FIFA 99

FIFA 99 became the only game I started work on and left before it was finished. After the success of World Cup 98, work began on the Nintendo 64 (N64) version of FIFA 99 with the team riding high from the previous title. But while development got underway, I was having conversations with a game company in Australia about relocating from the UK.

A Trip Down Under

I made a two-day trip from the UK to Sydney to meet the team. Everything went well, and they extended an offer for me to join as lead programmer. A visa application went in, and I started making plans to move halfway around the world.

California Calling

Meanwhile, someone at Electronic Arts (EA) noticed my name had appeared as the new lead programmer at the Australian studio. They reached out about joining BlackOps in California instead. After a few phone calls, they arranged a flight for me to visit BlackOps in Santa Monica.

The role was to work on Knockout Kings, a boxing game that got me excited. I was a big boxing fan at the time, and the chance to work on a title like that in the US was appealing. After meeting with an immigration lawyer in Santa Monica, we applied for an O1 visa. Remarkably, it was approved very quickly, and the move to California was on.

Leaving FIFA Behind

FIFA 99 picked up right where World Cup 98 left off. Same process - monthly code drops from the Personal Computer (PC) version that we'd merge into the N64 codebase. Everyone was buoyant with the success of World Cup 98, and EA executives seemed to now fully trust the Software Creations team to deliver.

I left the project in capable hands before it shipped. The team finished it without me, and it went on to be another successful release in the FIFA series.