Ferrago: Visually, the world of Exigo is already looking vivid and detailed - tell us about the landscapes across which we will be waging war, and anything else interesting about the graphical side of things.

IZ: Our players will be taken to diverse locations in the game. On the surface we experience the changes of seasons. The story will take the player to swamps, deserts or giant forests. The world underneath might even be more unfamiliar and interesting. Amongst the traditional but spectacular cavern & tunnel systems, we encounter ice caves and boiling lava caverns as well. An additional and interesting effect is the dynamic changes of lighting underground. As units move about, these lights might awaken or die out respectively.

Ferrago: How different will the game's factions be, and what problems does this present in developing a balanced experience?

IZ: There are three playable and discrete sides in the game (Empire, Beast, Fallen). I would begin by explaining that units of these different species advance levels in different ways. Units of the Empire when advancing to level three, get an aura that affects every friendly unit nearby. Units of the beasts cannot influence their friendly units, however they receive the most powerful bonuses. The way Fallen units gather xp points is fundamentally different from the previously mentioned two species since they collect and keep the spirit of every killed enemy in a specific place. As soon as the collected xp level reaches a certain amount, every existing unit of a specific kind advances a level collectively and so does every newly constructed unit of the same kind. Another diversity amongst the three species is that although they are able to achieve / execute everything their opponents can, their methods are completely different. For example, the majority of all units require supplies to be able function. The empire builds farms to provide its units with these supplies. Beasts breed Borons (giant Buffalo like creatures) to comply with this need of supplies. These creatures can be controlled, used in battles, and goblins can be put on their backs. Fallens summon their supply. While summoning, these units cannot move, although their bodies are significantly protected by this very spell. During this process Summoner can even see into other levels (surface or underground). As another important difference, I would mention how the different species transport their units by air. Fallens have a flying creature that turns invisible and is able to transport units. Beasts do not have a transporting unit, instead they know of a spell which transforms any unit into a gaseous form. This form of aggregate can fly and/or penetrate the surface and solidify back to its original form upon arriving. The empire uses flying arcs to transport its units by air. We are able to develop these arcs to have loopholes for archers to attack ground enemy units whilst in transit. I think these examples demonstrate well some of the main differences amongst species.

Ferrago: What element of Armies of Exigo are you most proud of so far?

IZ: There are a tremendous amount of features that we are very proud of, and I am reluctant to single out just one. What I'm most proud of is the fact that we created a game that we truly love.

Ferrago: How have EA's past games - such as the C&C series - influenced you in developing this game?

IZ: Although the basics are similar since they are all games, we tried to differentiate our game by making it to be different from previous RTS games. The biggest similarity between AoX and the C&C series is that we too designed super weapons, although ours differ how they are used and what / how they effect their environment. With super weapons in AoX, we don't win wars, their cunning use only helps our troops and opponents can come up with a remedy to avoid its effects.

Ferrago: Will you be hoping to create and support a gaming community around the new title, if so, how?

IZ: As you would expect, we do plan community support. We promote the forming of Clans and competitions among them. There will be detailed statistical pages of players and clans too. We are planning to provide forums to players where they can discuss everything between themselves and possibly even with the developers.

Ferrago: Thanks for your time!

By Luke Guttridge