It's interesting to note that, for as long as "tycoon" games have been around, no one has thought to develop one based on one of the most prominent pillars of our society and economy: malls. That changed last week, when Take-Two Interactive and Holistic Design announced such a game, cleverly called Mall Tycoon. In short, the game lets you create and manage your very own shopping mall, and with more than 250 shops that range in variety from a tattoo parlor to a glitzy boutique, you can make your mall as high-class or as "local" as you want. Naturally, like similar tycoon games, your goal will be to attract as many customers as possible so you'll make as much money as possible. The game sounds intriguing, and it's a little surprising that no one has thought of it before. With that in mind, we sat down with Andrew Greenberg, the game's director at Holistic Design; Robb Alvey, the executive producer at Take-Two; and Tim Beggs, the Take-Two producer, to find out more about Mall Tycoon. Here's what they had to say.

You'll be able to control nearly every aspect of your mall in this game.

GameSpot: In the past, Holistic Design has developed strategy games based on empire building and conquest. What inspired you to create a management strategy game like Mall Tycoon?

Andrew Greenberg: The idea behind Holistic Design has always been that we can design almost any type of game, be it traditional strategy games, adventure games, role-playing games, miniature games, card games, and more. Take-Two and Holistic wanted to work together, and we all had a strong interest in economic simulation games. On top of that, I worked in retail at a mall throughout my high school and college years. This all combined into what we felt was a natural fit. What better economic sim game is there than one that focuses on what has become the center of our economy?

GS: How far along is the game at this point? How long has it been in development?

Robb Alvey: The game is currently in beta. It has been in development for 12 months, though we had been hammering out the concept well before that.

We began thinking about "tycoon" games nearly two years ago and spent a lot of time brainstorming ideas about what subject matter would make for a fun tycoon game. Mall Tycoon allows the player to have fun creating and managing a world, but it will not be so encompassing that it takes away some of the fun factor.

Your goal will be to entertain your visitors, and compel them to buy stuff.

GS: How did the mall setting come up? Were there any other settings you were considering?

Tim Beggs: Naturally, the main things that come to mind when one thinks of tycoon games are building, business, visitors, and fun. We thought about many different settings for a tycoon game, but the mall just seems to lend itself perfectly to the tycoon scheme. When you walk through your local mall, it's everchanging. You see something different every time you visit. We didn't want something that would be static, but something that no matter how long you played, you'd never run out of ideas to change it or make it better. Malls aren't simply retail outlets. Now, more than ever, malls are entertainment centers--where you can just happen to buy stuff too. What we as customers may not realize is that those fun, entertaining aspects all serve the purpose of luring us to the mall to buy things.

GS: What kinds of unique opportunities does the mall environment provide?

AG: When I worked in the mall, I noticed how much all the stores required each other's help to succeed. For instance, the big anchor stores brought in people who would then shop in the little stores, and the number of small stores convinced people to visit the mall anchors instead of their competitors. Additionally, everybody took part in mall-wide promotions, knowing that everyone would benefit from the customers these brought in. We really wanted to build on this sort of interrelationship.

RA: There's also the idea of shoppers versus non-shoppers. Mall walkers, shoplifters, and punks are there to either steal from you or waste space, thereby warding off potential customers. Keep in mind, a successful mall also attracts miscreants and loiterers, although you have the necessary tools to keep everything balanced and profitable.