I had the chance to sit down with Ulf Anderson, co-founder of GRIN. You may know of them making our up coming kick ass title, Bionic Commando! All of these questions were asked by you guys, the fans. I actually had some questions prepared for him, but mine sucked compared to yours. Check out the interview after the jump!

What’s the first thing you’ll do once the game is in the hands of the fans? Party? Sleep? Cry? PWN us all in multiplayer?

Ulf – (laughs) Probably sleep, party, pwn you in multiplayer, then cry because you’re all pwning me in multiplayer.

Who would win in a fight; Guile or Spencer?

Ulf – Spencer hands down. He has a 20 meter arm reach with zip kicking. Plus, Guile only moves in 2D, and Spencer’s 3D strafing would throw him off.

What happened to the big, fat, slow, unarmed, defenseless guys in Area 11?

Ulf – We updated some of the stuff in the game with the idea of extending the game without making it too different from the original. This was our chance to develop the game further. So he was replaced with something more challenging.

Who should we expect to be jumping up onto the top of the leader boards in multiplayer mode once the game hits? You? Ben? QA Dude #47?

Ulf – (chuckles at QA Dude #47) Really the best players are the level designers. They know the map better than anyone. I don’t think either Ben or I will be on top. QA and level designers will always kick your ass.

Can God himself make a challenge room so hard, even he can’t beat it? If so, can you beat it?

Ulf – (laughs) Is God in game development? If God is up for hirer for challenge rooms, I’m awaiting his email.

What are the challenges of multiplatform development, and what steps were taken to overcome these problems?

Ulf – Well, we design for the console first. Then we add extra time for the PC Product. We spend that time to make sure it’s not just a port. What we ensure is that it plays the same no matter what you play it on.

Will there be a co-op mode for the single player part of the game in the new BC?

Ulf – No. It’s tricky enough to do a game like this. Co-op could decrease the quality. If a sequel is made, of course co-op would be discussed because you’ve already created a strong single player experience.

Will there be collectibles? Maybe on places hard to get t o…

Ulf – Yes! (laughs)

Is there an option to change the difficulty?

Ulf – Yes, from Mega Hard to Super Hard! No, I just love hard games. I usually play on Normal first, then Hard next. I’m still old school at heart.

What was your favorite change made from NES BC to BCR, and what was your least favorite?

Ulf – Favorite, easy. Co-op! I absolutely love the co-op. My least favorite would be going from pixels to 3D. I LOVE pixel art. Going to 3D was obviously a called for change… but for some reason I like pixels.

Will we be able to use the Nathan Spencer skins (or any other new skins) on the online multiplayer modes?

Ulf – No. The multiplayer is made for balance. The character you use in multiplayer is designed around gameplay. This way there is no unfair advantage. I wanted it to be all about player skill; you vs me, no unfair advantages or handicaps.

What was the inspiration for the design of the Bionic Arm (besides previous BC’s), enemies, universe? Was anything a huge enough inspiration that effected the whole theme of Ascension City and everything in it?

Ulf – For the arm, it needed to feel like it wasn’t super high tech. I wanted it to look older, and look like it could work. So when you see the arm in motion, there’s all these little details and spinning gears and parts that make it look like it could be a real device.

In Ascension City, we were mostly focused on gameplay for the cable and the arm. It was also very important to choose things that are everyday references, especially the objects you interact with. For instance, if you’re using the arm throw an unknown object that isn’t real, you can’t relate it. It has no weight. But, if you throw a cab… You know what a cab is, because it’s part of everyday life. You see them driving down the street, ride in them, so you know they’re heavy and can do some real damage if thrown into something. So we pulled tons of references from everyday life like that into the game. It’s a more satisfying experience.

When you knew you would be developing this title, what was the first thing you wanted to lock down? The Bionic Arm, universe, main character, etc…?

Ulf – The swing mechanic. Locking that down early generated the rest. The gameplay came first. Everything else was directly derived from the cable and swing mechanic. I actually started writing the code for the cable myself right away. This was so important to me that I wanted to get working nailed down as soon as possible.

What’s it like living in Norway?

Snow – Umm… this is part of a running joke… Long story, but we were playing online the other day when someone thought GRIN was in Norway instead of Sweden, so we went with it. (laughs)

Ulf – (laughs) Norway? I wouldn’t know! But Norway is nice, it’s one of the most beautiful places on earth, in my opinion.

Snow – Thanks for sitting down with me to answer the community’s questions. They’re going to love it!

Ulf – No problem!