Gamers.com: What is the biggest challenge of developing for consoles? After all, you can't fix any little problems with patch updates and that sort of thing. Tell us about your approach. Will you have a beta period for fans to try a demo and give feedback?

Bill Roper: Making our games as bug free and "perfect" as possible when the game launches has always been a focus at Blizzard, so although we do not have the luxury of patching, we also do not see this as being a radical shift from our current development process. We strive to make the "out of box" experience rich and rewarding and easy, so we do believe our development methods, which were originally forged in console development, will serve us well as we create games for the new systems. In regards to a beta, it is certainly too early to tell. The feedback we receive about differences in systems and software/hardware compatibility, however, will thankfully be made incredibly easier on this game and so that component of a beta test will be best handled through both the console maker's and our own QA departments.

Gamers.com: Where does Ghost factor into the storyline? Does it fit in-between StarCraft and Brood War? You've mentioned that the game doesn't touch upon the Kerrigan storyline.

Bill Roper: StarCraft Ghost takes place in the aftermath of the Brood War. It is a time of reconstruction for the Terran Dominion, so while people like Arcturus Mengsk, Jim Raynor and Kerrigan are still roaming the galaxy, they are not the focus of this story. The events that transpire in Ghost follow the cataclysm of Brood War, although they would still be considered recent history.

Gamers.com: How are the missions broken down? Like huge missions with mini-objectives within each one, a la Halo?

Bill Roper: Although we have not defined the exact layout of every mission, our intention is to break the story into big episodes, with each episode containing numerous missions. The missions, in turn, will have both main objectives and optional objectives that work to advance both Nova's development and the storyline.

Gamers.com: Will the game have any online or multiplayer elements?

Bill Roper: Much of our reputation as a company has been built on our love and support of the multiplayer experience. Even when we where making games for the SNES, we made sure to have a way for 2 or more players to share in the fun. This is a tradition we fostered and greatly expanded upon with our PC titles and Battle.net, and so in the case of StarCraft: Ghost, we plan to have some sort of multiplayer support. We have not, however, made any specific determination as to what this will be as we are having to balance the abilities and requirements of 3 different gaming consoles, are continuing to examine the install base and acceptance of inline gaming in the console market, and are still coming up with how we want the multiplayer game to play.

Gamers.com: Did StarCraft 64 do anything to expand the StarCraft audience?

Bill Roper: This is somewhat of an unknown in regards to audience since we had no way of telling if someone who bought StarCraft 64 also owned the PC version or not. We did take the opportunity to expand the universe some by adding a multiplayer mission that explored the background of the Protoss and Zerg, as well as delving deeper into the issues of "Hybrids", such as Kerrigan.

Gamers.com: Are you doing some fancy new CG movies and will movies occur after every major chapter, like they do in StarCraft, WarCraft III and Diablo II?

Bill Roper: There will be a mix of both in-game and full-blown cinematic sequences throughout the game, although we have not set a total number or length for the cinematic work. We are trying to get as much in as possible, but those guys are amazingly busy! We know that these movies have become a favorite with fans of the games, and so we want to get as much in as makes sense.

Gamers.com: Does Nova need to upgrade her abilities, like any ghost would in the PC games, or does she come with an advanced set of skills, like optic upgrade or the ability to turn on the cloaking?

Bill Roper: Nova will start out with a good range of skills, but she will get upgrades during the course of the game. We wanted to tie in the advancement of the character with her successes in the game, so she will also be able to earn specific upgrades or weaponry at times, based on her performance. We want her character to grow as the game progresses while at the same time starting her out as a real hero.