IGNPC: Why did you decide to focus on Native Americans for this expansion? Some people have indicated that focusing on Native Americans has required a little sensitivity on your part. Can you elaborate?

Sandy Peterson: Early on we considered adding other civilizations but felt they wouldn't play as different as what we believe we can do with the Native Americans. We also felt there were good stories from the Native American point-of-view that we wanted to tell and hadn't seen in a previous game. In light of the sensitivity, Ensemble has always tried to portray the "underdogs." For instance, in Age 2 we presented the Crusades from Saladin's point of view. In effect we are now giving the native nations full control of history. So in some ways we're empowering them.

IGNPC: There will be three new civilizations included in the game but so far you've only announced the Iroquois Confederacy. What about them made them a good choice for the game? How do they play differently than the European powers?

Sandy Peterson: The Iroquois controlled a large confederation that sprawled over a wide area. They actually expanded their territory and became more powerful after contact with the Europeans, making major conquests among other tribes. They enthusiastically adopted European technology and their military is the most "European-like" of our three native nations. So they are an interesting combination of a fairly contemporary army (for the 1700s) backed up by a native economy and a strong tradition of mysticism. The Iroquois really focused on their harvest, their domestic food plants, and their agricultural way of life and we've tried to reflect that in their in-game economy.