First Turn
The former history teacher and British gaming veteran behind Age of Steam, London and Brass tells his designer Genesis story with 1993’s Lords of Creation
Interview by Dan Jolin
MARTIN WALLACE
BACKGROUND
“It took me a little while to find a direction in life. I went to sixth-form college but didn’t do terribly well. Started a computer course, then dropped out. Then ended up working for Games Workshop for a little while as a minion, the lowest of the low: a shop assistant. It was a good grounding for learning all sorts of games. I did a few other jobs, including developing software for the early Spectrum computer. And then I went back to college as a mature student to do a degree in history. Pretty much the only thing I could do with a degree in history was go and teach. Although, luckily enough, the other use for a history degree is designing games.”