It was 1986, and I was working at Artic Computing in East Yorkshire, the publisher for which I wrote my early text adventures. A friend had moved to York and invited me to visit.

We walked up the Shambles, a mediaeval street with overhanging timber framed buildings dating back to the 14th century.

I walked past the magnificent St Peter’s Cathedral, better known as York Minster, and was in awe of how much history this building must have seen, all the way back to Roman times. Guy Fawkes, famously hanged, drawn, and quartered for attempting to blow up Parliament in 1605, was born next to the Minster - at which point it would have already been over a thousand years old…

In 1990, inspired by the city’s rich history, Noirin and I decided to move up here from London, having just founded a new development company - Revolution Software, of course.

Throughout my 32 years living in York, I have walked past the York Minster most days, and each time I look up in awe. The spires that gently parallax against the towering buttresses. The intricate details carved into the terrifying gargoyles.

But, in particular, at the 600 year old Great East Window - the largest single stained glass window in the world. Before the printing press was invented, and long before the common person could read, the window told, and still tells, powerful stories through stained glass. This was multimedia storytelling for the mediaeval citizens.

York Minster, and especially its Great East Window, has been hugely inspirational to me, particularly in dreaming up Broken Sword games.