Part One continued (1)

The offices are vast, occupying an entire floor, grouped by department. Everyone sits in their own large cubicle each of which had been decorated and personalised by its occupant. Some of them were funny, others really neat. One of them even had an improvised roof, so the cubicle looked more like a cave.

Before I could get a full tour of the office I had been escorted (read: frogmarched) to a meeting room where some recording equipment had been set up. Along with Mona and Justin from tombraiderchronicles.com, Kathryn and I have been working on a series of podcasts to give the community the inside line on the development of Underworld. I hadn't initially planned to partake in the recordings (because I am shy!) but when Kathryn and Crystal said I should, I could hardly refuse. It wasn't long until Eric Lindstrom joined us. Eric is the Creative Director on Tomb Raider: Underworld and general living legend. He's responsible for the storyline and oversees all the creative elements of development. I had first met him many moons ago when a few members of the Crystal team visited Eidos HQ to present an overview of Underworld. I had compiled a list of criteria and points that the community wanted to see from the next Tomb Raider and taken into that meeting. As Eric spoke I remember ticking off each point I had noted down. I'm delighted to say (because it makes my job great!) that Eric has worked on Underworld with the community in mind. I appreciate you'll only really be able to believe that when you see it, but it's why I'm looking forward to release so much!

Alex Jones (Underworld Producer, who seemed really cool but was suffering from the mother of all colds) joined us shortly after. There was time for some quick discussion and a couple of sound checks before we recorded the first podcast, which will be available for download soon so watch this space!

Once the podcast was recorded, we all relaxed and retired to another meeting room where Crystal had kindly provided some fresh fruit for me to graze on. As I tucked into some delicious strawberries (there seems to be a strawberry-theme developing here) Eric, Kathryn and I discussed every aspect of the community, from Eidos' split from Core and some people's resulting animosity to Crystal, the buzz around Underworld, and Crystal's interaction in the community, etc. Eric mentioned that he checks the forums at least once a day. He's not alone. As I made my way round the office meeting various members of the dev team, I discovered that a lot of the team do likewise. As the community manager, this was great to hear. I'll encourage and manage some community interaction from the guys at Crystal for the Underworld campaign, of course they're extremely busy, but we all agree direct interaction would be great for the community.

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