Mushrooms; they aren't as happy-go-lucky as you may think. They exist in a darkened world filled with tragedy, ill will, and a rampant amount of decaying vegetation. So, sorry if this comes as a surprise to you but there are no friendly, pink-clad princesses or "happy little trees" where they come from.

They sprout forth from what you'd consider vile. From rotten corpses to the gastrointestinal remains of moo cows across the globe, they can be found just about anywhere. One place that has an ample supply of both those "food sources" is good ol', down homey Texas.

We had a chance to do a little Q&A with the Austin based developers of Mushroom Men for the Wii and DS, Red Fly Studio. With some slight of hand and possibly... one or two rufied mushroom burgers (de-lish, by the way), we managed to squeeze a few answers out of them in their state of unconsciousness. With hints at a possible sequel and other interesting tidbits hastily scribbled down in our notepads, we managed to make it back to our computers before they ever knew the deed was done!

...Well, now that I just blew our cover, the feds should be on us like Dateline's Chris Hansen on a pack of filthy predators. Oh well, it was worth it...

TWGNews - The Fungi Kingdom is a rather large group of life forms. From Ascomycota to Weraroa novae-zelandiae, there are plenty of specimens to choose from. So, why did a small Boletales become the heroic candidate for Mushroom Men?

Red Fly - Ha! It was actually quite simple. When the game was being designed, the first thing we didn't want to do was over complicate the story with too many factions.  So we decided on 2 edible mushroom groups as the good guys and 2 poisonous mushroom groups as the bad guys.  From there we decided to make our Hero character, Pax, a Bolete mushroom because he just seemed to fit with our concepts.

TWGNews - From the viewpoint of Pax, the world he travels is gigantic. From our prospective, how big of a space does he venture through in Spore Wars?

Red Fly - I think that is the first time we have been asked this!  Think of a 4 corner stop in a rural town.  That is the world from our perspective.  So while it seemed huge from Pax's viewpoint, it's actually quite small from a Human.

TWGNews - Pax's weapon cache houses a robust list of eccentric arms. Where did these creative concoctions come from? Were there any that had to be left out or did all those imagined make it into the game?

Red Fly - You can thank Frank Teran (Concept Artist) for most of those concoctions! I believe we originally had over 50 weapon types in the Wii version of the game, but we decided to scale back because we didn't want to have a multiple screen UI that players would have to dig through.  It was definitely a blast thinking of all the trash that is found on the ground and how it could be transformed into creative weapons.

TWGNews - Creating a game about rival mushrooms seems like a stressful job. With teams of developers spending days tinkering with their Bolete and Amanita creations, it can only be assumed elitist favoritism was an underlying issue at the workplace. Was there ever a time when the "Shiitake hit the fan" in the office and a Spore War almost broke out?

Red Fly - Wow!  Your tagline almost made it in the game (original tag for the shiitake level was “Shiitake hits the fan”, but we decided against it and went with a more subtle “Showdown in Shiitake Town”).  As for an inner office Spore War, the closest we came was voting on which features would make it into the game.  So there was a lot of people campaigning for others votes!

TWGNews - There are several different species of mushrooms that Pax runs into. Nearly all of them have their own set of classes - Sage, Scout, and Heavy.If you could choose to be one, which would you be? Were there any other species you were considering to appear in the game?

Red Fly - I would have to go with a Heavy. When push comes to shove, you need the size.   We actually had over 80 characters designed for the game, but when in production and scope is a factor, we had to narrow what made it in.  Hopefully you will see these new characters in a sequel!

TWGNews - Pax's spore powers play an important role in the game. Fueled by meteorite pieces and infected spore goo, Pax uses them to solve puzzles and deal instant K.O.'s as well as other novel ideas. Do you think Pax would ever turn 'to the dark side 'and begin hording the meteorite pieces to himself?

Red Fly - NO!  Pax is to be loved by the young and old!  If he started to turn to the dark side, then he would have to have a companion to put him on the right path.  Hmmm……

TWGNews - The ending of Spore Wars left the door open for a follow up title. Our Top 10 "Games for the Wii We Can't Wait to See Sequeled" had a spot carved out for Mushroom Men from the very start. Though two titles already exist, the thought still remains; "Will we be seeing Pax again?"

Red Fly - We definitely hope so!  We learned a lot about developing for the Wii system and have some great ideas for a sequel.  We definitely want to see Pax on the screen again in a whole new set of adventures!

TWGNews - 2009 is a whole new year. With two titles already tucked snuggly in the pages of gaming history and two more, Ghostbusters for the Wii and DS, already on the horizon, how bright is the future for Red Fly Studio?

Red Fly -  We are very fortunate to be able to be making games right now in this economy.  Red Fly is a group of very talented individuals from all over the industry.  While we had problems starting a new company along with developing an original IP, we have been able to find solutions for those problems. We are very comfortable developing for the Nintendo Platform and look forward to expanding into other consoles.  So 2009 should be a very good year for Red Fly!

TWGNews - Red Fly Studio has already left its mark in two of Nintendo's current gaming platforms. Are there any plans to test the WiiWare waters?

Red Fly - Currently not in the plan, but plans always change.  So we could venture there at some point if the right content became available for us to develop for WiiWare.

Well, there you have it folks! Mushroom Men info galore! We'd like to thank the wonderful worker bees over at Red Fly Studio and we encourage you to all check out their delightful games ASAP!