I’m not sure what it is with Splash Damage and us, but every time we’re pencilled in to interview them for 10 minutes, the chats tend to go on well past that. At Gamescom in 2009, we sat down for a 15 minute chat with Richard Ham, Splash Damage’s Creative Director, and it lasted a good 45 minutes. At Bethesda’s BFG Showcase in Utah last week we sat down with Neil Alphonso for a scheduled 10 minute chat... 20 minutes later and we were still chatting... This then is the first part of that 20 minute chat with the game’s Lead Designer.

Because we know everything about Brink there possibly is to know – if you don’t leaf through the archives, we’ve got you covered – we spoke with Alphonso about console development, whether they’re secretly wanting the new console announcements and whether publishers owe a duty of care to their customers by not misleading them with super high-res gameplay trailers... especially for the console versions of the game. Oh, and much more.

Check back tomorrow for the second part of the interview, where we talk alienating new players with unlock systems, LA Noire and so much more.