Chapter 7 - A Nightmare at Brynteg Avenue

At the time, Duke Nukem 3D was the game, a chaotic, over-the-top playground of action and humour. But for me, playing wasn’t enough—I wanted to create.
One day, the idea struck me: what if I turned my school into a map for Duke Nukem? I’ll admit, it was a bold and slightly mischievous idea, but the thought of navigating those familiar halls with explosions and alien mayhem was too tempting to pass up.
So, I set to work. Piece by piece, I painstakingly recreated the corridors, classrooms, and assembly halls of Brynteg Avenue with every detail I could remember. It wasn’t just a map—it was an immersive experience, a twisted reimagining of school life that turned ordinary routines into an action-packed nightmare. Hence, A Nightmare at Brynteg Avenue was born.
Once it was done, I wasn’t content to just play it at home. I wanted others to see it too. That’s when I approached the local Cyber Centre, a video game rental store that also let people play on their in-store PCs. I struck a deal with them to feature my map as a playable option for their customers.
The response? Absolute chaos. Kids loved it. The map was a riot, capturing the spirit of the game while giving it a personal, relatable twist. Looking back, I’m still amazed that I managed to pull it off.
It’s a mystery to me why I didn’t pursue video game development after that. Maybe I was intimidated by the sheer scale of the industry, or maybe I didn’t fully realise how much potential I had. But one thing is for sure: A Nightmare at Brynteg Avenue was an early glimpse into my knack for combining creativity with technology.