Q&A: Innerloop

Innerloop demonstrated with its debut game Joint Strike Fighter that the team is able to create new approaches for graphical quality in games. While Project IGI (I'm Going In) for the PC is already looking very impressive, its Dreamcast game, Xtreme Sports, is also getting a lot of attention. The game will be published by Infogrames in North America. We sat down with Henning Rokling, managing director of Innerloop, and spoke with him about Xtreme Sports, Project IGI, and the future of the company.

GameSpot: What are you most exited about in Xtreme Sports?

Henning Rokling: Well, choosing one is a bit hard. We're very happy with the playability of the game, but also the fact that the gameplay and game concept are very original. Trying to do original stuff these days is pretty hard. Of course, the graphics look really nice - really good lighting and textures. The game's visuals are something we're also very happy about.

GS: What was the biggest challenge you had in developing the game?

HR: Well, it's taken us a while to get up to the stage where the game could be published. With so many different types of games, it took much longer than anticipated to create the different sports. I guess that can be classified as a costly problem.

GS: Now that you've worked with the Dreamcast, what are your impressions of the platform?

HR: The Dreamcast is a very, very impressive piece of hardware. Only now are people starting to realize what it can do. It's simple to develop for and is well balanced for creating fantastic looking games. The processing power, the size of RAM, the texture compression - it's just great.

GS: Will you work on other projects for the Dreamcast console? Perhaps a sequel to Xtreme Sports?

HR: No comment. But I can say that we like working with the Dreamcast.

GS: Do you intend to work on other consoles as well? PS2? Xbox?

HR: Yes, we will of course work on other consoles. The Microsoft Xbox and the Nintendo GameCube look really interesting. However, it is worrying to see how sales of console software in Japan are dropping, both for the DC and the PS2.

GS: You're also busy at work on Project IGI. How is the title progressing? Where are you currently standing?

HR: It's looking really good and is currently in the final stages.

GS: Is a console version of the game planned?

HR: No comment.

GS: What's your next project after Project IGI and Xtreme Sports?

HR: It's safe to say that our future projects will benefit from the experience we have built up creating those games. Unfortunately, that's all I can say.

GS: Thanks for the interview and good luck.