In World of Tanks, you start out with a basic, pre-World War II tank and gradually improve it over multiple arena battles. Make no mistake: These are familiar armored fighting vehicles from the period leading up to and through World War II, but there's no mistaking these arena battles for any historical battlefields.

It's just a way for players to jump into tanks and engage in 15-versus-15 team battles. The game has attracted millions of players, almost all of them men, and heavily skewed towards 25 or older.

Now, Russian company Wargaming.net hopes to replicate the amazing success with the upcoming release of World of Warplanes. The approach is similar: Arena combat, 15-versus-15 battles, with historical aircraft. If the more outlandish designs here may have never actually taken flight, they did at least exist somewhere on drawing boards and in prototype form.

Of course, flying a plane is somewhat more difficult than driving a tank, so making even a simple flight simulation accessible was a challenge. Lead project manager Vladislav Belozerov Wednesday discussed some of the decisions made, particularly with regards to the game's controls and views. Players always start and finish in the air, so they don't have to learn the delicate arts of taking off and landing--it's all about the combat, after all. The view is always external, so there's no cockpit controls or views to worry about.