Who Am I?

A very long time ago I remember being dragged through a shopping center by my mother. (I just loved going shopping as a 10-year-old.) As we rounded one corner, a machine loomed in front of me, bearing the words "Space Invaders." On the screen were rows of monochrome aliens inexorably marching downward toward a lone defender. Without comprehending what she was truly doing, my mother gave me 20 cents, and I was instantly and forever hooked to the world of video games.

From that beginning, I bought my first home computer with the sole intent of writing my own gamesmostly because I never had enough money to play the arcade machines. I learned BASIC on a Tandy MC10 before moving on to the ZX, Microbee, VIC20, and C64. After studying computing in Sydney, I moved into professional programming on everything from PCs to mainframes.

I've since gone on to work on literally hundreds of projects involving everything from satellite communications systems to massively multiplayer game worlds. I've founded technology companies and watched them both succeed and fail. Through it all, I still love making games.

A few years ago I discovered Java and have since become hooked. (I now prefer it to C++ for most projects.) With the advent of J2ME, I saw an opportunity to build games for a new and emerging environment that goes beyond today's view of electronic entertainment.