Name: Titia Drenth Location: A small town in the province of Drenthe, The Netherlands Date of Birth: 14 September 1973 Occupation: Math Teacher Interests and Hobbies: Tomb Raider Level Building (in the broadest sense of the word), drawing and painting, reading a good book, watching good movies, walking in the woods, sports, gardening. Family I don’t have a family of my own (meaning I don’t have a friend or husband and no kids), but I have a cat and I love ducks. We used to have ducks at my parent's house, but they are all gone now. They grew to be very old. My favourite duck was Catootje because she was very very tame. She would climb onto my lap and eat out of my hand.

Level Editing Background I’ve been a Tomb Raider fan ever since I watched my brother play Tomb Raider 1 for the first time. Much to my surprise my copy of Tomb Raider Chronicles contained a Level Editor! So after playing Tomb Raider Chronicles I started to make my way through the Level Editor manual. Quite boring sometimes because I had so many ideas for a custom level, but when going through the manual I found out that all the things I had in mind weren’t possible (yet). So I did what just about what everybody did in those very early days, I started with Egypt based levels. I actually kept this new hobby a secret to everybody except my brother. For some reason I thought that playing computer games and making levels was something for teenagers only. I’m glad I was very wrong about that. People are actually pleasantly surprised when they hear that I am making my own custom Tomb Raider games! As additional level editor related programs were made over the years and new possibilities were made possible so I could finally start making the levels I had always dreamed of making. This kept, and still keeps, my interest in level building and even though the game engine is getting very old, level building is still my number one hobby these days.
A picture of me taken during the TR Meeting in Lage (Germany) in June 2007. I was working on a computer table for my HM levels. The Tomb Raider AOD ‘box’ in the lower left hand corner of the picture is actually my good old Shuttle PC, which I won with my Stargate levels for the Lara at the Movies project. It is also my trusty level building comp.	My cat Maarten. I got him at an animal shelter in November 2004 and he has been very good company ever since. Below is a picture of me with my all time favourite duck Catootje. I love ducks and this duck was my favourite because she was very tame, very friendly and really funny and smart (well, as far as ducks can be smart). In loving memory of Catootje.
How did you first get into Tomb Raider? Back in 1996 my younger brother had obtained a copy of Tomb Raider 1. He had played several computer games before and I was never very interested. When I first saw him play Tomb Raider I saw a sexy looking woman shooting some wolves in some caves. And all I thought at that moment was: ‘Oh no! Not another one of those shooter games!’ Boy, was I wrong. Because the game looked good and because there was actually more to do than just shoot your way through the game I watched him play more often and before I knew it I watched him play all the time, right through to the end! We’ve been playing Tomb Raider games together ever since. What inspires you to build? I have always liked fantasy worlds, fairytales and such, especially exiting heroic stories with magic and old buildings, rough landscapes and weird creatures. And with the Level Editor I can create such worlds for Lara! This also means that levels/stories that take place in rough landscapes with ancient manmade structures and ancient traps and puzzles are my favourite settings, even though I have also experimented with other settings in my levels.
A screenshot from the Mists of Avalon Croft manor greenhouse. Croft manor plays an important part in the prologue of my current project Mists of Avalon. The greenhouse is a completely new room, never seen in a Croft manor before.
Tell us a bit about your amazing objects and what it is that interests you in that field I started making objects for the first time when I was working on my Stargate levels for the Lara at the Movies project. I simply couldn’t download the objects I wanted from the internet because they weren’t available and I didn’t want to bother other people too much with requests to make objects for me. Once I started making objects, I was soon hooked. My latest levelset, Himalayan Mysteries, is full of ‘homemade’ objects and the levelset I am currently working on will contain even more objects. I enjoy making my own objects because I can really customize my levels with them and since I demand good quality that fits with my levels I rarely use objects downloaded from the internet. Object making takes a lot of work and time but I think it is well worth the effort.	The main raiding outfit for my Mists of Avalon levelset
What are your future level building plans? I am currently working on the complete rebuilding and continuation of the Weekly Business levels and story. Those levels didn’t work out because I didn’t know how to make my own objects back then and I decided to quit the project. However, the level editing world has expanded dramatically since then, allowing us now to put more detail into our level as well as using custom animations and a lot of other stuff which wasn't available before. So I decided to give the story and the levels a second chance. The story is inspired by Marion Bradley’s Atlantis and Avalon books and the title will be the same as one of her books: Mists of Avalon. In this adventure, Lara will start at her own manor and find some clues to the whereabouts of the mythical island of Avalon. Lara then travels to the coast where she will find more clues and eventually she will reach Avalon itself. The story is in no way related to the TR Legend or TR Underworld Avalon story! I’ve had this story in mind way before the first info about Legend popped up. It is simply a levelset I’ve been wanting to create ever since I started level building in 2001 and I’m so happy that finally the time has come to make it all possible. Since this levelset will take a long time to complete I have no idea what I will do when it is finished. If people are still playing custom levels by then and if I still have ideas for custom levels, I will continue building.
Screenshots from my Himalayan Mysteries levelset Interview by George Maciver February 2009

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