At Microsoft's Pre-E3 Press Event, Michael Capps was demonstrating Epic's highly-anticipated upcoming Xbox 360 release, Gears of War. Our Editor, Shawn Snider, had a brief opportunity to speak with Michael and ask a few questions regarding this title.

Shawn: What makes you most proud of the game, and what makes you really excited about its release?

Michael Capps: That’s a good question. I mean, I personally head up the tech team, and in business this the shinning moment for Unreal Engine 3 (UE3). And UE3 is being used in so many products coming out for this generation of console. So I’m really proud to see it all come together and actually make the tech works and looks great. And, you know they are all my children, the artists have done such a great job, with anything special that they may have received. The gameplay is fun, I wish I could give you one answer, but out of it all, it’s true.

Shawn: How big of a team do you have working on this game? How much commitment and how much time has gone into this? It already looks like a finished product, and it looks phenomenal.

Michael Capps: It’s nearly finished, Epic, seventy guys were making two games and the engine, so the team from Gear runs five guys from when we started and probably get as high as thirty, and we are just now starting to tail off. The artists are finished with their work with Epic. For a commercial product of this size, it’s quite small. We have a bunch of really talented guys. When you look at an EA team that is 200 guys, knocking out products, we’re not about that.

Shawn: How long is the game? I mean, when the player steps into it, are they going to have six hours of gameplay? Twelve?

Michael Capps: It’s pretty much closer to the second, but we don’t really have an exact time.

Shawn: Are all the levels dynamic, as in you can follow your own path?

Michael Capps: Yeah, we really want people to play this again themselves; we want them to play it again in co-op, because it is a new experience. And then of course multiplayer, we don’t want them to stop playing that.

Shawn: Finally, what kind of multiplayer modes will Gears of War offer, if you can disclose them? Are you going to offer team co-op, multiplayer battles, etc?

Michael Capps: What we are showing on the floor is Emergence way, which is a four person squad, you, Dom, and two other buddies. And your four-man squad fights against four locusts. So that’s what we’re showing you, I can’t show you anything else.

Shawn: Thanks so much Michael, and best of luck with Gears of War.