FRD Website Archive/Corporate

## Free Radical Design

After leaving developer Rare in February 1999, former *GoldenEye* and *Perfect Dark* team members Dr. David Doak, Steve Ellis, Karl Hilton and Graeme Norgate began trading as independent developer 'Free Radical Design' a mere two months later.

With a team of only eighteen, Free Radical shipped and delivered the 1st person shooter *TimeSplitters* to Eidos for the PS2 launch in October 2000. Despite the time constraints and pressures of building the company and its technology from scratch, they were the only European developer to hit the launch date without any delays.

"Finally, the game worth buying a PS2 for."
- ***EDGE Magazine***

*TimeSplitters* not only reviewed extremely well (scoring well above the other launch titles) it also became a strong brand unto itself - catapulting Free Radical into the public conscience.

Constantly seeking to improve themselves and their games, *TimeSplitters 2* went into development with an emphasis on evolving the theme with a fuller story and an even more satisfying single player mode. Along side this expansion, the multiplayer and mapmaker elements pushed the quality and replay value to new heights.

Once again, Free Radical delivered. True to form, *TimeSplitters 2* came in on time and on budget for Eidos in September 2002. It was met enthusiastically by some of the best reviews of its time.

Significantly, *TimeSplitters 2* paved the way for cross-platform releases as one of the first games to be available on PS2, Xbox and Gamecube - selling well enough to be re-released on both the PS2 Platinum and Xbox Classic labels.

 "Heir apparent to GoldenEye"
- ***Electronic Game Monthly***

By now, Free Radical's team had grown to twenty-eight. Working closely with their new additions, the Directors decided to develop a new 3rd person Intellectual Property in the form of psychic thriller Second Sight - to be published by Codemasters on PS2, Xbox, Gamecube and PC.

With a solid single player story, the game took players to new and terrifying levels of immersion as they steered the protagonist's journey of self-discovery.

"Narrative poise stands head and shoulders above most games... You actually care what's going on."
- ***Eurogamer***

Tempted by EA into returning to the *TimeSplitters* franchise, Free Radical's ever-expanding team set to work on *TimeSplitters Future Perfect.*

Along side the innumerable extra features that fans had come to expect, the single player story took their experience to new ground. Expanding one of the most striking heroes from *TimeSplitters 2*, the story took man's man 'Cortez' through the complex maze of time continuum - utilising the unique 'meet yourself' gameplay.

Once again, on its release in March 2005, the game reviewed above and beyond its peers.

"A crowd pleasing blockbuster... The best PS2 shooter available"
- ***Official UK PS2 Magazine***

Over the years Free Radical Design has received numerous awards and nominations including CTW Developer of the Year 2001, the DEVELOP Industry Excellence award for Best Independent Development Studio in 2003, along with five BAFTA nominations for *TimeSplitters 2* in 2004, and two BAFTA nominations for Second Sight in 2005. Furthermore, they were listed in the Sunday Times Tech Track 100 as one of the UK's fastest growing technology companies.

Of the four games produced by Free Radical, the average number of units sold per game is well over a million. With a dozen awards and many nominations under their belt, Free Radical are not resting on their laurels. Their hundred-strong team is chomping at the bit - with new technology comes amazing new challenges, and amazing is what Free Radical does best.

## Free Radical's Founders

### Steve Ellis, Managing Director

Steve's interest in programming began with a college night class - which he attended at a mere eight years old. He developed his skills in 8-bit programming for the Spectrum and BBC, from which he went on to complete his O level Computer Science at age eleven, and his A-level Computer Science at age thirteen. He honed his abilities writing Amiga demos, before completing a Computer Science degree. After a year-long placement in commercial programming, Steve joined Rare's *GoldenEye* team partway through the game's development. There, he took charge of the multiplayer component and produced it single-handedly. After working on *Perfect Dark* for the first eighteen months, Steve went on to co-found Free Radical Design, where he made a significant contribution to *TimeSplitters*, along with all of the PS2 low-level programming at the start of *TimeSplitters 2*. As the company expanded, Steve's attentions were required in other aspects of the company. He now handles business development, finance, legal and general management.

### David Doak, Director

David's route into game design was nothing if not unconventional. After completing a degree and D.Phil in Biochemistry, he went on to work as a post-doctoral researcher and college lecturer at Oxford University. Coincidently, David found that the SGI computer systems he was using for molecular graphics were the same as those then in use for Nintendo 64 game development.

Ever versatile, David approached Rare who took him on as a system administrator and then designer. There, he worked extensively on *GoldenEye* and *Perfect Dark*, before going on to co-found Free Radical Design.

As well as taking a lead role in the design of *TimeSplitters* and *TimeSplitters 2*, David co-wrote the script for *Second Sight* - still considered one of the most involving plot-driven action games of recent times.

### Karl Hilton, Director

After joining Rare in October 1994, Karl combined the unique disciplines learned during his degree in Architecture followed by his masters in Computer Visualisation And Animation as the Background Artist on smash hit *GoldenEye*. His hard work and enthusiasm resulted in him leading the art creation and direction on that game. After *GoldenEye*, he was made Lead Artist on the massive follow-up: *Perfect Dark*.

After the game's success, Karl and other key members of the team went on to co-found Free Radical Design, where he lead the direction of the game art in *TimeSplitters* and *TimeSplitters 2*, before becoming fully occupied with directorial duties during *Second Sight* and *TimeSplitters Future Perfect*.

Karl is also an MBA graduate from the Nottingham University Business School.

### Graeme Norgate, Head of Audio

Although perhaps best known for his work on *GoldenEye* and *Perfect Dark*, Graeme began composing aged twelve. He joined Rare in April 1994, where he worked on titles including *Killer Instinct*, *Donkey Kong Land* and *Blastcorps*.

After co-founding Free Radical Design, Graeme went on to be nominated for a BAFTA for his sound work on *Second Sight*, and is considered an industry authority thanks to his audio in the *TimeSplitters series*.