The Retro Hour (Retro Gaming Podcast)

This week we’re joined by Brian Watson, formerly of DMA Design who worked on the Atari ST version of Lemmings 1 and 2, and porting it to the Atari Lynx.  He later worked for Iguana Entertainment, Acclaim, working on Turok, N64 audio drivers and clever memory systems used across dozens of games. Brian shares brilliant stories from the trenches of 16-bit and 32-bit development, the challenge of making ambitious games work on limited hardware, and what it was really like behind the scenes at DMA and Acclaim.
Contents:
00:00 – The Week’s Retro News Stories
43:31 - Brian Watson Interview
Please visit our amazing sponsors and help to support the show:
Bitmap Books – https://www.bitmapbooks.com
Check out PCBWay at https://pcbway.com for all your PCB needs
London Gaming Market: https://www.londongamingmarket.com/
We need your help to ensure the future of the podcast, if you’d like to help us with running costs, equipment and hosting, please consider supporting us on Patreon:
https://theretrohour.com/support/
https://www.patreon.com/retrohour
Join our Discord channel: https://discord.gg/GQw8qp8
Website: http://theretrohour.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theretrohour/
X: https://twitter.com/retrohouruk
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/retrohouruk/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/theretrohour.com
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/theretrohour
Show notes
Minecraft On PS2: https://lnk.ua/kNl3123pX
Game Boy GTA: https://lnk.ua/LQySSpMoN
Apidya Remake Pre-Orders: https://lnk.ua/23bg38SjW
Dreamcast USB Controller: https://lnk.ua/MUJ4zS3Jz
Retro Warehouse Haul: https://lnk.ua/Lbd1kmKIf
Discord Social SDK: https://lnk.ua/6Wfh1bNoy

Rob Landeros joins us to share the incredible story behind Trilobyte and The 7th Guest, from discovering the Amiga and working at Cinemaware and Virgin, to teaming up with Graeme Devine and helping ignite the CD-ROM revolution with one of the most iconic FMV horror puzzlers of the 1990s. 
The 7th Guest Remake: https://the7thguestremake.com/
Diddly on Kickstarter: https://lnk.ua/9XeHAcgxM
Contents:
00:00 – The Week’s Retro News Stories
47:15 - The 7th Guest Interview
Please visit our amazing sponsors and help to support the show:
Bitmap Books – https://www.bitmapbooks.com
Check out PCBWay at https://pcbway.com for all your PCB needs
London Gaming Market: https://www.londongamingmarket.com/
We need your help to ensure the future of the podcast, if you’d like to help us with running costs, equipment and hosting, please consider supporting us on Patreon:
https://theretrohour.com/support/
https://www.patreon.com/retrohour
Join our Discord channel: https://discord.gg/GQw8qp8
Website: http://theretrohour.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theretrohour/
X: https://twitter.com/retrohouruk
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/retrohouruk/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/theretrohour.com
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/theretrohour
Show notes
Godzilla Remaster Challenges GTA: https://youtu.be/w-veMlH2L-A
PaulaNET Amiga Wi-Fi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhAg-fT83o8
Jet Set Radio Divides Fans: https://lnk.ua/tdyOdTeYH
N64 Controller Guitar Pedal: https://lnk.ua/9IWlFwXIz
Thief Remaster Announced: https://lnk.ua/XduraQixG
Castlevania Mega Drive Port: https://lnk.ua/tOaxHv6wa
Metro Siege Hits Kickstarter: https://lnk.ua/RyOFar6cK
Patrons news
Final Fight 64 Homebrew: https://lnk.ua/awxAjBPf5
Perfect Dark VR Port: https://lnk.ua/bKQAOFZqH

This week we’re joined by veteran programmer Colin Porch, whose career took him through some of the biggest names in British gaming history, including Imagine, Software Projects and Ocean Software. Colin shares stories of Imagine’s dramatic collapse, converting arcade hits like Dragon’s Lair, Operation Wolf and Gryzor to home micros, the infamous lost Parasol Stars C64 port, and the technical wizardry behind bringing Head Over Heels to the Commodore 64, Atari ST and Amiga. Plus, we hear the incredible story of Return to Blacktooth, the Head Over Heels sequel Colin began in 1989 and has finally completed 37 years later.   
Return To Blacktooth: https://thalamusdigital.itch.io/
Contents:
00:00 – The Week’s Retro News Stories
48:17 – Colin Porch Interview
Please visit our amazing sponsors and help to support the show:
Bitmap Books – https://www.bitmapbooks.com
Check out PCBWay at https://pcbway.com for all your PCB needs
London Gaming Market: https://www.londongamingmarket.com/
We need your help to ensure the future of the podcast, if you’d like to help us with running costs, equipment and hosting, please consider supporting us on Patreon:
https://theretrohour.com/support/
https://www.patreon.com/retrohour
Join our Discord channel: https://discord.gg/GQw8qp8
Website: http://theretrohour.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theretrohour/
X: https://twitter.com/retrohouruk
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/retrohouruk/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/theretrohour.com
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/theretrohour
Show notes
RGL Teases The A1200: https://lnk.ua/GqyeXdPJ5
Commodore Teases June 16th Announcement: https://lnk.ua/OXRSP2jzO
Crazy Taxi GenAI Response: https://lnk.ua/5JfoTfy1f
Atari Toy Story Collection: https://lnk.ua/TJqoQuQ5j
Resident Evil Code Veronica: https://lnk.ua/EDTxG2iaS
Ocarina Of Time Remake: https://lnk.ua/6Two6Um7u
Cuphead Devs’ Master System Spin-Off: https://lnk.ua/KnkMouiRw

