GamersInfo.net: Can you tell us a little about your background in game development, what got you interested in working in the computer entertainment field and how you got involved in this project?

Ian Davis: I'd be happy to. As you might imagine, I started playing games when I was very young, (you know, I was a big D&D fan, loved math, that sort of thing). So, it was no surprise to me that by the time college came around I was completely engrossed in games and went on to get my doctorate in Artificial Intelligence and Robotics. After that, it was no time at all before I was Technical Director at a major studio, and with a few years leading the charge there on several major titles, I went on to found Mad Doc. Over the last few years, we've had a great deal of fun bringing more major titles to life, such as with Dungeon Siege®: Legends of Aranna™, an Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences Computer RPG Game of the Year Finalist. We'd done the work on Empire Earth: The Art of Conquest™, have a strong RTS background, and we're all big RTS fans here. So when Sierra was looking for someone to take over the development of the Empire Earth franchise - they came to us. We had a keen understanding of what made the original a great game, and we knew we could make Mad Doc's Empire Earth 2 awesome.

GamersInfo.net: In Empire Earth the game spans a period covering 500,000 years of evolution. What made you decide to reduce that to a 10,000 year period in Empire Earth® 2?

Ian Davis: We didn't! The Mad Doc team has been busy creating 15 epochs, spanning 10,000 BC - 2230 AD (approximating the same time span as the first Empire Earth), 14 different civilizations, and a greater number and variety of buildings and units than any other game on the market. The first epoch is really the same one (Stone Age)…military technology didn't really change much between 500,000 B.C. and 10,000 B.C.!!!

GamersInfo.net: What are the three campaigns that have been established for Empire Earth 2? What time periods do they cover?

Ian Davis: In Empire Earth 2, there are three major campaigns: (Korean, German, American). The Korean campaign starts at the founding of the first Korean city state and takes you from this birth through their becoming a fully independent state. The German campaign begins with the founding of Prussia and moves through its eight scenarios, giving you a broad sense of the German state and how it affected history. And finally, the American campaign begins with the Spanish-American war and takes you into the near future in a post Cold-war setting. From beginning to end, the game takes you through the full course of human history, and man, it's a blast!

GamersInfo.net: Are the campaigns designed to be run in sequence?

Ian Davis: They can be, but they don't have to be. They're designed to run in sequence - but you can play as you wish.

GamersInfo.net: Of the 14 various civilizations to choose from, are they all available for play in all of the scenarios?

Ian Davis: No, in Empire Earth II the scenarios have specific civs set up. In Skirmish and MP you can use them all.

GamersInfo.net: Do the civilizations change with time? Meaning, will they be representative of the specific time period that the campaign is covering? For instance, early China would be a collection of individual warlords, which then develops into an empire and eventually into a communist state. Will the play of that culture in the various campaigns reflect the changes in the politics and culture?

Ian Davis: There's a real subtlety to what's going on here. For instance, each region has its own set of powers and abilities, and civilizations have their own unique attributes, etc. -- these two converge to keep things fresh here. To some extent, we tried to factor in individual, unique historical events, etc. and have them add a general, broadstroke tone to the regions, civilizations, etc. At the same time, we looked at the most interesting historical pieces of each campaign, and we tried to play to that.

GamersInfo.net: Will the technology, scientific development, and social development be different for each civilization? Or will they all be using a common generic development system?

Ian Davis: There is a single technology tree that all the civilizations use in the game. The interesting note is that each of the different civilizations and regions has differences in the way they approach it. Some may gather resources faster, while others might research technology points faster. And each civilization has special Civ Powers that change over time, as well as regionally specific Wonders.

GamersInfo.net: Are there specific advantages or disadvantages associated with the individual civilizations?

Ian Davis: Yes. For instance, each civilization has a set of custom bonuses, as well as bonuses that are shared by all civs within the same region. So, let's say you take a look at the British, you'll see that they build merchant ships and trade carts at reduced cost, and they have better warships. Now, because the British are part of the Western region, they also receive bonuses to their universities, technology research, and when they capture any enemy buildings, they receive additional war rewards. Each civ also has three unique units that it can access during the game.

It's important to note that players can also customize the types of bonuses they receive throughout the course of the game through the Crown System, Tech Tree, Leaders, and Wonders. This can really change the dynamic of how they play the game -- it allows the player to adapt and react better to the changing circumstances of any particular game, so there's less of the "let's pre-determine everything" mindset. I've found that it makes for much more interesting gameplay.

