Work on "Geneforge" began during the development of "Avernum 2", initially little information was revealed. In an interview published by "RPGDot" Vogel compared the game's movement system to "Fallout" and revealed that a new game engine was being implemented. The project had initially been intended as pure science fiction but this was soon abandoned in favor of a mixed fantasy and science fiction setting. In an interview published on website "RPG Codex", Vogel stated this was due difficulties maintaining game balance with futuristic weaponry which "should be devastating". He added: "I found it to be too difficult to model the weapons in a way that simultaneously felt sensible and maintained balance".