Avadon: A Case Study In Storytelling | Jeff VOGEL

Adding a story to your game is a great way to, with relatively little expense and difficulty, make the user's play experience far more involved and addicting. However, video games are a unique storytelling medium, with its own advantages and pitfalls. Also, storytelling is art, and art is hard. This talk examines the process of creating the storyline for the indie hit Avadon: The Black Fortress. This game's intricate and involving storyline helped it to build a passionate following despite its low-budget graphics and sound. The talk will cover the steps of going from an idea to a finished tale, with attention paid to the importance of aiming your story to a specific audience and integrating it into gameplay to create a more immersive experience.
Delivered at Casual Connect Seattle, July 2012.
Download Slides: casualconnect.o...

[@shiretsu]

I don't know what it is about this guy, but he's the first person that's really made me feel like making a game is a possibility, rather than an overwhelming impossible task

[@sauloramos9881]

Yeah, makes it seem a whole lot more possible. And it´s the living proof that making video games for a living isn´t necessarily a gamble.

[@MrArakhon]

Yeah, He's the humble little toy maker. Very charming man.

[@videogamesare1]

Found Jeff's GDC video more recently, absolutely love the behind the scenes look at game dev that this industry veteran shares.

[@TopherBlairMusic]

Jeff has a pretty sweet gig going. I would love to make games but would hate to work for a company busting my ass, pumping out other people's ideas.

[@SpotDeezNutz]

I remember finding the demo for avernum 2 back in 2001 inside the june issue of "pc gaming" magazine (i think it was pc gaming) back then avernum graphics did not look so bad in comparison to other things (not that that matter much). what I remember the most tho is the trip down the the underground river towards the vahnatai lands. its 17 years later (i was 13 then) and i swear i can still hear the water splashing from the rapids you almost drowned in along the way. there was no sound for that, just the text prompts that described the situation but it painted such a vivid image that i could literally feel myself navigate on that rocking boat. adrift to the mercy of that treacherous river. story telling was and IS supperb. i would pay 100 dollars for avernum with diablo 3 graphics.

[@cryora]

Yeah that was some moment. I also remember if you were to attack the townsfolk they'll kill you instantly.

[@JordoValentino]

The original Exile Trilogy are the first games I ever bought for computer. If I had never played the shareware version of Exile 2(& repeatedly, at that), I would never have played any of the others. The story kept me going. Well played.

[@Nepartinis]

Geneforge series is one of the best series I ever played. Great stories, beautiful art and best systems.

[@bettdecke2839]

Dreamer, storyteller, toymaker... Great work he did and do with his devs. Im impressed and really like his games. First game of him I enjoyed was a sharewareversion of Exile, Ive got on a sharewareCD back in the days of pre-Internet.

[@Mark_72]

I don’t mind about the graphics when those games are so good altogether. I like the stories, the desperate search for shit etc. I also like those kind of graphics. It work pretty fine for me. With such games, Avernum & Avadon, I’m secluded for weeks. Well worth the price! Those are serious Epic games!

[@rogerr.8507]

Blades of avernum; i dont know if the story was good. but the damn thing made SENSE. I appreciate how handcrafted the story is without procedural generation, and grinding. Im still basking in its glory after beating it yesterday.

[@OmegaF77]

Awesome vid- CLANG

[@DeoMachina]

Can you believe steam used to reject games like this? Whereas now...

[@aFewBitsShort]

One word: hentai

[@glowiever]

nowadays steam is like a garbage bin, selling assets recycled games over and over...

[@Dwarfurious]

Also ! You cant fool us @1:14 those are the updated graphics for Exile! I miss the old ugly graphics it used to have :(

[@knightken426]

Dude i agreed with you, i don't understand why SpiderWebSoftware reworked both first and 2nd Exile from the 3rd Exile graphic..

