Lincoln writer releasing Tomb Raider book this month

A Lincoln man with a passion for the Tomb Raider series has written his first book about the making of the iconic video game, which is released later this month.

Daryl Baxter first became interested in video games when he got a Sega Mega Drive with Sonic in 1994. He then purchased a Playstation in 1997 and one of the first games he played was a demo disc of the original Tomb Raider.

The 32-year-old told The Lincolnite it opened his mind into gaming and to then having an interest in what goes on behind the scenes.

Daryl spent most of lockdown interviewing almost everyone in the team, from the developers to voice actors involved in his favourite game, for his first book – ‘The Unofficial Making of Tomb Raider”.

The book chronicles the making of the very first Tomb Raider games from 1994 to 1998 at CORE Design, which is based in Derby.

Interviews in the book include Shelley Blond, who has appeared in Peep Show, and was the voice of Lara Croft in the original game, and Simon Greenall, who played Michael in I’m Alan Partridge and features as the henchman and various bosses in the games.

Daryl playing his favourite video game Tomb Raider.

Daryl, who is now a Software and Downloads Writer at Tech Radar, studied Computer Systems at Nottingham Trent University around 10 years ago. When his university magazine asked for feature idea, he did an interview with the original composer of the music in the Tomb Raider game – Nathan McCree.

Ever since then he had the idea in the back of this mind that it could turn into a book. He pitched the idea, and Pen and Sword agreed to publish his book, which will be available to buy online and in some stores from Monday, October 25.

The date marks the 25th anniversary of the release of the first Tomb Raider game.

Daryl loves to play the original Tomb Raider. | Photo: Daryl Baxter/CORE Design

Daryl has a big passion for the first two Tomb Raider games. | Photo: Daryl Baxter/CORE Design

The book, which includes original sketches from the first game, can be pre-ordered online via Pen and Sword, Amazon and Waterstones, priced between £20 and £25. It will also be available in Waterstones shops, including in Lincoln, in the near future.

Prior to this date, there will also be a book signing event at Derby Quad on Saturday, October 23.

Daryl said: “The book is about how Tomb Raider was one of the first games made after the 3D leap and shows how a game can tell a story, but also be funny.

“The response so far has been really positive and people have been interested to find out things they didn’t know before, and liked how it wasn’t just about the game but also how it was made.”

An extract from Daryl’s book about the making of Tomb Raider.

The extract continued.

Daryl also has his own podcast called PAL Keys, which is an interview series with writers, game developers and voice actors.

His favourite games are the first two Tomb Raider games, Metal Gear Solid, Sonic, and Metroid Dread.

Between gaming and writing, Daryl has also been spending a lot of time planning for his wedding next year, while he also enjoys collecting vinyls and different gins.