Fat Princess is easily one of the most promising PlayStation Network titles due out in 2009. Boasting 32-player online CTF multiplayer, a charming visual style and an awesome premise (fattening up the flag), needless to say, we’re pretty pumped around these parts to get our hands on the game.

We caught up with Fat Princess Producer Chris Millar to glean more details on a number of topics related to the game–from how the classes will be balanced all the way to angry feminists.

Endsights: How long has Fat Princess been in development? (From conception to now)

Chris Millar: Fat Princess has been in development for a little over a year. It began as unique online co-op castle siege game, and has, um, ballooned into a much larger affair, with 32 players, a rotund princess, and manic team-based gameplay that involves helping your team, fighting to stay alive and kicking some ass in one fell swoop.

Endsights: In Fat Princess, there are five different classes and the gameplay is centered around teamwork. Could you give an example of how two different classes might work together on the battlefield?

CM: There are numerous combinations, and even more so with the Advanced Classes. One example would be to charge into battle as a Warrior, holding up your shield to block Ranger attacks, while a teammate follows you as the Dark Priest and curses the enemy from behind, draining away their life. The Warrior can then run up and take them out with one mighty sword swipe, cutting them into tiny bits. The Priest is also great for healing troops in battle. It’s fun to see how long you can help your teammates survive through the endless onslaught of enemies trying to fight their way into your castle.

ES: How are you guys approaching class balance within teams? For example, from what I’ve seen and read in previews, playing as a worker doesn’t seem to be all that appealing. What kind of rewards, rules or other mechanisms are you guys using to make sure teams at least fairly balance the classes?

CM: Each class is specially designed to have unique abilities and be fun to play. You bring up the Worker, which interestingly, is a favorite among many of us on the devteam. For example, the Worker does the most damage to structures and so is a vital for breaking down the doors on enemy castles. The Worker is also faster than other classes and is especially important for hastily carrying a fattened Princess. We made harvesting fun, eliminating the expected tedium. And, without resources to upgrade your Hat Machines, your team won’t be getting any of the upgraded classes like the Advanced Ranger with the Rifle, or the Ice Mage who can freeze the enemy. Finally, the Advanced Worker is armed with bombs, which makes harvesting by demolition possible, as well as straight up explosive combat.

ES: How many maps are there going to be at launch for Fat Princess?

CM: We don’t want to spill all the details, but just know that there will be a very nice variety of multiplayer maps at launch. There’s a massive volcano called Deep Fried filled with lava that goes up and down, closes off key paths, and fries and traps allies and enemies alike. There is a pirate level called Sugar Cove, with tides that change the strategies required to win. We’ve also created a single-player gladiator Arena, designed to allow players to test their skills with each class.

ES: Downloadable content has been confirmed by some Sony representatives, but how aggressive does Titan plan on getting into that space?

CM: Extremely aggressive! We want to build and support a community of players, and now we have a way to do that. We’re working on a load of new content and other features even as I type this.

ES: Fat Princess is a PlayStation 3 exclusive — how has Sony contributed to the title?

CM: Sony has been great from the very beginning. Their goal has always been to facilitate the creation of a really good game, something that seems sometimes rare in our industry. They’ve been open minded about adding features to the game, such as the advanced classes, and increasing the number of players. They’re working as hard as we are, and care as much as we do.

ES: As the title suggests, the game is partially about fattening up the other team’s Princess, making her harder to move across the map. As you guys probably know, the concept ruffled a few feathers in certain circles. When the concept was being developed, did you expect any sort of blowback?

CM: We probably should have, given the hyper-sensational blogosphere fuelled by a scandal driven media – or is it the other way around – but we didn’t. It has always been, and remains to this day, all in good fun. And, truth be told, we love ‘em all. A lot of people, particularly angry feminists, know about the game who might not have otherwise.

ES: It’s been rumored that Fat Princess is releasing in March? Any chance you’d like to confirm?

CM: We look forward to confirming Fat Princess’ official launch date soon. Stay tuned!