It's hard for me to call Battlezone II a "tank game". There are so many other units in the game, many of which the player can pilot himself. I think of BZ2 as a "high-firepower future war simulation". I know that tanks were the unit of choice in Battlezone 1. They were the most versatile. We are really trying to give each unit in BZ2 a unique feel and purpose and we are using every tool at our disposal to do so. We now have units that can hover, walk, fly and drive. Some can't cross water while others can go over or even under it.

An example might be the new ISDF "Jackal" (mortar bike). It's relatively cheap, fast and agile but weakly armored and not very good in combat because its primary weapon is a mortar. It's primarily a harassment unit. It can get out to the field quickly to take out unprotected buildings and stationary attack vehicles like turrets and howies. It can outrun tanks but gets eaten alive by scouts.

Do you have a favorite unit or weapon in Battlezone II (that you can talk about)? Is there a unit/weapon idea that you liked that had to be cut? What was the dorkiest unit/weapon that made it into original Battlezone? Is it true that the "Rave Gun" was initially just a joke?

We just got the new flying bombers in last week so I've been playing with them a lot. There are currently no anti-air fortifications in the game so you can rain hell-fire from the sky on the AI with impunity. I originally wanted a great deal more functionality out of the APCs (which also fly now). I wanted groups of players to be able to get inside it and move around. They could then shoot out through windows on the vehicle at other players on the ground. Unfortunately, we discovered that it is very difficult to have moving objects inside of another moving object so the idea had to be scrapped. We pushed the APC pretty far regardless of that and I'm happy with them.

I would have to say that the "dorkiest" unit in BZ was the walker, especially for the NSDF. The walkers didn't turn out the way we wanted them to be. They're going to be much more cost effective in BZ2.

The "Rave Gun" was never originally speced for BZ (techno-rave music was not very popular in the 60's after all). Its roots can be traced directly back to one Kenneth Miller who made it for fun. The designers hid the weapon in their multiplayer maps so they could go and get it in rough times and kill everyone else. It gave them a cheap sense of superiority (designers are that way). After beta testing we realized that we had forgotten to take them out of the maps. We rushed to take them out, but a few slipped through.

Have you ever changed your mind about how a unit operates or sounds based on how Carey makes it look? Which unit in BZII has changed the most from its original design concept?

Carey and I work very closely on the unit's looks and functions. We've both influenced the work of the other. Most all of the units have remained true to their design. The Scion units are proving to be the most difficult overall. We need them to be familiar, so the player can recognize a tank when he sees it, but we also wanted them to be alien without seeming cliché. The look of the Scions is also very important to the story.

You've worked on several games. What's the biggest surprise you've encountered while watching someone test/play? Do players often come up with ways of doing things that you hadn't thought of? To what extent have those discoveries influenced the design for later games?

The biggest surprise is always how quickly they can break your mission. Even when you think you've covered all the bases a tester can break it in seconds by doing something you never expected. It is, after all, their job to do so.

In BZ, I was amazed at the number of different strategies players came up with to finish a mission. Some of the missions, I thought, could only be won a certain way. Players figured out countless other ways to win I had never expected or compensated for. It has given me a much less rigid mission philosophy for BZ2.

It's rumored that you're a big Starcraft player. What's the best thing about Starcraft? What side do you usually play? Do you have a favorite unit?

I was playing a lot of Starcraft months ago. I'm not so much anymore. The best quality about the game for me was the 3 unique sides. It kept discovery high in single player missions and added so much longevity to instant action and multiplayer games.

I played primarily as the Protoss, they had the coolest voice assets. I didn't have a favorite unit but I loved to hear the Archon say "Annihilate".

Who's the bigger megalomaniac, you or George? Who will win the ultimate battle to dominate the universe?