Remember Chaos League? Remember how it was so much like Games Workshop’s Blood Bowl tabletop game that on the one hand it was unfortunate that developer Cyanide could not get the license, and on the other hand it was amazing that the company had not yet been sued. Well, Games Workshop felt the same way, and called Cyanide out. Because of this, recently both companies announced that their disagreement had been settled for an undisclosed sum, and as a result there are now no plans to develop or release any further Chaos League titles or supplements.

However, Games Workshop apparently liked what it saw in Chaos League, and as such awarded the Blood Bowl license to Cyanide, making the company the official licensed developer for a series titles based upon the popular fantasy football property. It’s rare that you hear of such disputes end on such a high note. To find out more about this new deal, we spoke with Games Workshop’s Licensing Manager Erik Mogensen.

Thanks for taking some time with us today to talk a bit about the recent news surrounding the Blood Bowl license. Can you discuss both Games Workshop and Cyanide arrived at this agreement?

We’ve been talking with Cyanide for some time, and from the start we realized it was an obvious fit creatively. The team at Cyanide has unique experience making fantasy-sports games which makes them an ideal choice to work with on a Blood Bowl title. Blood Bowl isn’t just a fantasy game and it isn’t just a sports game, it’s a pretty unique beast. It’s exciting to be working with a company that has that kind of experience.

Is this a global agreement, or are Blood Bowl games only anticipated to be published within the UK?

The license is exclusive and worldwide. Ultimately, the territories of release will be determined by the publisher however.

Speaking of the publisher, have any companies shown interest yet in publishing the forthcoming tile or titles?

I know that Cyanide is talking to multiple publishers about potential deals. We’ll have to wait and see how that pans out. I know from personal experience of talking to people in the computer games industry that there are a lot of people with a great fondness for the property, so I’m confident we’ll find a publisher that shares our love of Blood Bowl!

Without beating around the bush, the original Chaos League, as well as Chaos League: Sudden Death, were not reviewed well by the gaming media. Given that this is the same team now working on the Blood Bowl license, why should gamers – even if they are fans of the tabletop game – care?

I always take ratings with a grain of salt. Personally, I thought Chaos League was a lot of fun! I also know that Cyanide learned a lot about the ins and outs of making a fantasy sports game while making Chaos League, and they are bringing that experience to the table while working on Blood Bowl. Plus, this is Blood Bowl! There are 20 years of development work that have already gone into this game, and Games Workshop will be working closely with Cyanide to make sure we only make top quality games. As with all our interactive licensees (THQ, Namco Bandai Games, and Mythic Entertainment) Games Workshop will be responsible for ensuring that the look and feel of the IP is accurate. In other words, it’s a true team effort between our two companies.

Given that Chaos league was seen by many as Blood Bowl by another name, what besides a new name does the official license add to the game that was not already there?

As I said, there are 20 years of development work that have gone into Blood Bowl that Cyanide gets to tap into. Plus, Blood Bowl fans span the globe and they have been clamoring for another interactive Blood Bowl game since the last one was released in 1995. Commercially, the Blood Bowl name carries some serious weight.

Can you talk at all about the formats or platforms that Cyanide is currently looking at developing Blood Bowl for? Are next-gen consoles a consideration?

I can’t say much about potential platforms just yet, but we’re exploring all sorts of possibilities.

Thank you so much for your time.

It’s my pleasure. Keep your eyes peeled for more exciting Blood bowl news in the coming months!

With the Wii, Nintendo has said that playing is believing. This is the flag beneath which the new console is being sailed upon the so-called blue ocean, and when it came down to the week of E3 and Nintendo’s Media Briefing at the famous Kodak Theatre, one person, Scott Dier of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, was called up on stage as the winner of a contest held by AOL to stand shoulder to shoulder with Nintendo President Satoru Iwata, game designer Shigeru Miyamoto and Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of sales & marketing (who incidentally has since been promoted to Nintendo of America’s president and chief operating officer). Dier then was handed a Wiimote, and played a Wii Sports: Tennis doubles match alongside the four gentlemen.

Oftentimes as media we can find ourselves approaching new consoles and games with blinders on. We claim to simply be gamers, but it is easy to loose touch with what it is like to be an average game enthusiast eying the industry from the outside. To that end, we spoke with Scott Dier following his experience at the media briefing and E3 to get his thoughts on the event, as well as on the Wii itself.

Hi Scott. Thank you for speaking with us regarding you experience at Nintendo’s Media Briefing. I guess to begin, it would be helpful to hear how you classify yourself as a gamer?

I would say that I’m a much more casual gamer than most. I play games more than my parents but not half as much as my brother or some of the students I work with.

