First, many of our readers might know you as the creator of the Armageddon Empires game. It's garnered quite the following since its release over two years ago. Did you think that you would have this much critical success with the game?

I always hoped that it would provide me with enough financial success to keep making games full time. I knew there were a whole slew of scenarios for how the game would do and that I would have to modify my expectations and plans accordingly. I ended up on the top of the bell curve for the actual response but I'm not quite wearing the "Money Hat" yet. I do feel confident that I'll be able to make some more games though.

How has the success of Armageddon Empires changed your views on developing games, if any?

No, not really. Like I said, based on the experiences of a lot of indie developers you can quickly get a sense for what is and is not possible. Although beneath the surface there is a lot of turmoil going on in the indie world ....portals have emerged as powerful forces and price deflation for casual indie game makers is a huge concern. And every project is make or break...there is no getting away from that. Very few indies can walk away from a big failure and get back up again quickly.
You first announced your plans for Solium Infernum quite some time ago. Why did you announce the game so far ahead of its release?

Well, I announced it in June of 08 and intended to have it finished within a year...8 months was what I was hoping for. But it's a game about ruling Hell, so it's probably appropriate that my road was paved with good intentions :)

The delay came because the AI problem was even tougher than the one I faced with Armageddon Empires. I had to wipe the board clean a couple of times to find the best approach. Also the scope of the game is massive for a single person to design, program and manage. I easily exceeded the 250k line mark that I established with AE.

The game is clearly inspired by various fantasies of Hell. What was it about this subject matter that made you want make it the central part of the game?

I really enjoyed reading Paradise Lost in High School. So when I decided that I wanted to do a "Grand Strategy" game in the mold of something like Diplomacy, I remembered that famous line:

To reign is worth ambition, Though in Hell;
Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven.

And it struck me that such a setting would be perfect for back stabbing, power mongering, bullying and all that type of fun stuff that you find in a grand strategy game.

The artwork that we have seen in the previews is incredible. How hard was it to recruit artists to get the kinds of visuals you wanted?

Thanks, that's one thing that I have been trying to establish as an expectation for my games...just like if you pick up a board game box from Fantasy Flight you expect it to be heavy and have lots of wonderful bits in it. I worked with a bunch of different artists some new and some that I had already established a good working relationship with. I have to say they all really provided top notch work and the visual presentation of the game is something that I am very proud of.