’s first release. It’s a game with more history behind it than you might think at a glance.
This week, we’re looking at Avernum: Escape From The Pit ($9.99) from Spiderweb Software. Next week’s game is Phantasy Star 2 (Free), a suggestion from reader Jesse_Dylan.
Simply tell me the game you’d like to see me play and write about by commenting below, posting in the Official RPG Reload Club thread in the forums, or tweeting me at The next reader’s choice article is next week, so any suggestions you make right now will go towards the April selection. Once per month, I let the readers decide what I’m going to play. I try to balance the schedule so that there’s a wide variety of RPGs featured, but I need your help with that. It’s a chance to revisit the game, reflect on the things it does well, and take a deeper dive on it. Each week, we take a look at an RPG from the App Store’s past to see how it’s holding up. Hello, gentle readers, and welcome to the RPG Reload, the weekly feature where nothing is so unimportant that it doesn’t go into our inventory.
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