GT: What has been the most difficult aspect of developing this game?

Paul: Making sure the game stayed engaging and fun for the "trains" player. This game could easily have become so dry and high-level it would have been more like a business simulation. As soon as you leave behind the idea of individual trains, you risk becoming overly abstract. But the animations on the map are very engaging and represent the flow of cargo, and there is nothing dry about whacking your competitor with track sabotage or triggering a financial crisis just when he's low on cash. Once we had the cargo flow engine working, which was very early on, we had to constantly push the design to give players interesting choices. We think we've succeeded.

GT: Rails Across America is sure to draw comparisons to the Railroad Tycoon games. Did those games provide any inspiration for Rails Across America? How is Rails Across America different?

Paul: We loved Sid Meier's Railroad Tycoon, and we began our project even before Railroad Tycoon II was announced. I think Phil & company did an excellent job with the new version. We wanted a game that scaled up a little better and had more player interaction, so that's were we began: how could we make a railroad game scalable and more interactive in multiplayer? The goals are related. Player interaction requires player attention, so we needed to balance the management portion properly. I think RTS fans will enjoy the pace of Rails Across America, and railroad fans will enjoy the ability to build and manage a truly huge rail empire.

GT: Is there anything else you'd like to add?

Paul: We worked hard to build a great multi-player game, but the challenge for a single player is definitely there. I can't compliment our AI developers enough. Smart computer opponents plus the scale of the game, means that people who want to play a classic railroad building game will definitely enjoy Rails Across America.

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