I have now been at Frontier Developments Ltd for about two years, where I'm helping develop games - currently working on a new "Wallace and Gromit" to follow "Project Zoo".
I used to be head of the software development team at Greenstreet Software Ltd - the developers of DTP and graphics software for Windows. I'm currently responsible for developing and maintaining our Designworks product, although I have had a hand in the design or implementation of many of our other products in the past.
I decided to quit Greenstreet in 2002 - One of the main reasons for leaving after such a long time is the company's shift away from developing professional productivity software towards republishing budget games software.
I was at Greenstreet (formerly GST) for a long time - I worked on a variety of different contract projects before we moved into developing our own products. See the Greenstreet page for more details. I have developed products on the Sinclair QL and Atari ST, and for the last few years Windows applications. Before I joined GST, I worked for Software Sciences Comprite, developing and supporting newspaper typesetting systems based on Nova and Eclipse minis.
I read SF & Fantasy; recent favourite books are Mary Gentle's "Ash", John Crowley's "Aegypt" and "Love & Sleep", and Alistair Reynolds' "Revelation Space". I read 'Interzone' magazine. I also like some horror books - eg Anne Rice and H.P.Lovecraft. I listen to a variety of music: Rock, Classical (excluding opera), and some of the more obscure music that you might hear on "Mixing It". My most recent CD aquisitions are by Zbignew Priesner and AfroCelt.
I like good food and wine - I'm usually at a dinner party every Thursday evening - and every so often it's my turn to do the cooking. On one occasion I prepared a four-course meal for 15 people using authentic 15th-century recipes for a medieval murder mystery evening. See the Thursday Dinner Club pages. I'm also a member of CAMRA.
I also enjoy boardgames - particular favourites are Advanced Civilisation, Britannia, and Republic of Rome.
I go to the cinema a fair bit - often the Cambridge Picture House (formerly the Arts Cinema): I used to keep an up-to-date page of the films showing in Cambridge, but the cinemas now have their own websites.
Howard.
Updated Dec 2004