Alan was a friend of mine and he was a fantastic talent. I love this photo of Alan, because this is what he looked like, sitting there at his table, when I last spoke with him at The Horus Heresy Weekender in February. We started chatting about a couple burning questions that had been consuming debate on the Heresy30K Forums:
Could you shoot at a Dreadnought in a Dreadnought Drop Pod the turn it arrives, and WTF with the one grenade rule?
Now those questions seem ridiculous compared to the loss of the man who basically created the Horus Heresy game we all love. A man who loved game design so much, and loved talking about it so much, that he radiated the joy of gaming as if he was Santa Clause on Christmas every day of his life. That is how I remember Alan, he LOVED what he did so much that after you talked to him, you could think of doing nothing else than diving into it even more. I would come away from every Horus Heresy Weekender reinvigorated for the hobby.
I considered Alan my friend. When I was visiting Nottingham for the Horus Heresy Weekender in 2013 I ran into Alan at Bugman's bar. He was sitting talking to John French and I introduced myself and we sat and chatted about the game. I am sure I fanboyed all over them (yeah, hard to believe I know) and I took the above photo. He then told me he was a donor to the Axanar project and I was floored! This man who was so brilliant at what he did, who lead the development of this amazing game I loved more than any other, actually liked my little project? I was so honored. So each year after that, when I would go to Nottingham, I would try and catch up with Alan. And this past year, at the Weekender, I didn't want to bother him, because he is so swamped, I figured I would catch him at his table (which I did) but Alan saw me and came up to me and told me we would find time to chat. That was how he was: real, genuine, and a person who people wanted to be around.
There are two blogs you need to read if you knew Alan, are a fan of The Horus Heresy, or just want to know why we all cared about this man so much.
Aaron Dembski-Bowden is not only an amazing author but a truly wonderful guy. His blog is worth reading if you didn't know what Alan was like and want to see what his friends say about him.
Aaron Dembski-Bowden's Blog
John French was one of Alan's best friends as well as a Horus Heresy author. His blog is another worthwhile read on Alan.
John French's Blog
I hope you will all take the time to read about Alan. He surely will be missed.
Alec
Thank you for this. A bit late after the fact, I know, but such a heartfelt post deserves far more than a lack of comments. <3
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