Welcome to Springboard
Or, if you're a previous subscriber, welcome back
Welcome, or welcome back, to Springboard! This is a weekly newsletter that covers three of my passions - Gaming, Tech, and Mental Health.
Having launched in 2024, it was a way of writing about topics without being restricted to certain SEO requirements. As finishing The Making of Tomb Raider: 1997-2000 in 2025 ramped up, Springboard and other focuses had to take a hiatus. However, in 2026, the newsletter is back, with a redesigned website to boot, giving me far more control, a modern look, and a renewed aim for what Springboard is.
So what is it? Let's go into the three pillars.
Gaming is something I've grown up with since the age of 5. If you own my first book, The Making of Tomb Raider, you can see the exact moment when it happened - playing Sonic 3 on Christmas Day, 1994. Gaming's been a way of escape to me, but also as a source of comfort. I have vivid memories of spending whole weekends trying to finish the Venice levels in Tomb Raider II, or unlocking Dr. B in Tekken 3.
Fast forward several decades, and I write about games for a living. I love to write, ever since I submitted a piece to Nottingham Trent University's Magazine, Platform, back in 2012. Having freelanced since 2024 after choosing redundancy from Future Publishing, I've come to enjoy writing all over again.
I also enjoy talking to people about their involvement in creating games and entire franchises, as you may have seen from the books. From talking to Alexey Pajitnov, creator of Tetris, to Ed McMillen and Tyler Glaiel about Mewgenics, as well as the original designer of Sonic, Naoto Ohshima, I find it fascinating how they can chat about their creations in certain ways.
It's something I want to take to Springboard, so expect some exclusive interviews in the coming weeks and months. With my next book, The Making of Tomb Raider: 1997-2000, out later this year, there will also be some features covering the making of that, as well as talking about the earlier books. In addition, expect reviews, hands-on impressions with emulators and ports, and much more in gaming.
Tech is something I've not written about too often since 2024. In all honesty, I felt burnt out from the whole category, as well as experiencing a bunch of interesting AI-focused perspectives from ex-colleagues. Far too much bias was held over AI until early 2026. I began to notice less of these perspectives, and more about questioning what its place actually is in several industries. Nevertheless, I will be against any AI that tries to replace a human, as well as those who think using it as a game guide is an acceptable approach, amongst other things.
Topics like Apple's divisive Liquid Glass effort, Microsoft's attempts to integrate almost every one of its apps with Copilot, and plenty more, should be highlighted. I use their products daily, for better or worse, and I've noticed standards slipping from both companies in the last few years in various ways. It's topics like these where independent voices matter more than ever, and Springboard will be a part of that.
I've become interested in tech again, something that I haven't felt since 2022. I'll be approaching this slowly, but several reviews and insights will appear on Springboard to start with.
Mental health is something that means so much to me. The last 5 years have seen some big highs and some big lows for me. 2023 and the majority of 2024 had me dealing with certain things that now feel like a blur - but essentially, I wasn't happy, and I felt like I was on automatic in several ways. Since 2025, though, I've felt great, and despite the normal bumps that we all get, I haven't felt like this since early 2022.
It's why making it a big pillar of Springboard is important to me. From talking about coping strategies, to a story about alcohol and why I've been almost teetotal since 2025, and much more. Expect some long-form features about many aspects of mental health in the future.
But what about the cadence of Springboard? Is it free?
A newsletter will go out to subscribers every Wednesday. If you're not subscribed, you'll be prompted to sign up. This is for a few reasons. I don't want AI scraping what I write, and as it's free, it takes 30 seconds to sign up to Springboard so you can read on the web or in your mailbox.
Springboard will be free for now, but there's a donation link to help with hosting and bills if you'd like to.
There will also be shorter posts, called Quicktakes, that will comment on various announcements. If it's about a new game or product coming out, or even just a great podcast or video, expect it as a Quicktake. These won't require a sign-up - see these as tasters to what the long-form features will be every Wednesday. You can also bookmark this link so you can check out every Springboard post, but subscribers will also have access to an RSS Feed.
Essentially, that's what Springboard is. If you'd like to chat to me about any feedback, ideas, or if you're a PR who thinks the newsletter is a great fit for your product, get in touch. I'm also on Bluesky, and so is Springboard, as well as on Mastodon.
Thank you for reading this far, and for your support if you're already subscribed to Springboard! With everything going on in Journalism right now, it's more important than ever to support all kinds of publications. From VGC to One More Catch and Kyusai Media, your support makes all the difference.
I want this to be a place where I can express Gaming, Tech, and Mental Health in all their forms, without relying on Google or any other factors I had to contend with in the past. If you've liked my work before, and this space sounds like your kind of thing, signing up to Springboard will mean even more to me.
Thanks for reading.
