REVOLUTION SOFTWARE
This,” Charles Cecil gestures with a sweep of his hand, “is The Shambles.” Happily, he’s not delivering a withering assessment of the studio he’s been running for close to three decades. Rather, he’s referring to the York street that runs down one side of Revolution Software’s offices – and which is thought to have been the inspiration for Harry Potter’s Diagon Alley. The buildings here are centuries old, the eldest dating as far back as the 1300s. Inevitably, some of them are a little uneven; Cecil is grateful to the previous owners for having flattened out the floors, though there’s one room, he says, that leans so obviously to one side as to make you feel slightly seasick when you enter. We decline his invitation.
It’s a fairly modest office, although it offers some picturesque views. Cecil’s office window, in fact, is perfect for people-watching: for a man with a flair for writing memorable characters, there’s plenty of potential inspiration here. And the location is fitting for a studio that finally finds itself on an even keel. Next year marks Revolution’s 30th anniversary –
