GOING REMOTE
2020-2024
After the highs of issue 200 and a pretty good year in general, we were looking to the new decade with optimism.
Within a matter of weeks, we were bidding each other farewell as we were given the order to work from home due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. We were told that the office would be closed for two weeks, and though none of us really believed that things would be over so soon, we did generally anticipate that we’d be back in the office one day.
Daily video calls kept the team well organised and connected during a stressful time, and production continued smoothly – albeit with some odd experiments like a puzzle page. That wasn’t easy as replicating our working environments at home was tough for us all, and since I didn’t have any kind of desk space in my tiny flat, my particularly dodgy setup was on my mum’s kitchen table, using a 32-inch TV as a second monitor. At least it was only temporary, right?
After a couple of months, a bombshell announcement shattered that assumption. We were informed that since remote working was going so well, Future would be closing some of its smaller UK offices, one of which was our Bournemouth base. The next time we ventured into the office it would be to clear it out for good, and with social distancing and a cap on the number of people who could gather in the office, there would be no grand gathering or tearful hugs. It was certainly a strange way to end our time on Richmond Hill.
Still, at least we had certainty, and the magazine’s future was anything but certain.
For a brief time starting with issue 206, Retro
Gamer came off the shelves and was available only to subscribers. Even when it returned we didn’t know how changing habits and travel restrictions would impact our sales, but as you’ll know, we’re still here today. Thank you for your support during that time.
While the world may be open again, the changes we went through have proven to be permanent. We’re never going back to the office – in fact, you could even go and live in it if you wanted as it’s now been turned into a block of flats. We’re firmly settled into our routine – we still do our daily video calls, but much of our communication takes place via Slack. Really, the only difference is that Tim Empey joined us as production editor in RG 215, as Drew moved on to make bookazines about Pokémon and craft beer. Despite all the changes, making Retro
Gamer is still a lot of fun. Interviewing developers will always be fascinating, a good chat about the latest films is never off the cards, and Darran’s postal treats are as exciting as ever. Ultimately, we wake up in the morning and get to write about the games we love, and after all these years we still have the privilege of doing it on the printed page. There’s nothing else we’d rather be doing.