I recently came across a news story about a member of staff along with others that had been made redundant from a well known games studio. The online derogatory comments made about the person’s appearance and their role made me feel utterly sick and were mostly made by young men.

A lazy heatwave morning and breakfast in the company of Ultraman. 1960s Japan is just so full of cool and one of my go to happy places.

Instead of investing all this money in AI and shit, can we just have a train service and other public infrastructure that actually works?

Ubisoft Barcelona staff goes on strike over proposed layoffs

It’s hard to fight the feeling that so much of what we like is turning to shit. And secondary to that, why bother to make anything good anymore? When it’s an uphill battle due to the shittification and sloppification of creativity and effort. Or even just to be seen in a sea of copied mediocracy.

More needless shit for the world.

Yay! MediEvil 💀😁

Writing/designing some spooky shit today so needed Jerry’s finest to accompany me. Yes, kids, that is a CD! 😄 I still like the ritual of having to choose a physical disc, look at the art and have it spinning away as I work. And… gasp… handwriting notes and doodling storyboards in the margins! 😮 ✍️

Amazing! And was just down the road from me and I missed it! 😩

I revisited Wes Anderson’s “Isle of Dogs” last night for the first time in many years. Like many of Anderson’s film I was a bit mixed on it the first time round, but this time it really clicked with me and I had a great time with it. So many nice little details in the film. A joy.

Fuuuck! At this rate the only thing that gen AI hasn’t got its sloppy fingers into (and be trusted as the real deal) will be anything physically created/printed before 2025.

Film watching today. Has anyone seen any of the DEFA made (then) East German folk tale films? “Heart of Stone” is so beautifully shot. A Faustian tale set in the Black Forest. The film used Agfacolor film stock, an early German color process. Kinda reminded me of looking through an early ViewMaster.

A sequence from My Beloved Other, A Memoir of Love, Race and Optimism in a Time of Denial, coming Aug 11. Angela’s recollections of her childhood, and the “mascot” you see here, were a big part of 20th century British culture. Yes, really. #comics #graphicnovel #antiracism #memoir #booksky

Fuck yeah! The heatwave has abated! Time for breakfast outdoors… coffee, toast and a copy of the latest Thomas Ott book. Bliss! “Panopticum” in which a girl visits a creepy cinema slot machine tent at a circus/freak show to witness an anthology of creepy twisted silent film madness.

Having to brush Leonard (the cat) every other day as being a shaggy long haired cat in this heat wave is no fun. Just look at this amount of fur during one brushing session - poor mog! Then to keep him cool he gets to wade about in a few inches of cool water.

When I am working on a paid for hire project/or a studio job, I always do the best work I can and find the elements that I can add my own value/experience to. However, when I work on my own creative projects (that come with risks) I am at my happiest! And right now, I am very flippin’ happy! 😄

… 🥵🔥

Writing and designing puzzles during a heatwave with no air con for a videogame set during a bitter frozen winter in the North of England is certainly a challenge! 😄🫠🔥❄️

Three years to the day since I lasted guested at a tabled comic con/book fair or signing event. Then there was the covid gap years. I kind of miss meeting and chatting in person to new and old people. However, i’ll not miss the pressure of drawing quickly in public - never enjoyed that! 😄

Saw the price of the Steam Machine and I’m kind of glad I’m not really into AAA games these days. The expense of it all! In other news, the wonderfully taut “The Drifter” released today on Switch and Switch 2. Loved this indie game!

It was a very hot day today! There was only one thing for it! 🫠 🥂 🧀 🕶️

Adore this film and its sense of otherworldly wonders and brutality. Probably how pets see us as they try to comprehend our strange ways - as both masters and abusers. Also worth finding the wonderful Rene Laloux art of book too (France).

“Sabre Wulf”

Who here is looking forward to the season finale of “Widow’s Bay” this week?

Couldn’t resist picking up Guillermo del Toro‘s “Nightmare Alley” on 4K due to it being a b&w recut of the theatrical film - stuff taken out/new scenes added. And great extra features. What I also really appreciated was getting noir artist Thomas Ott to create the art for the packaging.

Still loving the fact that I have a mini Donald (Pod) Sutherland living on my shelves! 😄

Sorry, maybe I shouldn't say this but ahahah. I am very angry. So I went to Xbox's Fan Fest event to attend a preview event. And it was the most flagrant display of wealth imaginable. Five stories filled with caterers and hundreds of smiling faces there to assure me of the brand's strength.

