Dragonkind has the distinct look of Japanese animation. Is that a market you're looking to appeal to or enter?

GP: We are targeting a very broad audience for Dragonkind. We are trying to have a style that will be broadly appealing to many groups, countries and cultures. Joe's style is unique in that it successfully blends many different looks. We are not going after the Japanese animation market, per se, but we think our style will fit with fans of Japanese animation.

Though comics and video games are clearly part of the same market niche, there doesn't seem to be much carry-over as far as creative teams are concerned. Why is Joe more suited as President of Creative Development than anyone else in comics or games?

GP: First and foremost, Joe is a video gamer extraordinaire. He has played more games across more platforms than I have (which is saying a lot). He understands the industry and has been following it for years. Second, Joe is an extremely creative individual. He has proven his ability to create interesting character, engaging stories, unique settings... Third is Joe's art talent. Not only is his style fantastic, but his ability to translate his creative vision into visuals is incredibly valuable [as well]. I know a lot of tremendously talented people in this industry, but I have yet to meet a creative team leader that is as universally strong in all areas as Joe is.

How did you, Tim and Joe meet?

GP: Tim and I worked together at Interplay when we were both at Black Isle Studios. In the interim, I left to help start another development company, but we always stayed in touch. Tim and Joe met after Tim had done some 3D models and animations of some of Joe's Battle Chasers characters and posted them on Tim's web site for fun. Joe ran into the site, liked the work and gave Tim a call, and it was the beginning of a close friendship. We have now been working together for about 6 months, though we really started working on the game idea after the first of the year.

How close to completion is Dragonkind?

GP: We are in early development of the game. Core technology development has begun, and we are moving from creative to technical designs tasks. We are about four months into the project as this point.

Traditionally, platformers are more interactive and action oriented whereas RPGs provide the fascinating stories platformers lack, but at the expense of the interactivity due to their unidirectional nature. How have you been able to combine these features in Dragonkind?

GP: I don't think most RPGs are uni-directional. In fact, many RPGs have often been praised for their non-linear game play. Platformers, on the other hand, often suffer from linearity, with the ultimate in linearity having you follow a line of coins throughout a 3D landscape. Regardless, we wanted to offer a game that took the cool 3D action and pace of platformers and combined it with the story and character development of RPGs. We are focusing on the positives of both genres while minimizing some of the negatives. Don't get me wrong, sometimes I love to play a linear platformer, and sometimes I like playing a methodical, turn-based RPG. But with Dragonkind we wanted to make the game feel like a live world in line with the best comic book series. As you know comics are not just about the great art, they are about character and story.

Why hasn't anyone else combined these features before?

GP: Don't know. [grin] I think there are many hybrid and cross-over titles in development for the PS2 and Xbox right now that will surprise a lot of gamers. Up until a year or two ago console games looked and felt very different from PC games. Now the line is blurred. It was only a matter of time before people started to mix and match aspects of games from each platform.

Why exclude Dragonkind's launch from the Gamecube and PC?

GP: We weren't thinking in terms of exclusion as much as focus. We needed to focus our development efforts since we don't have unlimited resources. The PS2 and Xbox are the systems that would work best for our technology base and what we want to accomplish with the game. This doesn't mean that we won't come out with Gamecube or PC versions - but it certainly is not a priority out the gates. Most companies fail from trying to do too much. We'd rather focus on doing a few things very well.