What are some of your favorite games and fondest memories related to gaming in general?

My first memories of gaming were either Q*bert on Coleco or Hunt the Wumpus on a TI-99/4A. I wouldn’t call those my favorite games by far, but they are the reference point I look back to and compare how far games have come since that long ago. My favorite games include Secret of Mana, many of the Final Fantasy series, Super Mario World, and more recently Katamari Damacy.

Speaking of fond memories, it must have been thrilling to hear your name called during the Nintendo Media Briefing as the winner of the AOL contest. What was going through your mind when you heard your name and first walked up on stage?

I was very excited about my name being called as the winner of the AOL contest. It was even more of a rush because the chance to play with Mr. Iwata and Mr. Miyamoto had not been disclosed as part of winning the contest before we traveled to LA. Mr. Miyamoto created many of the games that I played as a kid and I never imagined even shaking his hand at some point in my life.

Many in the media, myself included, were surprised at how light the Wii controller felt once we got hold of it. What did you think of the Wii controller when you first held it?

The Wii’s controller is not as large or as heavy as you’d think looking at the initial images distributed on the internet.

What was the experience like for you, getting the play Wii Sports: Tennis on stage with Reggie, Iwata,and Miyamoto?

Playing on stage was thrilling, even a simple game of tennis was a bit more fun because of the controller. I was surprised at how much it feels like playing a game with people rather than just people controlling a game. We’ve got the problem where my brother is able to beat us on all the button mashing mini-games on Mario Party but I’m guessing those days are soon to be over.

Was playing truly believing, as Nintendo said, for you? How has playing the Wii first hand changed your perception of the upcoming console?

One of my friends had a bad experience years ago with a Microsoft controller that if the motion was too wild you couldn’t get the controller to believe you were holding it flat and level unless you reset it. I didn’t have that problem with the Wii’s controller — it seems more polished than other types of gaming motion based systems than I’ve heard of or used in the past and it changed how I initially felt about the controllers for the Wii console.

What, for you, is the console’s most compelling feature?

I think the most compelling feature of the Wii is that Nintendo wants to provide a fun gaming experience every time the console is used. They are focused on large issues like new control methods and small issues like load times — they aren’t focused on specifications.

Of course it’s all about the games, right? So what Wii title are you most excited about?

I didn’t get a chance to play Red Steel at E3 as my wife was simply exhausted and we made the mistake of checking out the Nintendo booth towards the end of the day (we only stayed in LA for one day of the conference), but I am really excited on how the controller could make console-based first-person shooter games more intuitive.

I’m curious, how do you think Nintendo and the Wii stack up against the competition coming from Microsoft and Sony in the next-generation?

I think that Nintendo has the best value for an overall fun gaming experience compared to other next-gen systems. The other platforms just do not appear to have games I’m interested in yet. Square had a very impressive trailer of Final Fantasy XIII at E3, but since it won’t be out there at system release it’s hard for me to get excited about Sony’s offering at release.

Finally, has Nintendo convinced you to buy a Wii at launch?

It honestly depends on the release date. I’m not crazy enough to be outside in the Minnesota winter weather. If the console is released in November (as is rumored at this point) standing in line to purchase a Wii, remembering how crazy the Xbox 360 release was, would entail camping out overnight in below-freezing weather. I’d probably order it through. Amazon as soon as its available and hope I get it soon after release.

My first exposure to Ubisoft’s Rayman has the dubious distinction of having taken place on the Atari Jaguar, but even then I knew the game was something special. A creation sprung forth from the creative mind of Michael Ancel, the limbless anthropomorphic character has been fighting off enemies with his unique abilities, and rescuing Teensies and his other friends with his distinct style since the mid-90s, both as a 2D platfromer, and then later in full 3D. While not as recognized as other notable mascots such as Mario or Sonic, Rayman has nonetheless become an industry icon, not just for Ubisoft, but for platformers in general.

During his work on King Kong, Ancel began to consider returning to the Rayman franchise, and just prior to E3 2006, Ubisoft confirmed that Ancel was indeed developing a next-generation version of Rayman titled Rayman Raving Rabbids. Perhaps most surprising, however, was that the game was also being developed for the Nintendo Wii, and was shown to take advantage of the console’s unique Wii remote.

Now, Michael Ancel speaks out regarding his return to the franchise that made him a star, as well as what players can expect from Rayman Raving Rabbids when it launches alongside the Wii later this year.

As far as I know, you haven’t directly worked on a Rayman game in several years. Why return to the franchise now?

The last Rayman I worked on was Rayman2 for Nintendo 64. Even if technically, we were beginners at 3d, it was a fantastic project, simply because it was fresh and funny. After Beyond Good & Evil and Peter Jackson’s King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie, I wanted to go back to a more simple type of game and focus on game-play and crazy humorous situations.

