indiePub has published an interview with Jeff Vogel, founder, president and programmer of Spiderweb Software, Inc., makers of the recently released iPad, Windows and Mac game, Avadon: The Black Fortress.
From the interview:
"Avadon: The Black Fortress is the first game in the Avadon trilogy," explains Vogel. "It tells the story of the Pact, a loose alliance of nations trying desperately to keep the barbarians, monsters and enemy powers at bay. The Pact is watched over by Avadon, The Black Fortress, a force of spies, assassins and warriors who seek out threats to the Pact and destroy them before they become serious... In the game, you play a Hand of Avadon, an agent who explores and does its bidding."
GamesBeat: "Jeff Vogel never pulls any punches. So when the longtime indie success story released the Avernum 2 role-playing game recently on iOS — then yanked it days later — we knew he’d have some pointed things to say. Here’s the story of why you won’t be able to get future Spiderweb Software games on iPad despite the company’s successful sales for tablets in the past. Also, a suggestion: Better move fast if you want the company’s older works on the platform (Avernum, Avadon, Avadon 2)."
I'd be more surprised to read "Apple does care." Seriously, though, I'm sure it isn't good for one company to have such total control over a single gaming platform.
There's Android as well, so at least Apple doesn't have a total monopoly. The biggest problem is is that a lot of low budget developers think the Apple store is a goldmine waiting for prospecting, when the truth is is that on 1 in 10K games actually makes enough money to be worth the time to release on the system. The money is there, but success is rather rare. This is true on Droid as well.
What this guy is saying though is that Apple is forcing obsolescence by not allowing legacy code. They eventually stop supporting old stuff, which is reasonable, but when they do so, they completely remove the ability of that code to run by removing the stuff required to run it...which is unreasonable, and not good for developers.
Apple has never cared for gaming they just want some of the money , yes everyone does but at least those others make an effort to do tons , help and even care .
Apple's never cared about gaming. That's evident enough by the amount of time I spend on my PC and consoles compared to my MacBook. The only good thing the latter's for these days is Garage band, really.
Dont have an ios device but there are some great games available on the platform....Hearthstone is a great example. Most tablets support mice and controllers nowadays so there are some great games to be had on mobile devices.
So basically he's blaming mobiles' hardware and coding evolutions , when he can't keep up with it to release 16bits looking games .
Of course apple doesnt care , you came to their ecosystem , and till it works financially they wont cater to you . They were never about revolutionizing gaming or making it better . If anything they made it regress
At least he acknowledges the same issues , only magnified , should he decide to go over the android world
No, he's blaming the forced obsolescence that Apple implements within their systems. Apple doesn't have to remove legacy code to force upgrades, but they do. One reason is that it forces people to upgrade their software purchases, which means more money for them. Another is that when they remove the code, they no longer have to support the older code, which is good for their profits as that requires resources.
This would be no different than if MS removed the ability to run 16 or 32 bit code on the PC. It's possible to do, but there is no reason for them to do so, since the ability to run that code is already within the system.
There are advantages to not supporting legacy code, but they end up being terrible for the consumer because it means a complete upgrade to new software.
All that being said, this is nothing new from Apple. It's been around since the Iphone3 at least. The only game I released on there doesn't work anymore, despite being a fairly simplistic game. IMO, though, this guy may be better off getting an engine which could do the port quickly, and simply issue an update to the program. It's not that hard to do, and any iOS game engine can build to 32 or 64 bit.
Since Pong was invented in the 1970s (which was, according to Wikipedia, in the previous millennium), Jeff Vogel has been obsessed with video games. Jeff was a nerdy kid.
Vogel played them throughout his childhood. As soon as he learned to program in BASIC, he began to write games. Of course, in the beginning, they were terrible, but he was blessed with persistence and perfecting any craft takes time. He'd write a game, throw it away, then wrote another. At the time, it was just a hobby. Making it a real career never occurred to him. He followed other paths.
100 word limit, makes the title on the included image impossible to replicate here.
So, please accept the above title.
PixlBit | "With over two decades of experience making games and a record of being independent before indie games were a trend in the gaming world, Spiderweb Software is the hardcore for the hardcore. Makers of such classic series as Geneforge, Avernum, and now Avadon, the company focuses on old school RPG experiences that most publishers and developers have abandoned.. While they primarily focus on the PC and Mac platforms, they recently experimented with mobile development, releasing Avadon and Avernum to iOS and Android with stunning success. It seems classic games are classic no matter what system they’re played on."
