I’ve had the pretty extraordinary experience of getting to have the best job in the world twice (OK, three times, if you count that day as a dental chaperone). Editing Edge was an absolute, pinch-yourself dream come true, and the years since which I’ve spent consulting on interesting, challenging games with clever, passionate people have been hugely rewarding.

Moving from journalism to consulting was an exercise in putting my money where my mouth was. It’s easy to comment from the sidelines, more daunting to put your theories to the test on real projects. Doing so has taught me a huge amount, but left me aware that there’s still another money-mouth replacement manouevre left undone: running my own projects rather than advising on other people’s. But where, might you ask, would you find a bunch of people brave, optimistic and open-minded enough to let me do my own thing?

Enter Hide&Seek. You may know them from the Weekender*, the annual weekend of playful mayhem on the Southbank. You may know them from Tate Trumps, the laudably Ronseal-titled iPhone game for Tate Modern. You might know them from 221b.sh, the two-player collaborative Sherlock Holmes adventure game I designed with them last year. You might even know them from today’s rather lovely Guardian piece. It’s a company whose ethos I love – players first, gameplay second, platform last – and who I’m joining today as development director.

We’ve got extraordinary things planned, from projects with the Royal Opera House to pioneering work with a major console manufacturer, all of which you’ll be able to read about when the NDA deadlines mature. I’ll be working four days a week to start, to finish up my ongoing consultancy commitments, but will be helping to lead the studio in generating original, valuable, unpredictable game projects.

And so here I go again: new best job in the world.

*And the Weekender is NOW! Come down to the National Theatre this weekend to say hello. The bunting has to be seen to be believed.