It's been awhile since we've heard anything substantial about Funcom's The Secret World, the upcoming urban fantasy/horror MMO created by Ragnar Tornquist. As we reported earlier this month, the first in-game footage was finally made available to the public, but Funcom's Erling Ellingsen said we'd have to wait for next month's Game Developers Conference in San Francisco to learn more.

However, Gamasutra recently scored an interview with Tornquist about the creation and development of TSW, which is definitely worth a read. Titled "A Little Piece Of Hell: Building The Secret World," the interview features a lot of information about the design process behind TSW. Tornquist talks about using the knowledge and technology Funcom developed in Age of Conan to help design the new MMO, while creating a distinctly unique piece of work at the same time. He also briefly mentions several game mechanics, touches on combat and explains TSW's dark visual styles. Check out the full Q&A here.