Neverwinter, a free-to-play MMO with some pretty strong cooperative elements (it is based on D&D after all!), goes into public open beta tomorrow. Just in time for the launch, I had the opportunity to do a Q&A with lead developer Zeke Sparkes from Cryptic. Many of my questions touched upon the cooperative aspects of the game as well as similarities and differences to the pen-and-paper game for all you tabletop nuts out there. Zeke really went above and beyond the call of duty here in the depth of his answers. So read on!

In part one of our interview with Chris Park, Founder/CEO/Lead Programmer/Lead Designer of Arcen Games, we discussed Arcen's unique approach to game design and development; specifically, how none of their games can really be classified by one genre but are an amalgam of different concepts and mechanics. We then discussed one of their recent releases, A Valley Without Wind 2. In part two of the interview, we turn our focus to Shattered Haven and what lies ahead.

It has been over 3 years since the last time we spoke with Arcen Games and its founder, Chris Park. In that amount of time, many developers would have released another game, maybe two. Arcen has produced and released no less than three games and a ton of content for A.I. War; and there's more on the way. We speak with Chris about one of his latest releases, AVWW2, as well what drives Arcen.

Sniper Elite v2 turned out to be one fun co-op game. Post-release, though, the co-op side of things hasn't gotten as much loving as we hoped. Recent news of a standalone title, Sniper Elite: Nazi Zombie Army, that allowed for even more friends (up to 4) but is PC only had us wondering, "will consoles just be left out in the cold?" We went straight to the source, developer Rebellion, and asked them about Sniper Elite v2 and if we can expect anything console-wise for Sniper Elite: NZA.

Things were shaky for Retrovirus developer Cadenza Interactive for awhile. The Kickstarter campaign they launched for their cooperative six-degrees-of-freedom shooter failed due to a variety of reasons. Yet the small development team managed to press on and released the game on Steam last month. We talk with Matt Enright, one of the lead developers on the game, about how they managed it all, what challenges they faced, and what's next for them.

American McGee has been part of the videogame industry since the 1990s when he worked at id Software on such titles as DOOM II, QUAKE, and QUAKE 2. After a few other stints and a few games later like Alice and Grimm, his studio Spicy Horse is looking to make a splash on the Action RPG market with a game called Akaneiro: Demon Hunters. But there's a catch - to include co-op American needs Kickstarter, we find out why.

This week in Indie-Ana Co-Op, we speak with John Common, the creative mind behind the zombie indie co-op game, Dead Pixels. If you haven't had a chance to play it yet, I highly recommend it. It's a bargain at $2.99 on Steam, and a steal at $0.99 on the Xbox. A year after its initial release, the game is still going strong and we wanted to find out from John what's been so successful about the game and what he's learned along the way.

This week in Indie-Ana Co-Op we speak with Terry Welsh, the one man development team at Really Slick. His first game release, Retrobooster, is set to launch next year and is reminiscent of Asteroids and the classic cave shooters of old. We spoke with Terry about his upcoming game and his journey from NASA employee to indie game dev.

This week in Indie-Ana Co-Op we hold a little Q and A with Steffen, the CEO of BetaDwarf, an independent development studio from Denmark. Their first release, FORCED, is looking to be a bit ambitious of an undertaking, but they are determined to see it completed and provide a new twist to a familiar cooperative experience.

In our exclusive interview with Joe Fricano, Producer of Dungeonland at Critical Studio, we get down to the nitty gritty of what makes this title a unique Action / RPG on the PC. Exclusive screenshots await you and details on how you can enter to win access into the beta.

When I first heard that Rise of the Triad was getting a reboot, I instantly thought to myself, "What the hell is a triad?" Fortunately for me, our own intrepid Sam Tyler is quite fond of the game. He reminisced about the bygone era of flannel shirts and grunge music, or whatever they listened to in the UK in 1995. He recently did a small write up for the game's recent announcement trailer, recalling an improvised co-op mode he would play with a pal.

Howard Tsao, CEO of Muse Games recently delivered a presentation about his upcoming game Guns of Icarus Online's successful Kickstarter campaign to the attendees of Casual Connect Seattle. As I was in town for the same event, he kindly offered to demo and discuss the game with me on camera. We looked at the ship-to-ship combat, character customization, concept art, and more. Check it out after the break!

Yesterday we reported on the Bad Dudes 2 Kickstarter project. Since no one ever produced a true Bad Dudes sequel, a small group of fans at Pipeline Games have taken it onto themselves to make it happen. Gamers who missed the 1988 arcade game or its home port might wonder why we need another Bad Dudes, while fans will want to know what's in store if the Kickstarter meets its goal. We've got your covered! Read on for our interview with Joe Modzeleski of Pinstripe Games.

We're a bit late with this feature, but that doesn't make it any less pertinent. Last week we spoke with Dylan Barker, designer and semi-community manager for Cadenza Interactive, about what's going on with their latest game and their Kickstarter campaign (which is now closed). Dylan offers some interesting insight into their design process this time around and what Kickstarter means to them, and what happens if it fails (which it sadly did). So give it a listen!

Belgium based Larian Studios recently announced the latest entry in the Divinity series, Divinity: Original Sin, which is a "return to roots" for them as this Divinity will offer a gameplay experience similar to a tabletop RPG and, for you RPG old-timers, Ultima VII. What's more, the game will also allow you and a friend to play through the entire campaign cooperatively as you control the main protagonists, the condemned warrior and the mystical sorceress. However, up to four players can join in on the fun, so how does that work?