THQ recently announced that its upcoming wrestling game, SmackDown Vs Raw 2007, is being developed for not only the PS2 and PSP, but also the Xbox 360 and PS3. We caught up with Bryan Williams, one of the many talented people working on this game, to get more details.

So what is your role with SmackDown Vs Raw 2007?

I'm a game designer. I'm one of the lead designers on the game.

How long has the game been in development?

Development began about six months ago.

Have you guys set the roster?

We did. Well...it's almost set. It's at 90%.

Who comes up with these rosters? Is it more THQ than WWE?

It's a THQ thing. Actually, it's a combination of both parties. Obviously, we have lists and we run them by WWE and they say "yay" or "nay" so it's kind of a give and take, but we have a wonderful relationship with them.

We love the legends, but there's always a lot of guys that are missing. Who comes up with the list for these legends, and if it's you guys, do you get rejected by the WWE? Where are Yokozuna and Mr. Perfect? Do those names ever come up?

They do come up. As far as why they're not in the game, I really cannot go into that. No comment. [Laughs]

What are the big improvements in SmackDown Vs Raw 2007?

We're enhancing the gameplay. The analog control grapple system is definitely going to help make the game more accessible to newcomers. That simple pick up and play access. As good as our previous games are, they are also a little bit intimidating, so we wanted to make it so whether you're a fan of WWE or just a gamer, you'll be able to just pick up the controller and have fun.

There are also the interactive grapples. Having the ability to control and manually perform grapple moves in a game is a first for us and I'm excited about that. The user has control over everything.

In the last SmackDown, one of the biggest features is having the guys stay in the ring as their opponents walk down the aisle. Are there some other nice little touches that you guys are planning?

Definitely. We were really excited that we got that in the last game. It's a small thing but it really adds to the immersion. We're definitely going to continue adding things like that to make the game more representative of the brand.

And can you comment on what those are?

[Laughs] Not at this time. No.

When did you guys decide to go multiplatform?

Honestly, with the new generation of consoles coming out, we just wanted a new start. 360 has just been released, PS3 is on its way. We just want our game to be available to the masses regardless of what system they own.

Are you guys shooting for it to be a PS3 launch title?

We are.

Last year's PSP version is a bit load heavy. Was that just THQ messing around with the PSP hardware, and can these load times be improved upon?

That was the first PSP game that Yukes has done, and there are some things that will be done better this year. The load times have been addressed, and we've heard it from all sides, so yes, the load times will be improved upon. We've been in lots of meetings the past couple of months just talking about that. The previous game is very big and we fit the entire console version onto the PSP. It was a hard task.

Will there be downloadable content?

It's being talked about. I just can't go into any specifics.

I love the backstage arenas in Here Comes the Pain because there are a lot of them and they're really cool, but then you scaled them down in previous versions after that. Will there be backstage arenas in this new SmackDown Vs Raw?

We have backstage arenas. We have one set in a parking lot and there's one in a bar. We had those last year, but they're totally different venues. And the interactive environments that you see in the ring will be present.

Are you experimenting with next gen blood?

We are. It's very exciting. We have new sweat this year and it looks amazing when mixed with the blood.

The women never bleed. Why is that?

Because they're so beautiful! They're too pretty to bleed.

Is there voice chat in the game?

Yes.

What about commentary? I'd rather not have it if it means that it's not going to sound authentic. There are just too many awkward pauses in last year's game. Does the power of next gen hardware mean that it'll improve?

It does. Actually, one of my responsibilities this year is commentary, and all of the things that you said I agree with, because if you're not going to do it right, then there's no reason to do it, so I'm doing all that I can to address what you said as well as all of the issues that I have with last year's commentary. I think that you'll be surprised. It'll be noticeable across all platforms except PSP.

Will we be able to play all of the match types online?

The majority of them will be there. It'll be similar to last year's game.

What is your favorite match type?

I'm a traditionalist. Just a single, one-on-one regulation style match. I love it. However, this year we're enhancing the tables and ladders matches. We're doing some really good things with our ladder and table mechanics. Stay tuned.

Will you scale down a lot of things for the PS2 version?

There are going to be some things that are going to be hard to replicate on the PS2, but it'll be there. The modes, the fighting into the crowd...it'll be there because that [PS2] is our base.

What about the Revolution?

We're just waiting to learn more about the system. We're definitely not saying no to Revolution at all.

How many different areas in the crowd can you go into? Is it just that one area?

Yes, but what you've seen is less than half of what you'll be able to do, so there's more to come.

Will there be new animations in the game? SmackDown looks outstanding, but critics might say, "Well, it looks like it plays just like SmackDown."

The stuff that you saw in this build has been brought over from the PS2 version for this demo, so we haven't carried everything over yet, so the final product will have a different feel to it.

Who performs the moves that you motion capture?

We have talent from OVW, which is sort of like the bull pen of the WWE. They come down and do the motion capture for us. They do really good work.

What is your dream list of Legends that you'd like to have in the game?

I have them already, but no comment. You'll see. My dream list of legends is in this game.

Will both the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions be identical, or will the PS3 game be enhanced?

No comment. News coming soon on that.

Very cool! Thanks for your time!