This week we’re joined by video game music expert Matt Ombler, head of music and gaming partnerships at Laced, to explore the incredible world of game soundtracks, from Sonic on the Mega Drive and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater shaping a generation’s music taste, to Wipeout, Halo 2, retro sound chips, vinyl reissues and the growing importance of preserving game music history. Matt also shares stories from his journalism days interviewing legends like Nile Rodgers and Nobuo Uematsu, plus how he helped bring metal heavyweights including Howard Jones, Trivium and Polyphia into Cult of the Lamb’s Hymns of the Unholy project.   
Laced Records: https://www.lacedrecords.com/
Contents:
00:00 – The Week’s Retro News Stories
46:30 – Matt Ombler Interview
Please visit our amazing sponsors and help to support the show:
Bitmap Books – https://www.bitmapbooks.com
Check out PCBWay at https://pcbway.com for all your PCB needs
PlayEXPO Blackpool tickets: https://www.playexpoblackpool.com/
We need your help to ensure the future of the podcast, if you’d like to help us with running costs, equipment and hosting, please consider supporting us on Patreon:
https://theretrohour.com/support/
https://www.patreon.com/retrohour
Join our Discord channel: https://discord.gg/GQw8qp8
Website: http://theretrohour.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theretrohour/
X: https://twitter.com/retrohouruk
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/retrohouruk/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/theretrohour.com
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/theretrohour
Show notes
Sonic On ZX Spectrum Next: https://tinyurl.com/48fpsssy
Legal Disc Ripping: https://tinyurl.com/2s4pufay
Virtual OS Museum: https://tinyurl.com/2kz9r9aw
Castlevania Rondo of Blood On Mega Drive: https://tinyurl.com/3x8ukbxn
Amiga CD32 ODE: https://tinyurl.com/3p93uuam
Final Fantasy XVI Demake: https://tinyurl.com/5yxeu5yp

This week, we’re joined by Wingham Rowan, creator and host of the pioneering ’90s ITV show cyber.cafe. Long before YouTube, Twitch, Tinder and social media, cyber.cafe explored the strange, funny and sometimes shocking human stories emerging from the early internet, from chat room romances and online communities to JenniCam, alien abductees, moral panics, bizarre websites and late-night web culture. Wingham shares brilliant behind-the-scenes stories from making one of the UK’s first TV shows to take the internet seriously, capturing a moment when the web was still mysterious, chaotic and full of possibility.  
cyber.cafe: https://www.ninetiesinternet.com/
Contents:
00:00 – The Week’s Retro News Stories
49:52 – cyber.cafe Interview
Please visit our amazing sponsors and help to support the show:
Bitmap Books – https://www.bitmapbooks.com
Check out PCBWay at https://pcbway.com for all your PCB needs
PlayEXPO Blackpool tickets: https://www.playexpoblackpool.com/
We need your help to ensure the future of the podcast, if you’d like to help us with running costs, equipment and hosting, please consider supporting us on Patreon:
https://theretrohour.com/support/
https://www.patreon.com/retrohour
Join our Discord channel: https://discord.gg/GQw8qp8
Website: http://theretrohour.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theretrohour/
X: https://twitter.com/retrohouruk
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/retrohouruk/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/theretrohour.com
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/theretrohour
Show notes
MegaWiFi Online Play: https://tinyurl.com/4dd76pru
Adventure of Node: https://tinyurl.com/mwfvr62j
Elden Ring N64 Demake: https://tinyurl.com/3xjw88p2
Spyro E3 Statue Rescued: https://tinyurl.com/ydtj225p
Windows CE On N64: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGS9su_inBY
Switch GBA Link Cable: https://tinyurl.com/5n9bj8p7