Which systems is Raving Rabbids coming to? Which is the lead SKU?

Rayman Raving Rabbids has been announced as a launch title for Wii, plus the landscape of current and next gen consoles. We will have more official word on those soon!

Let’s talk about the Wii version of Raving Rabbids. What is the storyline for the game?

I wanted the story to be as simple as possible. The rabbits, for centuries, have prepared an invasion…Now it’s time for them to rule the world. It’s very clichA

When we last left Bill Roper’s Flagship Studios, the team was just wrapping up a development push in October 2005, and had recently implemented a number of interesting new monsters, items and skills. While talking at length about the game, Roper talked about a number of key gameplay mechanics, not the least of which was the fact that despite the game’s appearance it is an RPG, and not a FPS. This means that hits during combat are determined by stat roles behind the scenes and not by twitch gameplay – a sticking point for many players expecting a game more in the vein of Quake or Unreal.

Hellgate, instead, with its random dungeons and numerous items, has more in common with Diablo and its sequel. Appropriate that, since Roper and his team trace their roots to Blizzard North. Now, with E3 on our doorsteps, we’ve taken the opportunity get a jump on our coverage of the game by speaking with Bill Roper again about his team’s ongoing project, especially considering the recent unveiling of the game’s second character class, The Cabalist.

Thanks for taking the time out of your busy schedule to speak with us again regarding Hellgate: London. The game really looks like its coming along. When we last spoke the team had just implemented a lot of exciting new things in time for Halloween, and you commented that there were a ton of new things flowing into the game at that time. Is the game still in a similar state of flux, or have things settled down by now?

Heh, things never seem to settle down. That’s what makes game development so exciting. There are a lot of new content we have put in for E3. We have also made some changes to the gameplay and minor directional changes to the game. This is part of the development process for us. We put things in and determine how fun it is. We will change it if it turns out to be bad. Things don’t always turn out like you imagined or designed. We have a very flexible process.

Is there anything the team has recently implemented specifically that you’d like to talk about?

Well, we added the Cabalist class and finished a few things to enable multiplayer. These are the biggest two features we are showing off at E3.

Is this the class you alluded to in our last interview which focuses on the use of arcane powers and related abilities? What does this class bring the game?

Yes, this is the class we hinted at last time. What it brings to the game is a new game experience. When we create character classes, we aren’t satisfied with different stats as so many RPGs are, instead we want the game to play fundamentally different with the different classes. With the Cabalist, she has blasting spells and pets. She can sit back and let her pets do some work while she helps from the outside. The game feels much different than the Templar who runs into the thick of things and swings away.

How does the Cabalist’s ability to summon creatures and control primal forces affect the game? How are these abilities accomplished in-game?

This is all through the pet system. The Cabalist can have one major pet and several minor pets at once. The pets run around and occupy monsters while the Cabalist boosts her pet or directly helps kill the monsters.

What are Spectral Spells? Can you give us some examples of your favorite spells?

There are different element types in Hellgate. One of the elements is Spectral. We also have poison, fire and a few others. Spectral energy at its core is a dimensional energy. The energy phases you between hell and Earth.

Let’s say I’m jumping into the game for the first time. Why would I choose to play as a Cabalist over the previously announced Templar, and how would I approach the game experience differently using this newly announced class?

Well, the Cabalist has many cool abilities and looks. They are fun to play, and mostly because the gameplay experience is so different than the Templar. The approach is finding weapons to enhance your pets and spells. They use focus items to cast their spells. Finding new focus items and using two at once (!) really make for interesting dynamics. You can choose to be just a blaster without pets, or pet heavy. There are many variations and combinations therein. Cabalists will be different from each other so there is no one single approach. I believe that is one of the keys to making our games massively replay-able.

When picking a character class, will players be able to select their gender, and will this have any effect on their character’s characteristics?

Yes, each character class will have a male and a female option. There will be no gameplay differences between male and female, however NPCs will address you differently depending on your gender, along with class and faction status.

Have you and your team decided on how many classes will be available in the game out of the box at launch? Are you leaving it open for other classes to be introduced in the future, either downloadable or through retail expansions.

We haven’t announced how many classes will be available at launch and we are definitely leaving it open for expansion classes.

When played from the third-person perspective, how does the camera work? Is it able to be freely manipulated by the player, or is positioned from a fixed isometric perspective?

You have camera control as you move around. You can pitch the camera up and down and rotate it left and right with the mouse. The mouse wheel zooms in and out, and will enter first-person perspective if you zoom in all the way. The game can’t really be played from a traditional isometric perspective. It plays with A