Tomb Raider (1996 video game)
The front of the Derby Studios building where Core Design worked on the game was later used as the front of Croft Manor. It is Core's contention that the company was struggling somewhat with 32-bit development at that time. The first glints of the game were seen on Sega Saturn development kits. However, Gard stated that though Core and Sega had a deal for "Tomb Raider" to be a timed exclusive for the Saturn, the game was developed simultaneously for the Sega Saturn and the Sony PlayStation. Following the release of the Saturn version, a number of bugs were discovered that affected both versions of the game; because of the timed exclusivity, the development team fixed these bugs for the PlayStation version. While the series would see four more instalments on the original PlayStation, no additional "Tomb Raider" games were released for the Saturn. Additional Sega ports were released on the Dreamcast.
Galleon (video game)
Announced in "Edge" in 1997, the game went through various incarnations and publishers. As the original designer of Lara Croft, Toby Gard left Core Design shortly after the first "Tomb Raider" game was released. "Galleon" was to be his first independent title following the original "Tomb Raider". "Galleon" was delayed and eventually ported from the original PlayStation to the Dreamcast to the GameCube (as "Galleon: Islands of Mystery") and eventually to the Xbox. The graphical style of the game was intended to have a comic book feel as well as being influenced by Ray Harryhausen's "Sinbad" films and Burt Lancaster vehicles. Gard has since returned to Eidos Interactive as a design consultant for the "Tomb Raider" franchise. The soundtrack was originally composed by Lee Nicklen, though due to breach of contract and the publishers not paying him, the music is now available for free under the GNU license.