Gods & Heroes - Interview @ WarCry

Chris McKibbin and Stieg Hedlund from Perpetual have been quizzed about Gods & Heroes at WarCry.  Here's the first question:

WarCry: The setting is the biggest difference between Gods and Heroes and the other major MMOs coming out. Can you talk a bit about what Rome will mean to the game from both the perspective of the history buff and the casually interested?

McKibbin & Hedlund: Gods and Heroes is set in a mythical version of ancient Rome. We take actual historical places, cultures, enemies, technologies, architecture, politics, etc. and set all of that in a world in which the gods, creatures, and monsters from mythology actually exist. Rome the city-state is the center of the world – then and now - and it is pretty accurately portrayed in-game. It is pretty amazing to be able to actually walk around Rome, through the Forum, then go luxuriate in the bathhouse, and explore the massive sewer system below. However, we are more interested in creating an entertaining world than a world that is slavishly accurate to history, so our Rome also includes the Flavian Amphitheater (better known as the Coliseum) which was actually built about 200 years after our time-frame. The history buff will find a lot to be interested in (and chat / argue about) while the casually interested will find a very cool and different world to explore than what he or she might find in another MMO.