Well, Ancient Frog is out there and starting to earn its keep. It's patched to a respectable level, although I'll probably have another bash at the pesky undo gesture, and I'm tempted to give the menu screen a makeover. There's also a 'light' edition to consider, much though I'm wary of that (it's very hard to decide which levels to leave in - if I throw in a couple of tough ones, people might think all of the paid ones will be too hard. If I don't, they'll think there's no depth to it).

But that aside, for the first time in far too long I'm able to start considering new projects without getting pangs of 'unfinished business' guilt. It's a bit of a mental luxury, indulging myself in thoughts of all the neat little ideas that have been piling up during Frog's development. It's tempered slightly by the thought that, once I start on one of them, the others have to go back in the cupboard until I'm done.

My intention this time is to bang out something really quickly, using the tools and experience I've built up, and focusing on the tightest, most cut-down game mechanic I can manage. The fact that that has been my intention for every game I've worked on for at least ten years, and they've always ballooned in features and overrun in time, makes no dent in my optimism.