I loved being a game designer & developer. I loved working with artists, engineers, producers, animators, musicians and SFX designers, testers, the works. Sitting in the middle of this disparate set of skills and helping us all try to build something genuinely new that stood on the shoulders of the giants that came before us? It was always a pleasure.

But at the same time, now that that part of my career is almost certainly definitively over, I’m *so* glad it’s over. Whether it was the constant stress and drive, the fact that so many managers seem to think their random opinions are worth as much as my expertise, the ridiculous unrealistic expectations, and the overall disposability of the work and its continuous devaluation in the market…

I don’t need that.

I used to have these really poofy eye bags under my eyes. I assumed that’s just “how my face was”. But I sleep better now. Not great, but better. And some days? Those eye bags are *gone*. It’s like waking up and finding out my NOSE is missing. Something that I assumed was just part of “me” isn’t – it was a manifestation of the constant stress.

So yeah. I’m grateful for my career. I was luckier and more fortunate than almost anyone I know, and was blessed to work with wonderful, creative, and brilliant people. I’ll miss that a lot.

The rest? Not even for a minute.