More sad news from the games industry. What a cluster f*ck it continues to be. We will not appreciate how good we had the entertainment industries until they are sold off, dismantled, broken down and turned into corporate slop.

Went to see Savage House. Imagine Richard E Grant’s Withnail married into a wealthy 18th century estate but still a drunken loser! A mix of Triangle of Sadness, The Favourite & Barry Lyndon mashed together with shit & wigs. Laughed & cringed at the increasingly unhinged grotesque social climbing.

Spending a little moment to luxuriate in Richard Corben’s beautiful work for “Eerie & Comics” via this absolutely enormous tome that I picked up for a bargain in Paris many years ago. The book dwarfs many other books on the same shelf.

The links to the wishlist’s

Thinking about monsters. I had the pleasure of meeting Shinji Nishikawa (designer of many Heisei Godzilla films) in Tokyo some years ago. He asked what I’d like drawing in my art book and I chose Baragon! Much to the surprise of onlookers. But I’ve always like the scrappy underdog that is Baragon 😍

That was a super productive day of game scripting. Feels great to be back in full on game design/narrative mode. I think that this will be something unique and challenging/fun to play. My only problem is that when I am back in full on creative mode is turning the brain off to relax. 🧠🔥

Saw “Backrooms” earlier today. It was great, yes, you could cite so many influences from various video games, films and books, but it is a very satisfying journey all of its own. A solid start to 20 year old director Kane Parsons, who also proclaimed his anti gen-AI stance in filmmaking.

Eclectic soundtracks to get me into the writing/art mood. What are some of your favourites?

True words. ❤️

RIP Marjane Satrapi. The graphic novelist most famous for the autobiographical "Persepolis" passed away at 58 from the sadness of a broken heart.

Martin Scorsese’s newest member of the art department has been installed on storyboarding duties.

One of the nice things about working on a new game and defining its tone is that I get to revisit some of my favourite art and fantasy films… including the films of Terry Gilliam. Gilliam’s imaginative/comedic touch was such a guiding light for me in the past - esp’ on “MediEvil.”

I’m the kind of nerd who would buy storyboard books and publications just to study shots and the flow of a scene. When I was a creative director at Sony I would hire comic artists to storyboard games when I was too busy to do them. It was a pleasure to work with and to develop ideas together.

Look, I see comments saying ‘oh it’s only for preproduction art’ or ‘it’s just for storyboards’ etc. let me tell you that pre-production/storyboarding is an incredible art in of itself. Please go and look at the amazing work of artists in this field. You telling me that those people don’t matter?

Nooooooooooooooooooo! It’s like people becoming pod people. Some of my friends are fantastic film, game and TV storyboard artists (and concept artists) that have helped to make amazing films and shows. I’ll always love and defend what Scorsese has made but he has now diminished a little for me.

Now that my studio work room has been scrubbed down and rearranged for new work, I thought it’d be fun to share with you what I have on my shelves. Maybe to give you an insight into my references/inspirations and maybe you’ll want to track down an item or two you see here. A visual shelfie thread.

So many! Some big Sony games that I was a creative director on for a couple of years (although in hindsight one or two were mercy killings). “Surface Tension” TV show based on my comic book series via syfy channel and Dark Horse Entertainment and then bounced to another studio was a sad loss.

This show is great! Witty, great characters, scary and funny. Check it out!

Always worth a second share because I am super excited! 😁 Resisting the urge to say a lot more at this stage. But after a gap of a few years since the last MediEvil (PS4) remake and working on a book or two, I am super enthused to be working on a new game again. 🥳🔥

Crazy timing given my announcement earlier today - I have been doing a deep clean/tidy up of my old work studio and found yet more original MediEvil design work! Including - The very first original physical acetate slides (pre-PowerPoint) made to pitch the game to would-be investors. Pre- Sony.

The first day of dev production on my new game. Adapted from my illustrated industrial folk horror novel “Coal Face - The devil in the smoke.” The art style is in keeping with the book and the era of the setting. Lots of original gameplay surprises to come! The journey begins. More news to come!

The first day of dev production on my new game. Adapted from my illustrated industrial folk horror novel “Coal Face - The devil in the smoke.” The art style is in keeping with the book and the era of the setting. Lots of original gameplay surprises to come! The journey begins. More news to come!

Good morning!