That's a great story, and I'm glad it worked out so well. I still harbour a small pang of regret at never having worked in games, but think I'd struggle to break into it now, and I definitely don't have the stomach for the hours these days!

> My other week was with a flight school at Bristol Airport which was equally fun in a different way. Lots of answering the phone and chatting to adults which as a shy boy was exhilarating and I got to go up with an IFR student in heavy cloud with perhaps the most exciting landing I’ve ever experienced.

This is a little uncanny. In the 6th form I did work experience in flight operations at a firm called FR Aviation, based out of Bournemouth International Airport (may still have been known as Hurn Airport back then). They did a lot of exercises with the Navy so I too got a flight. Mine was in a Falcon, although not the F-16 kind: it was more of a Learjet type thing - just a very small passenger jet with twin engines. Still, my first time in any kind of jet and pretty cool as I got to sit in the jumpseat between the two pilots.

These days a lot of games is more sedate albeit not that much better compensated and not always amazingly well run. Lots more cross-over with regular tech as games aim for a longer tail of sales as well. Personally though I’d make them for fun if you want another hobby.

I am however eternally jealous of getting a flight in a small jet.

Plane was probably one of these?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dassault_Falcon

Yes, I think that's the series.

Future publishing was the shit back then. I lived in the Canary Islands where thanks to the influx of British tourists and migrants we had a steady flow of one-month-late, overpriced British press. Everything from future publishing was miles ahead of the Spanish videogame press, Super Play and Edge were my favourites, i still have a good collection in my mother's basement... It's how I learned English, and the joys of British humour, but also how I learned to think critically about games at a different level. Peter Moulineux was an ever present figure in them, of course.