Biography
My first commercial game was published in 1985 by Automata (UK) Ltd, one of the forerunner games publishers in the UK. I was still at school, so embarrassingly made it into the local newspaper.
For the next twenty years I developed and published over 50 titles, for 8-bit home computers, then PC, and consoles from the Sega Mega Drive, the original Gameboy, through to Dreamcast, PlayStation, and beyond.
My companies (AVM Ltd, Wave Software Ltd, largely porting houses) worked with more clients than I can list: Warner, Virgin, Ocean, Ubisoft, US Gold, Mirrorsoft, etc.
We were popular for bringing games from Amiga to PC including the Sensible Soccer series, Chaos Engine, and genre defining titles, such as Dune 2.
In 2004, I helped establish one of the first games courses in the UK, later suggesting the creation of the TIGA Accreditation. The Portsmouth courses went on to win the first TIGA Best Educational Institution award, and again a decade later under my leadership.
While teaching I continued collaboration with industry, including The Chinese Room on Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs (PC) and Everybody's Gone to the Rapture (PlayStation), also developed titles for Nintendo consoles and original content for PC.
In 2023 I relocated from the UK to Ireland for a new adventure as Course Director for Computer Games Development at Limerick University.
Candidate Statement
My 40+ years’ experience in the games industry, and my experience in education, combined with being a relatively new arrival to Ireland, puts me in a somewhat unique position of being able to view and compare the industry here to the UK. There are already positive signs of growth, only this past year Imirt became a formal trade body. It could also be said that the Irish industry benefits due to its compact size, being a more tightly linked group of highly creative people, sharing their knowledge and experiences, supporting each other’s success.
The close network of participants in the Irish industry, combined with the historical creativity, is some of the real value I see, and I hope whether I’m elected or not, to contribute to the growth and recognition of these values in the years to come.
What is a little surprising is how humble the community has been, there should be more shouting about the successes, to let the world know we are here, and it’s great to see the possible introduction of ‘Game Ireland’ in the next year.
To grow the Irish industry, we need to let the local population know we are here. The next generation (and their parents) need to know and believe there is as much possibility of success in games related career, as there is in other traditional subject areas.
Only with confident new creatives coming into our sector can we rapidly grow and provide the new talent the industry needs to support future expansion, we need to encourage and reward interest in our subject area, with placements, mentoring and business support.
If elected to the Imirt Board, I will:
• Use my view of the Irish industry, combined with my knowledge and experience of the UK industry, to contribute to discussion around new directions and approaches to grow the Irish games industry.
• Bridge understanding between university objectives and industry objectives, to better support both. Higher Education is often in awe of industry, industry doesn’t always understand what HE is trying to achieve, both have the growth and success of our subject area in mind.
• In the shorter term, through conversation focus on supporting the current strengths of Irish university courses to provide clearly defined games content linked to industry requirements, working within the constraints and style of specific institutions. Enabling them to be the best at what they do.
• When the timing is right, work with applicable parties towards the creation of an Imirt Accreditation for teaching and learning.
• Work with industry partners to develop a mentoring and support framework, mentoring startups, early-stage businesses, to inspire and nurture future talent.
• Engage in discussions towards introducing more opportunities to create more incubator opportunities, including funding and creative office spaces around Ireland, to develop the concept of a ‘game development island’.
