Will is the guy who wrote all the in-game stories, he came up with most of the level descriptions, and he has also been involved in Mystery Monday. The Mystery Monday letters that were released on August the 2nd were from his hand.
- Who are you and what did you do on "The Ball"? My name is Will, and I wrote all the in-game stories you will get to read in The Ball. I also wrote some of the promotional story material and some sections for the website.
- When and how did you join the team? I've known Sjoerd since the early days of UT. We met on a deathmatch server, playing one of his maps (DM-Sion). We hit it off and I joined a mapping team he was already a part of at the time. We worked on the popular singleplayer mod Xidia together and maintained a friendship since. I helped The Ball earlier on as a non-team member, helping to clarify some level descriptions and things like that. When the mod won second place in MSUC and Sjoerd declared the project was moving on to UDK (and then retail), I joined as an official member of the team to write all the in-game logs and to articulate the story.
- How did you start out with writing? I'm a writer in my private life. I do not remember when I started doing it. ___________________________________ There is talk of the forbidden place. The people mumble in huddled masses at the ends of every street. It is the device they speak of. All along the Tepetl Nation, from the great Teocalli through the jungle beneath the sky to the edge of the smoldering gates, whispers deafen the air with talk of dreams. We all feel what is coming. ___________________________________
- What has been the most challenging thing you have done on the game? It's always a challenge when you're telling someone else's story. By the time I joined the team officially, The Ball was already released as a mod and had been played by a lot of people. Sjoerd already had his game. He had all these really talented people, but there was really no one to pen the storytelling. I had the general "plot" that encompasses the game already laid out for me. I just had to expand the outline, give it life and all that fun stuff. I enjoyed the writing I did, especially the in-game logs because that was pretty much where I was given the most freedom to "do my thing." But it's different writing for someone else. Different still to write for a product. I'd write a 700 word section and Sjoerd would tell me, "this is really great man, but can we have it down to 360 words?" It was a learning experience. ___________________________________ The revolt began in the early morning the day after the twelfth execution. The golden gates were swarmed and the God King's guards overwhelmed. Eager hands pried open the locks to the sanctum and nervous feet stormed the forbidden place. A thousand palms touched the device and brought it away from where the ground burns. ___________________________________
- What do you like the most about the game? I haven't actually played it yet! I probably won't get a chance until it hits the shelves. But I've seen a great deal of content; both the videos available to the public and the behind-the-scenes development stuff. I love the look of the game. It's very distinct. There's a refreshing atmosphere to it beyond the obligatory Indie gameplay hook, but Sjoerd was always great at that sort of thing so it's no surprise that the end product is so rich with detail.