Open Writing

When you start a family you often wonder as a parent how your children will turn out. You can't be there for them all the time and you make decisions, often vital ones, over their care and education that you hope will create a solid foundation for the future.

But, schools aside, there are hundreds of other inputs - the way you behave, the things you say - that contribute to the characters they become. Would Rob be the same man he is today, without having read the Beano as a boy? Who knows?

We have three great boys, each with quite different characters. The two oldest boys were good at maths, like their mother and, since they went to quite an academic school that emphasised traditional subjects, it wasn't a surprise to see them shift towards maths and the sciences as they readied for university.

But, although they said goodbye to art as a school subject before GCSEs, they both continued drawing and painting and doodling. All the boys have been attracted to games and puzzles all of their lives. Somewhere in a cupboard is a drawing of a board game they invented one Christmas.

So I guess we shouldn't be surprised now to find the two oldest boys, John and Rob making games together professionally, and who knows if George will join them? I know there'll be an opportunity if he chooses to do so.

Rob did the trail blazing and then stepped in to teach John how to do the coding when John lost his film industry job. John gave the film industry his best shot, but an MSc in film industry management on top of an economics degree still didn't appear to be enough even though he learned plenty about film finance.

Anyway he's taken to game development and picked things up really quickly. What's more, he's particularly enjoying the artwork. We hear a lot about sibling rivalry but I don't see any of that - there's mutual respect between the brothers, all three of them. I can't begin to say how chuffed I am, and yes, proud of what they're doing.

There were a few things we talked about when they were younger that I think may have stayed with the brothers. One was to work at things they enjoyed. Another was to be there for each other like musketeers - all for one and one for all. OK, that might sound corny but I believe that spirit has to be at the heart of any family.

The other great thing is that they're working things out for themselves. George is fiercely independent and each of them knows his own mind. Parents should never try to realise their own aspirations through their kids. We just want our boys to be happy and fulfilled. They're not establishing careers through a parent's contact or because a parent thinks that's what they should do. We just stand back and watch how they get on and sometimes make a comment which they either accept or ignore. In John and Rob's world every new game is as much fun for Gill and me as it is for the lads.

Who knows where the path they've chosen will take them? But they're building something incrementally and they're learning all the while. For sure, they'll make mistakes and they'll learn from them. They may have bigger success and I hope they do, and if they're fortunate they'll continue to have a lot of fun because they're having fun now, the fun that comes with creating something, building on ideas and the satisfaction you get when everything comes together.

One day they'll look back at the great days they enjoyed at the start of this journey, because they are great days when you're building something. The main thing is that the boys are doing things their way and there's a lot to be said for that.

I hope this latest milestone - John and Rob's first game in collaboration, The Adventures of Red http://www.robdonkin.com/the-adventures-of-red/ , will be the first of many and that they continue to expand their knowledge. It's packed with puzzles - some that will be familiar and some not so, and don't go thinking it's a kids' game. It will stretch the abilities of many adults. I didn't find it a pushover. Red, by the way, happens to be Yellow. John also contributed to another new game of Rob's, Blow Things Up! 2.http://www.robdonkin.com/blow-things-up-2/ I asked Rob what he was going to call his things. "They're Things," he said. Duh!