Razorworks were formed in 1996 by four ex-employees of Digital Integration, with a vision to create a new milestone in helicopter simulations for the PC. Art Director, Matt Smith, takes up the tale...

Previously we had all worked on various flight simulations at DI, including F16, Tornado, Apache and Hind. We felt that we could offer an original approach to an established genre. The idea was to break from the mould of our previous projects and push the creative opportunities that presented themselves on the 3D cards beginning to emerge.

Our first venture as a newly formed company was Apache Havoc. The timing that saw us start with Empire in January 1997 was perfect. It allowed us to build our terrain technology with the exciting new 3D accelerator cards in mind.

Within the first few months of development we had a difficult decision to make, whether to drop the software version and just support the 3D accelerator cards. It was a crucial decision as it would allow us to concentrate our efforts on the newer technology without compromise, but at that time there were few cards in the home. We opted to concentrate on the 3D cards. That decision had a big impact on the game, it forced us to approach the development of the visual components in a completely different way. That early decision, taken over two years ago, is apparent throughout the game. The amount of new features and ideas in Apache Havoc puts it head and shoulders above the competition.