Tell us more about the companions: do they have different reasons for fighting alongside the player; will traveling w/ different henchmen affect the path the player takes through the game; etc.

All of the companions have their own personality, stories, and motivations. And which companions you take with you can definitely impact the way the game goes, and potentially open up some options. Sometimes a companion is required for certain sections of the game. The whole goal is to make sure that they are deep and involved characters that sometimes interact with the story similar to the way you do.

Seems the conversation system has been affected by the winds of change. Tell us about this completely revamped system.

Yes and no. We still use the original conversation style for some things. But we do make extensive use of our cinematic dialog system – similar to what people saw in the Knights of the Old Republic series. It allows us designers to craft scenes and convey emotion similar to a director in a movie. It gives us plenty of opportunity to make for a more involved story.​