Red Faction devs: Destruction is still challenging

Red Faction: Armageddon Game Designer, Drew Holmes, says that designing destruction is still challenging and that it’s something that will probably never be mastered.
When asked by IncGamers whether or not Volition had mastered the art of destructive gameplay, Holmes said that “In terms of design, I don’t know if you ever master anything. You can get it to a point where you’re satisfied, and think it’s really good, but there are always times when you think “oh man, if we could just do this thing that would be really impressive.””
In reference to much of Armageddon’s gameplay being set below ground, he went on to say that “It’s a challenge designing destruction, period. It doesn’t really matter whether it’s above ground or underground.
“For example, you can’t spawn an enemy behind a wall because that wall might not be there. There’s a lot of co-operation between design, programming and art to try and figure out what’s the best way to build these levels and give people the experience they really want.”
That’s not to say he’s unhappy with what they’ve created:
“I think we’re at a point where we really understand how the destruction works in gameplay and that we’re pretty much as close as we could be at this in time.”
Keep an eye out for our full interview with Drew Holmes later this evening.
[Update: Interview is now live.]