When Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends was announced shortly before E3 of 2005, it climbed immediately to the top of my must see list for the convention. Having exhausted countless hours to Rise of Nations and its successful expansion Thrones and Patriots, my thirst for more Rise gameplay was insatiable, but even as I waxed enthusiastic, I was concerned about how the Big Huge Games team might take the familiar into a new fantasy direction. After seeing the game on the show floor, and talking with Design Lead Paul Stephanouk, my concerns were largely put aside, and my enthusiasm was again unbridled.

In the aftermath of E3 the Big Huge Games crew got back quietly back to work, and now we get the chance to sit down and chat with Paul about their progress since E3, how the Rise of Nations community has responded to this new direction, how a more focused single-player campaign affects the open ended gameplay of a 'Rise' game, the direction of PC gaming in general, copy protection, and much more.