As for what kind of person would overlook the state Avadon leaves the world in: My younger, more naïve self played mostly as a loyalist since that seemed the “default” path and many of the anti-imperialist themes flew over my head, but even then pulling rank or telling on my companions made me uncomfortable, and I still remember the surprise at the… Well, surprise the Wayfarer had when I refused a deal with him for humane reasons. With those little moments adding up, by the end I more or less got the point. Formative stuff, gives me so much nostalgia for this game. Late to the vid but happy I found something celebrating one of my first CRPGs, nevertheless for its myriad shortcomings.
Thank you! Avadon might not be my favourite game, but I still think its a very impressive culmination of a fascinating man's career and I think you made a great pick for a first CRPG
I found the sense of unease to escalate over the course of Avadon 2, and then 3. Avadon 3 made me genuinely nauseous at times. It's a great story- but a deeply uncomfortable story, of how the informal structures of power trap us in untenable situations. It starts out hopeful... and then that hope dwindles. At the end... even if you do step up where no one else will, aren't you trapped in the same complicated structures of power as before? Will things really get better? Adding to that- for me Avadon 1 was a bit of a slog, but then 2 gripped me, and 3 was emotionally uncomfortable enough I'm still grimacing when I think about it. Give them a chance.
Get the feeling the lack of any blockbuster success like many indie stars of the modern generation has kept the developer hungry to keep making classic games. So many just quit once they are very rich or even sell out, getting rich can just kill the hunger to keep trying, most people I'm sure only work purely out of necessity.
I'm part of the niche audience that is receptive to Spiderweb games. These games are highly unlikely to achieve widespread popularity, but they have a devoted cult following. I've been playing video games since the late 1970s, so I am accustomed to graphics and sound that are far more primitive than in even the earliest Spiderweb games. Maybe it is because I'm part of this earliest generation of gamers - sound and visuals are nice, but they are not necessary if the core of the game is good. Jeff doesn't like music in games, so he doesn't include any. I'm sometimes the same way - I get sick of repeating music after a while and want to listen to something else or nothing at all. I'm also an avid reader, so games that present me with large amounts of text are fine, and my imagination will fill in to make up for whatever might not be presented directly. Jeff excels at world building, and the writing in his games is generally good. The locations in the games are fun to explore, and I find myself wanting to uncover every little corner of every map. The Avadon series is especially good for this, as each of the nations in this world is quite unique, and The Corruption, which is part of the second and third games, is one of the most disturbing and fascinating video game locations I have ever seen. Combat is my only real problem, but this is a problem that is common to turn based RPGs, not just Spiderweb games. I really hate action combat since I have poor reflexes, so turn based RPGs are more compatible with me. The problem with turn based combat is that it can get slow and tedious, especially if the game is full of random weak monsters that seem to be there only to slow the player's progress, as in almost every turn based RPG of the 1980s. (My preference is real time with pause, which combines the speed advantages of action combat with the reflex independence of turn based combat.) This goes all the way back to Ultima III, which is the first party-based RPG I played. If you think Avadon has tedious combat, try playing the earlier games, such as the first Avernum series. Combat has been a lot more streamlined since the latest Avernum remake. If combat is too tedious and you mainly want to experience the story and the world, Jeff has provided a range of difficulty options. Some battles will still be tough on the easiest difficulty, but most will go quickly. A few of the boss battles are even interesting. The Redbeard fight is extremely tough, albeit technically not impossible, regardless of the difficulty setting, but this is as it should be. At the end of the first game, he is still extremely strong, and this battle is optional. The narrative point of this battle is that he is the master of Avadon for a reason, and to challenge him is foolhardy. You may not want to submit to him, but you have little choice. The cracks may be starting to show, but it is too early to take him on directly. In the subsequent games, it is interesting to see how he develops as a character as he faces more challenges. Later on, fighting him might be a viable option...
WAAAAAYYYYY too many turn based games are slow AF and they DO NOT have to be that way. I also detest slowness. I tend to use cheat engine to speed games up. Turn based games SHOULD NOT have legions of weak or low powered encounters. ALL TB games should have animation speed settings. As for music... I love when games have an immaculate OST.
Very good content. I remember my first Spiderweb software game - Avadon the Black Fortress. I had so much fun playing that game. I couldn't get into other titles because of copy-paste system/graphic etc. Don't have that much time these days, so I rather play something "new".
