We can do this.

I've been working on Flash assets today for the Flash presentation thing I'm doing for Craig, our studio head, and people are coming up and saying how lovely things look. This surprises me sometimes because I consider myself a bit shit on Photoshop, but I suppose I can blag artwork quite easily. I've been productive though, which is the main thing - a busy mind is an occupied mind. Every time I see the demo, it fills my heart with hope - it looks delicious and today I was checking out the demo stuff which has been worked on for the on-foot chasing and combat. In both cases, they do a good impression of showcasing our sprawling cityscape. Necessary Force has a three-tiered social structure - the slums for the lower classes, heading up to the main roads and the supported middle classes, then up to the highest tiers - the skyscrapers - and the rich and famous.

Essentially the game is a huge network of missions and detective work with combat, interrogation, gun-play and driving thrown in. When you look at the thing, it's the anti- Wheelman in looks - it's dark, grotty and grim though still manages to have its own character. We've got a super-sexy cop car which is affected by the dynamic rain, we've got a rain-soaked copper (who I still don't think has a name) and we've got that environment. Oh, and the mood video - which looks good enough to go on GameTrailers for a unsuspecting audience. I think a lot of people think we're just twiddling our thumbs, but we're busy. We got a catch-up e-mail from one of the producers regarding how well we're working - I've been waking up to the sound of the bloke upstairs, and heading into work early. I'm not actually that annoyed by this - in fact, it's almost like being called by Mum to get out of bed and grab some breakfast. I've been sticking around until 6.30 though to make up time - I'm even going to come in on Saturday afternoon and evening to get even more stuff done. I want this thing to shine.

I think we've got a Braveheart mentality now - and the attached image which was in response to this attitude confirmed it. I'm excited. Dave, the bloke who cleans up the studio and who still doesn't know my first name (maybe I haven't told him it..) talked to me outside the studio before I left - he reckons the studio is half optimistic and half pessimistic when chatting to some of the guys while he does his stuff in our kitchen. We compared our mind-notes and realised that we have got something very special, plus the studio is a bargain. If people don't snap us up, it's going to be a tragedy. We have high hopes though and I left the studio today with a spring in my step.

I checked up on mortgage insurance just now - £30 a month to cover my payments. It's tempting, though I may never need it. A quarter of all homes don't have this insurance either. I wonder why... I'm going to hold off for the moment though. I have good feelings jumping about my bones about all of this.