Avernum: Escape From the Pit Announced

Remember that remake of the original Avernum that Jeff Vogel talked about doing in my interview with him last month? Spiderweb Games has now sent out a press release today officially announcing the remake to everyone who hadn’t already read about it in the interview. It reads:

Avernum: Escape From the Pit is an epic fantasy role-playing adventure in a unique and deadly world. Fight to complete up to three game-winning quests. Explore a massive nation of tunnels and caverns, seeking out eighty towns and dungeons. Master over 50 spells and battle disciplines and hunt for hundreds of magical artifacts. Avernum: Escape From the Pit is a total, ground-up rewrite of the last century’s Indie hit Avernum. It will be ready for adventurers in Q4, 2011.

Hit the jump for more info about the plot and some screenshots showing off the game’s newly spiffied-up graphics.

Vogel summarizes the plot of Avernum thusly:

You have been banished to the underworld, never to see the light of day again.

The surface is ruled by the cruel Emperor Hawthorne, master of the Empire. All of the known lands are subject to his brutal command. Everyone who speaks out, who misbehaves, who doesn’t fit in is cast into the dark, volcanic pits of Avernum, far below the surface. There, you are expected to die, a victim of starvation, horrible monsters, or simple despair.

But not all of the Avernites have surrendered. With magic and steel, they are forging a new nation deep underground. You can join them and fight for safety. Or freedom. Or even, if you dare, revenge on the surface-worlders who tried to destroy you.

Although the Mac version is scheduled for release at the end of this year, Windows and iPad versions are not slated for release until the first quater of next year.