First tell us a little about yourself and how you became interested in game design?

I started out in 1999 by making levels for Unreal 1 and Unreal Tournament 1, as a hobby. After having built a few dozen levels and a handful of mods I decided that this was what I wanted to for a living, and I got myself a job at a game development studio. This is the 8th year that I am professionally active as a game developer, and I recently quit my day time game development job to try and pursue my dream of starting up my own studio, and I intend to do that through The Ball.

How did the idea for The Ball come about?

We started out by looking at what resources we had available. Back when we started out with this project we only had three developers. A programmer, a scripter, and a level designer/artist. And only three months time. We looked for an idea that fitted those resources. The Ball is what we came up with, and from there on, as our team grew, the project and its features grew gently along up to what it is today. I personally strongly believe in designing a game around the technology, the developers, and the time you have available. Rather than coming up with a dream, and then trying to do the impossible by making your resources fit your dream.
Why did you decide to use Unreal Tournament 3 as the basis for your mod?

I have been working with Unreal since 1999. I am very at home in the technology so for me it was an obvious decision to keep on using Unreal. That aside, Unreal simply also offers the extensive set of features, robust tools, and raw power you need to work fast and efficient. Could we have done The Ball in another engine? Probably, but by far not with the same the speed and ease as we accomplished by using Unreal.

For people who are unaware of what The Ball is about, can you briefly go over the basics of the game?

The Ball is a first person single player game and offers an adventure that puts you in the boots of an explorer who gets stuck in a cavern and bumps onto ancient Meso-American tombs. While making your way through the internal workings of ancient ziggurats, golden cities, and huge caverns, your only companion is a mysterious big gold and metal-shelled ball. Roll the ball around to solve puzzles, overcome obstacles, and crush enemies. Innovative physics driven gameplay in world with a dark and mysterious atmosphere.