Susie works at Core Design in Derby. And she’s on first name terms with Lara Croft. Honest.

How’s life at Core Design?
It varies from very hectic to horrifically busy. There’s still masses of Lara-related activity happening - proposals keep flooding in - from appearances on the Vanessa Show to endorsing Spanish chewing gum... !!!

A lot of people think of Core Design as just Lara Croft. There’s more to Core, isn’t there?
Yes, this is Core’s eleventh year - it all started with the likes of PC and Amiga titles such as Corporation, Heimdall and Wonderdog. Chuck Rock was a big hit for us on Sega’s Master System and Mega Drive so yes, we’ve certainly had a few hits in our time apart from Tomb Raider. Obviously none on such a large scale but if you can think back to the old Mega-CD days, titles such as Battlecorps, Soulstar and of course Thunderhawk played a part in establishing Core as a respected cutting-edge developer. While PlayStation titles such as Fighting Force and Ninja didn’t quite achieve the same heights as Lara, they weren’t completely overshadowed, particularly in the US where Fighting Force performed extremely well.

Life at Core Design before and after Lara Croft. Discuss!
Before Lara??? I can remember the days when I used to finish work at 5.30, take the occasional holiday, sleep peacefully at night... After Lara - well let’s just say that once she arrived there was no stopping her - and we’ve all had to keep up the frantic pace that she’s set. Core is responsible for the approval of all Lara-related plans worldwide - this includes marketing materials for the actual games, the merchandise, promotions, licensing deals, the movie, press activity, Lara interviews and appearances etc. Paperwork city! Part of controlling the way Lara’s represented involves us having to really clamp down on any illegal activities by those using or adapting Lara’s image without our permission. The occasional press visit has now turned into a barrage of TV and radio crews, journalists from the national press and many overseas visitors - all wanting to include aspects of Lara in their features. All this is a full-time job in itself - but it’s important to remember that there’s definitely more to Core than Lara - we’ve got some very interesting non-Lara projects on the go so I’m really looking forward to those! That and a holiday...

Which are Core Design’s fave Derby boozers?
Fat Cat, Tonic and Vines are my top three boozers - my sister and I are often on the rampage in Derby and well-known for our obnoxious behaviour... we normally end up in Boom - our fave club where we can often be seen staggering around the dance floor in a drunken stupor and generally acting like children. Our hobbies are collecting cutlery from Indian restaurants and removing ashtrays from taxis on the way home. My sister hopes to move on to body panels, in the hope of constructing her own taxi cab and maybe one day I’ll have enough cutlery to open my own restaurant...

Favourite games magazine?
Has to be Arcade for its wit, humour, accuracy and original approach.

What’s Core’s biggest project this year? Go on tell us a secret!
Can’t say too much - we’ve got a couple of AAA titles for this year, including a brand new ‘strategic fighting/adventure’ game. Next year will be the one for real surprises though...

What’s the worst Lara rip-off you’ve seen, be it merchandise or some scam on the Net?
It has to be the whole Nude Raider thing - what a headache that’s turning into. Artistic creativity is one thing but it’s all gone a bit too far now, bearing in mind we have so many young fans out there.

What do you do on Saturdays?
I normally put on my Lara costume and have a bit of a run around the Peak district, but if it’s raining, there’s always shopping to be done - a PR person’s wardrobe is never complete...

What’s the wackiest Lara ‘correspondence’ Core have received?
Well we have a number of extremely ardent fans who insist that Lara is the only one who truly understands them... but last week somebody sent us a smashed Tomb Raider CD and a torn-up strategy guide. The simple note read ‘no more Lara for me’. Guess it’s all a bit too much for some...!