GamersInfo.net: What various kinds of weather effects can be expected in the game? Will the weather effects be appropriate for the geographical areas? Will the weather effects be seasonal?

Ian Davis: In Empire Earth II, we've set it up so that ambient weather and seasons like fog and snowfall will definitely affect gameplay and force players to adapt their strategies to the changing environment. Players can expect blizzards, dust storms, monsoons, and more to affect what they're doing. And, as would occur in nature, we've made the game's weather system global, by that I mean that all of the global weather events like the blizzards, etc. will affect ALL players in the same way - temporarily affecting movement and LOS.

So, seasons and weather will definitely play a role here, with seasonal variation of terrain, trees, bushes, buildings and other game objects. You can expect weather effects like thunder, lightening, fog, accumulated snow, unit animations tied to environmental conditions, and the tactical effects of seasons and weather, all adding to the gameplay experience. We've given fans choices for Temperate, Tropic and Arid climates to play in, and we've worked seasonal calendars into the game as well (if it's Summer, a wet brow might be wiped, in Winter, you may see a shivering soldier). As for me, I'm looking forward to seeing what players will do when they've sent forces out to combat, and suddenly find themselves locked in by a storm or blizzard!

GamersInfo.net: How historically accurate is the game? Will there be the possibility of developing aircraft and advanced weaponry in 100 BC if you play your cards right?

Ian Davis: Naturally, in a game like Empire Earth II, we've been keen on hitting the mark with historical accuracy. We've focused on creating a fun, dynamic and challenging gameplay experience, and to do that well with this franchise, we had to put a great deal of work into the creation of the campaigns. There were massive amounts of historical research, fact checking, timeline creation, battle design, writing and more behind our campaign development in the game. We've even included some historical battles in the game, like "The Invasion of Normandy," where you can choose whichever side you'd like to be on and play through a great battle. In the Single Player Campaigns you won't find aircraft in 100 BC, but in a MP or Skirmish game if you're REALLY good (or using the handicap system!) you could end up bombing troops who have barely discovered gunpowder.

GamersInfo.net: With all of the other historically based RTS games out there what is it that is going to make Empire Earth 2 unique and set it apart from the rest of the industry?

Ian Davis: I'd have to say it's a lot of things, really. I've said it before and I'll say it again: it's the sum and depth of what we've done here that makes it so outstanding. There are a number of innovative features Mad Doc has added, as well as core streamlining features, that make the gameplay experience exceptional. The bottom line is, we've put a lot of thought into how a game of this size and scope can be best played, and the improvements and innovations we've made like the Diplomacy System, the Crown System, Territories, Citizen Manager, Picture-In-Picture, and especially the War Planner, have all had a tremendous impact on the game. When you add in Mad Doc's advanced, non-cheating AI that levels the playing field, you get a strong sense of what we're doing here.

What it all comes down to is this: we've taken keen note of what players really want, and I think we have a pretty good understanding of how they'd like the game to play. In Empire Earth 2, we've looked at what might make it more exciting, challenging, easy to manage -- and we've done our best to make it happen. At the end of the day, I think fans are going to be elated when they play the game.

GamersInfo.net: Can you give us an example of how it is that the AI will adapt to a player's individual strategic play?

Ian Davis: We've created cutting-edge AI that doesn't cheat. And by that I mean: IT REALLY DOESN'T CHEAT. The AI plays the game by the same rules you play by, and the results are fantastic. I can tell you from experience that skirmish games against the AI are unbelievably fun.

Here's an example of how it adapts to a player's individual strategic play: like many of us, the AI will try to avoid really dangerous areas on the map. So let's say it comes upon a killing field. Well, just as you and I might do, it will go "aha!," and after that it will try to sneak around -- instead of going through your massive forces. It will adapt to dangers, threats, etc. as you or I would when playing the game. And it doesn't pull the "miraculous cheat from out of thin air" to beat the player. It evaluates and makes decisions just as the player does, and all the basic strategies that you use against a player, you can use against the AI. It's this kind of fair play that keeps the game fresh. On the easiest difficulty settings we actually have to handicap the AI to make it less difficult!

GamersInfo.net: What is your favorite sport and who is your favorite team in that sport?

Ian Davis: Ahh, good question! Baseball. Red Sox. 1918. 2004. Need I say more?

GamersInfo.net: Thank you for your time.

Ian Davis: It was my pleasure, I'd certainly like to take a moment to thank you and your readers for the continued support and enthusiasm for Vivendi Universal Games and Mad Doc's Empire Earth 2. Oh, and by the way fans - get ready, because this one's gonna be hot!