THE MAKING OF DRAKAN

EVERYONE KNOWS LARA CROFT, THE TOUGH 3D ACTION HEROINE. BUT HOW MUCH COOLER WOULD SHE BE IF SHE COULDN'T JUST JUMP AND SHOOT, BUT COULD ALSO DISH IT OUT IN HAND-TO-HAND COMBAT AND RIDE A FIRE-BREATHING DRAGON? WELL, THEN HER NAME WOULD NO LONGER BE LARA, BUT RYNN

- PAUL KAUTZ

The Seattle-based company Surreal Software was a very unusual developer. Of the four college graduates who founded the company in 1995, only one, creative director Mike Nichols, had already developed a game or two, while the other three were completely inexperienced in this area. But that didn't change the young team's big plans, as cofounder and Drakan lead designer Alan Patmore explains.

"I grew up playing classic RPGs like the Ultima series and the Wizardry series. I was also a fan of D&D and fantasy fiction. Creating a game where the team and I could realise our vision of a fantasy world was really the biggest driver. It was an amazing time because we developed this engine and toolset that allowed me to basically craft what I envisioned almost in real time. Drakan was a creative expression of what was in my head at that time in my life."