Failing to Fail: The Spiderweb Software Way
510,319
Published 2018-10-08
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All Comments (21)
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Jeff: "We are not a household name" Me: tears up because I played Exile, Avernum and Nethergate growing up "you're a household name in my household, Jeff."
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You gotta remember this man's company basically outlived million dollar companies that both started and ended during his company's lifespan.
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Can somebody let Jeff know I paid him in change in 94 because I was 14 and paid for it purely by myself.
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"The whole point of grad school is to make your life so miserable that it forces you to decide to do something proper'' -Jeff Vogel, 2018
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This man is the most grounded developer I've ever seen on a GDC talk.
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I saw 'Spiderweb Software' and thought "Why does that seem familiar" Jeff shows list of games, of which I own half or so in my Steam library. It's almost a superpower how low-key this company is.
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It never ceases to both amaze me and make me laugh that Spiderweb's probably the only studio I know who to this day has semi frequently people emailing them, apologizing for having pirated the games in the past and having since then bought them with real money. If memory serves, their last kickstarter even had a supporter tier where you would be able to get a signed Scroll of Forgiveness lol.
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This video amongst all other GDC videos is the hugest inspiration to me. It's a man who's lived the life of making video games as an indie developer. No viral success, no fancy publishers, no scummy tactics, just honest hard work, and he has the years to prove it. He's not a younger guy with only a few years under his belt that might end up giving up on indie. This guy has been in it for the long haul.
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If you are an Indie, save your time and stop watching anything about motivational stuff on Youtube NOW. Watching this guy's talk once a month will keep you going.
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I want to be like this guy when I grow up. Having a small company, being a humble toy maker, but still being able to support myself and my family, I want that
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This guy's sense of humor is right up my alley, makes me kind of sad that a lot of his jokes fell flat with the audience. Keep on being awesome!
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"The beatings will continue until morale improves. Daddy is home!" -Jeff Vongel Just out of context, sounds strong enough for me.
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I really like the Spiderweb games because the non busy graphics give my mind actual room to imagine what's going on. I'm not even that old, just 28, so it's not a nostalgia thing. It's just nice to not have every game telling me what everything looks like all the time.
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7:25 "I am older than the art form in which i work." Man, that's deep thoughts there and he isn't 10 minutes into the talk. A real wise man here.
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Sent Jeff a check back in 95 for Exile: Escape from the Pit, it was an RPG worth every penny. Sorry for calling you on a Sunday Jeff.
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60 hours of content in Exile 3? I swear I put upwards of 300 into it. Played that game until windows 7 told me to stop. Jeff puts such heart into his games it's hard not to love them instantly.
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Got a lot of respect for this dude.
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Probably one of the best talks on game development ever recorded.
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I've watched a lot of GDC videos. This is top 10 easily.
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Exile Escape from the Pit was a big part of my teenage years. I was one of the kids that got a shareware copy in the 90s and fell in love with Exile. I just got a little time and started playing Queen's Wish 2 which led me to this video. Jeff you are a household name in my home. Thank you for all the great memories.
