GP: Do you have to be artistically inclined to get the most out of Create, or can people whose painting skills are limited to stick figures still enjoy it?

JM: Create is a fantastic tool for creative self-expression, aimed at the whole family so we definitely aimed for it to be used by any level of artistic/creative ability so people who can only draw stick figures can do so much more in this game. You don’t need to be a professional artist to create something unique.

The other side of Create is the Challenges. Using the creative tools and objects we provide, the player is asked to come up with solutions to a broad range of Challenges.

Create’s core idea is that imagination unlocks play. Everything you do in the game can earn you Creative Sparks which unlock new items you can use to decorate your world, or new levels and challenges.

The toolsets we have developed allow anyone to be creative. For example, you can choose a sky as a starting point changing the lighting and mood of the scene as you go. You can then add your own details like clouds, birds and aeroplanes and set them all in motion. You could paint on top of that if you wished to add more detail and make it unique to you. You can also add texture to the world, and then add further details through our stickers, scene props, creatures and decorator brushes. For finishing touches you can also add some full screen effects like rain or blowing leaves. The tools are easy to use and powerful.

GP: We see that Move compatibility is included, but not Kinect – is this an indication that Create requires quite precise input, or was there some other reason for the exclusion?

JM: There are no plans for Kinect. Create is actually a deep experience which can engage a player for hours, whether it’s creating a scene or solving a challenge. It is more cerebral than kinetic.

GP: If Spore taught us anything, it’s that creating animated genitalia is probably high on the priority list for way too many people. How will Create allow younger people to share their creativity online in a safe environment?

JM: Given that this is a family product with broad appeal, we are moderating all content submitted for sharing online to ensure that there is nothing inappropriate.

GP: Why didn’t we hear about this title at E3 this year?

JM: E3 is a huge show with plenty of traditional hardcore games taking the spotlight. Our game is different and we wanted to present it to our audience now rather than back in June.

GP: What games did you draw inspiration from during the development process?

JM: Create is a pretty unique game and our team has probably drawn more inspiration from the world of art, animation and movies than they have from games.

GP: The platforms that have been listed involve varying inputs – Wiimote, mouse/keyboard, two different types of controllers and Move. How did you manage to balance these vastly different input mechanisms with the gameplay?

JM: One of our mantras on the Create project was to make all the creative tools easy for anyone to use without needing the ability to paint and draw. In this way we capture their creativity rather than their skill and hopefully everybody can enjoy themselves or express themselves in that way. The ease of use of these tools means that we can use any of the platform’s controllers. So it wasn’t a case of designing tools for the Wii and then figuring out how they fit on a joypad. The paint tools are a small part of our creative set, and even with those we have more ‘brushes’ that allow you to create patterns so that it doesn’t require fine controls to make them work.

GP: The blurb states Create combines “art and video games” – do you see this title as an important move towards a new way of interacting with video games?

JM: There is a clearly a trend in the wider entertainment space for people to create their own content - people are really familiar with websites like Flickr and Youtube as a way of publishing their creativity as well as their own websites and blogs. Bringing this into what we do is a natural extension for the gaming.

GP: With a game such as this, it must be easy to get carried away with complexity. How did you structure the title to keep it focused?

JM: We have absolutely tried to make this game as simple to use as possible for all ages. We didn’t want to get into lots of menus and widgets the player would have to navigate in order to be creative. As a result we have a really simple way of picking the content you want and placing it, and as few menus as possible - the last thing we wanted is for the player to spend more time in menus than creating. With a game like this we clearly take our audience to heart and test with them throughout the development to ensure that the things we are doing are right for them.