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The following MDK2 Interview was written by Superfly and was conducted by e-mail. The questions, answered by Greg Zeschuk, Joint CEO of BioWare asked about the game, its features and a few other minor things, including what they are up to next!

GX: So, just for the record, what is MDK2? (That is apart from being the predesessor to MDK)

GZ: MDK2 is a story driven third person action adventure game coming out for the SEGA Dreamcast and the PC. As you note, it is the sequel to MDK - a totally innovative game make a couple years ago by Shiny Entertainment.

GX: What happened to Shiny for the sequal then?

GZ: Both Interplay and Shiny were interested getting someone to make MDK2 (Shiny is a division of Interplay), and BioWare was available to do it. Both Interplay and Shiny were comfortable with us taking on the task of creating MDK2, so the deal was done, and the rest is history (or as soon as we finally finish MDK2, it will be).

GX: How and why do you think MDK2 will fare against other games of this genre? (Messia for an example)

GZ: MDK2 has some very unique features that set it apart from most other third person action games. First, it is story driven - everything that happens in the game is put in a context. Second, MDK2 is a very lighthearted game. Most third person action games are quite serious and don't poke fun at themselves and everyone else, but MDK2 does in a big way. It's fun because it's so silly. Third, there are a ton of different things to do in MDK2. Each room is uniquely created with a purpose in mind. As the player goes through MDK2, he or she is continually faced with new and strange situations. Part of my enjoyment of games is exploration and discovery, and MDK2 has a ton of it!

GX: In MDK kurt was displayed as a sprite on screen and was not really a 3D Model, will all characters in the game be in 3D this time?

GZ: Yes - all three characters - Kurt, Max and Dr. Hawkins are all 3D models.

GX: I have heard MDK2 is also coming out on the Dreamcast, is there any plan to release it on any of the other major platforms?

GZ: Not at this time - we are aiming only for release on the Dreamcast and the PC.

GX: What are the major differences between MDK and MDK2?

GZ: We allow the player to use Max the six-legged robotic dog and Doctor Fluke Hawkins (in addition to Kurt Hectic) as player characters. This leads to a completely new dimension for MDK2 as compared to the original. Each character has a totally unique type of gameplay: Kurt is all about skill and sniping, Max is full-bore, head-on action and Doctor Hawkins is a combination of MacGyver and an absent-minded professor. We chose to add to MDK rather than change it, as we really liked the original game. MDK2 is longer, more difficult and it features greater variety than the original. It also has about 10 minutes of in-game movies that tell the story as the game unfolds.

GX: Although everyone likes a sequal to have it's own originality, do you think that you will have managed to keep the fans of the original happy?

GZ: I think so - a number of MDK fans have tried out the game and most have been impressed by our ability to stay true to the original while breaking new ground. It's a careful balance, but we take it very seriously.

GX: What are you using for a graphics engine, and why?

GZ: We developed an in-house graphics engine called the BioWare Omen Engine to use in creating MDK2. We feel that it is very hard for a game with a non-unique engine to be successful - the only way to use a licensed engine is to significantly modify it so that has a significantly different feature set from it's predecessor.

GX: Concidering that you didn't make the original, have you had any major problems in creating this sequel, and how have you over-come them?

GZ: At first we were tentative about removing MDK content and replacing it with new stuff. Once we really started working on the game it really fell into place. Overall, we didn't have any significant hurdles to overcome because MDK2 is a sequel.

GX: How far are you from finishing MDK2?

GZ: We're quite close - most of the content is done and we're just fixing bugs and making sure MDK2 is fun.

GX: What is the release date for the UK?

GZ: I don't know if an official street date has been established. I would be surprised if it isn't released relatively soon.

GX: After MDK2 is finished whats next for you guys?

GZ: We're going to take a little break and then help out some of the other BioWare projects for a bit. We're going to make sure that both Baldur's Gate II and Neverwinter Nights get done and are of excellent quality.

GX: Thank you for taking time to answer these questions.

Well it seems that MDK2 is nearly upon us and its really shaping into a great game. However, will it be as good as the first? We shall have to see!