[@challaslolo]

didn't know also exile 2 had the old graphics! i remember exile 1 old graphics from an old shareware "game empire" cd

[@skaiano]

Whew, I finally figured out how to pronounce "Avernum" thanks to this, looks like I've been doing it right! xD

[@Dwarfurious]

I couldnt actually get into Avadon =/ liked the theme but couldnt finish it, felt like it was too long of the same, didnt have the open world exploration of Exile, didnt have the feeling of cool progression of Geneforge. Didnt like any of the characters either =/

[@dredlord47]

>you can't have a game without a story about a guy that walks down a hallway and hits people in the face DOOM says hi.

[@koalabrownie]

Doom has a story mate kzbin.info/www/bejne/g4vPnmWBa5ucedU

[@andreadangelo2299]

Hnically the intro, the fact that it's a soace amrine vs hell etc are all stiry that adds context and makes evergthing feel better like he said

[@dredlord47]

@@andreadangelo2299I want you to take a minute to sober up or get to an actual keyboard and re-write that so it's actually legible. Also: You're replying to a 4-year-old comment.

[@farligg]

Well, now a days he is just trying to appeal to a larger crowd. But his games are still way more hardcore than anything Bioware has ever put out of Bethesda has since Daggerfall. (if you consider daggerfall hardcore.)

[@dvngeon]

King

[@ogrim0]

Were they eating?

[@manaman6971]

Art box great idea

[@MasterAckrovan]

Can't tell if this was sarcastic, but Jeff has stated before that he isn't interested in joining another company.

[@DaMusique3]

No Vogels games are really on the same level as DA2 Fallout 3 Oblivion. Maybe early it wasn't, but he has actually said himself that if he had the budget he would love to make games like Bioware.

[@fullup91]

He's handsome!

[@PrettyGuardian]

Yall call him Jeff Vogel, I call him daddy.

[@MartinOckovsky]

Who in his right mind would want to be hired by today BioWare?

[@Unknown-dq2cj]

MAH BOY!

[@The_Real_DCT]

umm, no DA2 is aimed toward the "hardcore" like Fallout 3 is..His stuff is more on the old school style hardcore, seriously in most of his early games you have to think real hard about how your building your character and such or else you will get boned and boned hard. You can't say that about DA2 or most modern RPGs sadly.

[@JoeyJoJoJoestarJuniorShabadoo]

Am I the only one who views video games and cRPGs as two separate distinct things? Video games don't really need a story, they're often more of a detriment to gameplay than a benefit. But I play cRPGs mostly for the story or setting and roleplay mechanics. Combat is kinda secondary.

[@NoHandleToSpeakOf]

make me unhear about bluebeard ;-)

[@Gijontin]

12:38 - not sure if sad or funny to hear/watch in 2024

[@DaMusique3]

Vogels games are aimed at hardcores? Like the same way DA2 is aimed at hardcores right?

[@MrSaemichlaus]

Bad idea to use a turning page effect in a slideshow, got on my nerves after a while. Also it's not even necessary to switch between views, as the overview layout is sufficient.

[@braydenb1581]

I wish Square Enix would watch this. Since ps1 they've been meh. They floated during ps2 but have been the worse since ps3

[@Bekon241]

And that why Avernum series need Polish lang support and steam need open source tools to give community from all world tools to translate game like this to all world languages. I can read english but much better is play deep story game in nativ lang. If anyone give me full script from game with all dialogs even if this is 1000 page text i can translate part of that in 1 hour other person another part and other next. If only steam give us oportunity to do that subtitles in all game will be international translated for all world language in 2 deys... But not mater how meny time i write this on stam forum without my lang support game topic... Nothing changed from meny years... :( No one need audio or dubbing in game but subtitles and ui lang cant be so hard to change if all will be given for free to develepers who mede game only in english.

[@sharpc-tudent]

Steam has nothing to do with it. The developer has to program his game in a way that is easilly translateable and provide tools for that purpose. Steam legally and technically cant change a builded game like that. They are a game store, not game developers. Every DLC or functionality of a game is responsability of the game maker himself.

[@TamalPlays]

you don't know anything about game development. Steam has nothing to do with it.

[@banyarling]

JFC Jeff DA:O is garbage