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The DURELLgames Team
The Durell Games team consists of a core of three people, Mike, Ben and Steve. Mike has been Steves brother since 1972, and Bens father since 1984
Mike | Programming
Mike first gained an interest in computers when working in his first job at the aerosol factory in his home town in 1978.
'We needed to keep records of the average weight of contents of the aerosols. I was working in the Quality Control department at the time as an analytical chemist. The manager of the department, Bob Bargery (thanks Bob!) got me involved in the programming of a weighing system, first on Hewlett Packard programmable calculators, and later using Commodore PETs.'
Mike started programming games, as a hobby, in about 1979, after purchasing a Science of Cambridge MK14 computer kit. 'I'd managed to buy a video card for my MK14 and tried to write a Space Invaders clone. Sadly I ran out of RAM before it was finished, even though I'd soldered on an extra kilobyte'.
In 1983 Robert White formed his company, Durell Software, and was advertising in the local paper for programmers. 'I jumped at the chance and started writing for Durell on a part-time basis at first. Initially I wrote 'Dambusters' for the Camputers Lynx machine in Basic, and then 'Jungle Trouble' for the ZX Spectrum in Z80 Machine code. After that I was totally hooked and gave up my 'real' job, including the twelve years of day-release training in chemistry that I havn't used since.'
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During his time at Durell Mike wrote and ported across platforms many of Durells best-selling titles including Jungle Trouble, Harrier Attack, Scuba Dive, Combat Lynx, Turbo Esprit and Thanatos.
Since those times Mike has continued to work in the games industry, programming games for PC, 3DO, Playstation I, Nintendo Gamecube and Playstation II, for publishers such as Electronic Arts, Eidos, Vivendi and the BBC.
In 2004, after working on the BBC's Fightbox program, Mike decided to start something of his own.
'I feel the need to have more control over my own destiny, and to be more involved with all aspects of game development, as I was during the early Durell days. With the rapid growth of the internet it is again possible for a small development team to be sucessful, creating and selling games on-line. I love making games, that is why I'm here.'
See Mike's memorabilia page here.
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Steve | Music
Steve has had a keen interest in music since first getting his hands on an electronic keyboard as a teenager. He is also an avid game player.
Mike says, 'Steve has put in tireless effort in writing the music for Harrier Attack II, coming up with some stunning themes and really evocative and stirring melodies and riffs. His talent is amazing.'
Listen to some of Steve's work here.
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Ben | Graphics
Ben has been an enthusiastic graphic artist since he was at school. At age 16 he was keen to be earning money rather than getting more schooling and has taught himself how to create graphics and 3D models.
Mike says, 'I have been staggered at the speed with which Ben can put together models and artwork. The logos he has done for Durell Games are brilliant, and the models for Harrier Attack II are up there with the best.'
See Ben's website here.
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