Daniel: "Ready for the interview?"

George: "Yes."

Daniel: "Thank you so much for doing this."

George: "My pleasure."

Daniel: "Okay, first question. Do you get inspired from other levels?"

George: "By other levels, do you mean custom levels or the original levels?"

Daniel: "Both"

George: "I get very inspired by the original levels. In fact, I'm currently playing TR1 again to help me with Jungle Ruins 3. But it's very rarely I get inspired playing custom levels. Inspired to build I mean."

Daniel: "I notice on trle.net that The Imprisoned Spirits and Return to the Imprisoned Spirits got great reviews, do you think that they were a success?"

George: "I've had a lot of email from around the world regarding these two levels, thanking me for them. Much more so than any levels I've released before, so it seems folks are enjoying them. If so, I would call that a success because that's all I really build for 8)."

Daniel: "I really enjoyed them. Why the name `The Imprisoned Spirits´ and how did it become a custom level?"

George: "That name came from a story in the Bible actually, about the spirits who flooded the world in Noah's day. Those spirits were imprisoned so they could never destroy the world again and God put a rainbow in the sky to remind us of that. I thought it would make a good base for a storyline for a level for Lara to go and visit these spirits. I will begin work on the third and final episode once Jungle Ruins 3 is complete."

Daniel: "One of your levels is called Sheep in Wolf's Clothing which is the name of your novel. What is it like to have written a novel."

George: "Now there's a question! How do you describe it? More like how a marathon runner feels after collapsing across the finish line I guess. Tired but excited."

Daniel: "What advise to do have for other Tomb Raider fans that are building their own levels?"

George: "Not to give up. The editor can be extremely frustrating to learn, and it is quite moody too at times, but the satisfaction from figuring things out and getting them to work is fabulous. If you give up, you miss that. And it's a special thing to release a level. Just keep building I guess, would be my advice, and don't give up."

Daniel: "I know that feeling. I released two short levels and a demo of the upcoming game Trail of the Unknown and got fair reviews for them. What was it like to work on projects such as Lara at the Movies and Back to the Basics?"

George: "Lara at the Movies was special. It will always be special for me."

Daniel: "Why do you say that?"

George: "It was the teamwork, the camaraderie, the joy of working as a team, the communicating, and the sharing together to solve problems. Putting it all together and making it work, then seeing the CD arrive in the post will always be one of my most special moments. There is so much work in that thing it is unbelievable. It is a one off, I guess. But it will always be special to me. Some of my favourite custom levels are in that game too. Aliens by Codo is my all time favorite custom level. And Star Gate by Titak is another magnificent level."

Daniel: "And how about Back to Basics?"

George: "Back to Basics was a different concept. That was designed more to encourage new builders and players onto the scene by making it a competition. It proved successful in that it did bring more folks to the editor, both to play and to build. But it was never going to be another Lara at the Movies. LATM was a serious attempt to make a serious game. Back to Basics was more for fun. And it was a lot of fun!."

Daniel: "Was there concept art involved for Lara at the movies?"

George: "Yes! Regina over at the Level Base designed the artwork cover for the CD and it's fabulous. She also made the flash movie to promote it."

Daniel: "What is the CD version of Lara at the Movies? Can you put it into a PlayStation and play it?"

George: "300 limited edition CDs were produced to a professional standard. They were all numbered too. I have numbers 7 and 23. Perhaps Michael at trle.net might have one or two left, I dunno. It installs itself directly from the CD and sets up the game ready to play. Of course, you can download the whole game from trle.net without having to get the CD, but the CD, to me, is a collector's item. It’s something I will always have."

Daniel: "Well, I downloaded all the files, I didn't finish it but I would like to. Anyway will you make any more huge projects like Lara at the Movies again?"

George: "Raider X, EssGee and I are currently working on a big project. We also have two beta testers on the team. It's called Jungle Ruins 3, and will be either 5 or 6 levels. It's a big project, but not as big as LATM. It takes a special man or woman to oversee something like LATM and bring it all together. We had Michael Prager as our project manager. Without him it would never have happened. I guess if someone of his caliber were to start another project like that, I would be interested in being a part of it."

Daniel: "Do you think that there should be more people starting more projects like this?"

George: "It would be wonderful if it happened, but I don't think most people realize how much work goes into such a project and how much expertise is needed to make it all work. But I do think more builders should collaborate on projects, yes. It's more fun!"

Daniel: "I'm working on Trail of the Unknown and there is another custom game being planned out, what are your thoughts on this?"

George: "I think it's a very special thing that folks want to put their hearts and souls into making custom levels for others to enjoy. It takes weeks and months to make good levels, and to see people giving of their time and energies just to bring a little enjoyment into other's lives, to me is special. It's not like we get paid for it! The Tomb Raider custom level world is growing, and I like that, so the more builders there are, the better."

Daniel: "Yesterday I finished The Mutant’s Demise and it’s wonderful. Your levels are always wonderful. How did you become a Tomb Raider fan?"

George: "Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it. How did I get started? I walked into my sisters house a few years ago and my nephew had just got a new PlayStation for xmas. He had this game on. To me it looked like some female running down tunnels. Anyway, when he nipped to the loo, I sat down and picked up his joypad. The next thing I knew I'd been there over 5 hours and was fighting the T Rex in the Lost Valley. I was hooked right from the start."

Daniel: "How do you feel about Angel of Darkness? Most fans like my self enjoyed it."

George: "I've never finished it. I'd bet Toby Gard has never finished it either, heh heh 8p."

Daniel: "The new game that Crystal Dynamics is working on looks wonderful, but some fans are not so sure that the game will bring Lara's fans back that lost faith in the series. What do you think of the new game?"

George: "After AOD, I'm not sure what to think. I've watched all the trailers and to be honest, I'm secretly excited about the new game. But at the same time, there's this thing inside me that worries. I'm not sure the Devs really understand what Tomb Raider is all about but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. If they can recapture the real Tomb Raider essence, I'll be a very happy man."

Daniel: "Will their be sneak peeks for Jungle Ruins 3?"

George: "The game should be released within a couple of months or so and a few screen shots have already been published here."

Daniel: "It looks great. I still need to play Jungle Ruins and Jungle Ruins 2, but I cannot wait. What can you tell us about the game?"

George: "What I can tell you is that Jungle Ruins 3 is my best work to date. Raider X is excited about it too. And with EssGee on the Dev team, there will be a few surprises. EssGee has made us over 50 new objects, baddies, and puzzles for this game so it is going to be something worth waiting for. Raider X has also discovered a brilliant new way of doing cut scenes, so there will be cut scenes in this adventure. There will also be a few old friends from previous TR games making an appearance. Can't give too much away, but it will have lots of surprises."

Daniel: "Well sounds like fun. One last thing would you mind if I put this interview on my site?"

George: "Not at all, and thanks for taking the time."

Daniel: "Also can you help find people that would like to help with Trail of the Unknown?"

George: "You can find help at our Skribblerz site, if that's what you mean. Raider X and I are always there, and we have a help forum. There are folks there who like to beta test and stuff."

Daniel: "Okay, Thanks for coming. Please keep me posted on Jungle Ruins 3 and the last Imprisoned Spirits episode."

George: "Sure will. I'll post updates regularly."

Daniel: "Night."

(editor's note: Jungle Ruins 3 was released in October 2005 by George, Todd and Scott.)