Yesterday I received the sad news that Steve Cain died from cancer.
I worked with Steve at Imagine Software for a while and hung around him for a few years more. In some ways, he was one of a number of surrogate big brothers I picked up, because most of them were older than me. Steve had the good fortune to be one of the few guys in a team of largely female artists who I spent quite a bit of time hanging out with 😉
Here’s a picture of him when we were both working at Imagine Software, just prior to Imagine going bust, the ‘Mega-games’ never to be seen. After that, Steve went on to start Denton Designs with a group of other industry notables in Liverpool. They were my friends for a number of years and I’d often just hang around the smoke-filled office, talking rubbish. One thing I remember quite clearly is showing Steve an early demo of Grog’s Revenge and being chuffed that he rated it and was obviously a bit surprised that I could write Z80 after all 😉
I hadn’t seen Steve for years. Although I knew he’d become quite ill with cancer, I thought he was getting better, so I’ll leave the closing words to someone who was much closer to him.
“He fought to the end and was incredibly positive. We will miss him loads.”
Rest in Peace, Steve.
Thanks for that Doug. There’s precious little about Steve on the web, and even less about his demise.
He was one of the best and for those of us that knew him,he meant a lot.
“Larger than life” is the phrase that ex-MicroProsers have been using, and that is certainly true.
He’s been a source of inspiration to me, and I will never forget him.
I found out this morning when I checked my voicemail…
I too thought Steve was all mended – it has come as a great shock.
My memories of Steve are of someone with a big heart, an infectious laugh (he was always laughing!) and a person who really enjoyed being with his workmates.
I worked with Steve at Psygnosis for a number of years, and then when I was at Jester Interactive we hired him and his team at Tin Tiger to create some really stunning versions of Paradroid and Uridium for handhelds.
When I left to set up Tantrumedia Ltd. Steve was one of the guys who happily provided a glowing reference for my website – he was always there to help.
I still can’t believe he’s gone – it doesn’t make sense given that the last time I spoke to him he was so positive. But then that was Steve all over I guess…
I know you’re out there watching us Steve – good luck on your new journey.
Tim, Claire & Jake.
x
You know, reading that back, all it really says is that I knew Steve and that he worked for games companies. I just said the first words that came to mind because I was a bit shocked.
So, for the record, Steve was a lovely guy who made a lasting impression on me. He was one of the warmest men I’ve met, talented but, most of all, passionate and ****ing funny. There were times when he had me in stitches, other times when he really understood what it was like to feel low. But, the truth is, my main memories are as I said above, just hanging out and talking nonsense and laughing.
He was one of a kind.
My sympathies to his family and close friends, who are going to miss him like crazy.
Steve was a great loud laughing man who said exactly what he thought and rarely pulled his punches. He could go on a rant about something for ten minutes, and then bellow with laughter at the end. brilliant.
He took the well-intended jibes that all pals dish out to one another and smacked them back at us with three times the force. He was a good enough bloke that when he was crowned ‘funny old mister potato-head’ at MicroProse, and later became know for short just as ‘funny old’, it just washed over him.
When he came to be in charge of the MicroProse art department he stripped away al lthe bullshit and made himself resposible for any and all art decisions. If he thought it was good, that was the end of it.
I remember Steve was going to the MicroProse US office for the first time. I don’t think he’d ever flown before, much less done a transatlantic flight.
He was terrified. So when he came back I asked him about it – “I fukken loved it”, he said, “It was great!”. And he laughed that huge laugh.
We used to talk on the phone sometimes, and he would slag off my decision to move to the States and he held me personally responsible for anything and everything that is or was wrong wrong with my adopted nation. Steve sent long rambling emails about the state of the world, or the state of Britain or whatever took his fancy at the time (I should dig some out and make a document of the best bits).
The last time I spent any time with him in person was in late 2002, when I went to see him in Liverpool. We played guitar together. He had a Les Paul which he loved. Later we went to the pub and sank a few pints.
He also took me on a guided tour of Liverpool, which was great. He gave me his take on the city, and of course a few of his anecdotes about life in that town.
He certainly made his mark in people’s lives.
all the best;
Mark Scott
Thanks for the comments, Mark, they reminded me of the Steve I knew.
His funeral was today and I’m reliably informed that it was a fitting tribute to him.