Inside the world of Sir Clive Sinclair, a new Retro Gaming Handheld innovation, and hanging out with Major Tim Peake - with Grant Sinclair
This episode features Grant Sinclair, inventor of the IRIS eTrike and nephew to legendary innovator Sir Clive Sinclair. Following in the footsteps of his father and uncle, Grant Sinclair is a futurist and innovator who is making waves in the gaming market with the launch of a new handheld gaming device called the GamerCard. This interview covers life growing up in the Sinclair household during one of the most exciting times in British computing history, seeing the launch of the Sinclair ZX80, ZX81 and, of course, the ZX Spectrum. Grant shares what it was like to see Sir Clive Sinclair at work, his love of taking things apart, and how he and Grant's father Iain supported the family in their innovation ambitions. We also find out about the GamerCard, which is a unique gaming device based on stack of PCBs and Raspberry Pi, with a high resolution IPS square screen format, and dual dome navigation discs. As usual, we have more entries for the Titan 1 rocket-based retro gaming museum - and an unusal tale about astronaut, Major Tim Peake. 🔗 Links grantsinclair.com 🎹 Music Neon Gaming and Space Technology, by Dope Stuff Guitar arrangement of Risky Ride from the XBOX port of "OutRun 2" by Fumio Itoh
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1:10:09
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1:10:09
Beginner's guide to emulation-based retro gaming handhelds, with Crazy Burger
In this episode we welcome back YouTuber and retro gaming aficionado, Crazy Burger. Although perhaps best known as an Evercade reviewer and content creator, Crazy Burger has a decent sized retro gaming handheld collection, and has tinkered with devices and explored the emulation gaming scene over the years. Our objective in this episode is to answer the question: if you were to buy only one emulation-based handheld, what would it be? With brands like Anbernic, Miyoo, Retroid and Powkiddy pumping them out on a weekly basis, there is a baffling amount of choice. Our aim is to break down the hype and steer you in the right direction. We explore the pros and cons of emulation-based gaming, hop around the piracy issue, and cover common questions, like which operating system is best, and what do I get for my money? Crazy Burger also gives a quick verdict of the year so far for Blaze Entertainment and Evercade, comparing the platform with the handhelds we discuss on the show. 🔗 Links YouTube Crazy Burger 🎵 Music: Neon Gaming and Space Technology, by Dope Stuff Celeste, First Steps - written, performed & mastered by Lena Raine
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1:21:35
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1:21:35
Building a retro gaming media platform, see it taken out by Google - and what happens next, with Brandon Saltalamacchia
My guest today is Brandon Saltalamacchia, the founder and publisher of Retro Dodo – one of the most trusted and beloved destinations for retro gaming gadget reviews, news, and geek culture. Brandon joins me to share his deep love of retro gaming. We swap thoughts on Evercade, and dive into how he built Retro Dodo into one of the most successful retro gaming websites – only to see it hit hard by a major Google update in 2023. We unpack what happened, its impact on the business, and his candid views on why AI is threatening the future of independent publishers and, ultimately, consumers. He also gives us his hot takes on the best retro gaming handhelds to buy, explains why Evercade is doing things right, and reveals the games and device he’d launch into space on the Retro Titans rocket. This is one of our most compelling interviews yet – a mix of retro gaming nostalgia, hard-earned insight, and a real David vs Goliath story. 🔗 Links: Website: retrododo.com Facebook: @retrododo YouTube: @retrododo X: @retro_dodo @iambrandonsalt 🎵 Music: Neon Gaming, by Dope Stuff Zelda’s Lofi Kingdom, by Jokabi
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54:09
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54:09
40+ years of making games, from Jet Power Jack & Rick Dangerous to Wreckreaction - with Simon Phipps
This episode's guest's fingerprints are all over some of the most iconic games of the 80s, 90s and beyond - Simon Phipps, aka Simes. From the 8-bit bedroom coding scene to the heights of AAA development, Simon’s career has spanned hits from Rick Dangerous and Shadow Man, to the Harry Potter games for EA. In addition to finding out about his long career in computer and video games, we hear about his love for art and making Star Wars props and costumes. This feature-length episode covers a lot of ground, and is essential listening for anyone working in the creative or gaming industries - or just wants to find out about them. 🔗 Links: Websites - www.simonphipps.com YouTube - @SimonPhippsArt Instagram - @SimonPhippsArt Facebook - @SimonPhippsArt X / Twitter - @SimonPhippsArt Plus Three Fields Entertainment (where Wreckreaction is mentioned) 🎵 Music: Neon Gaming, by Dope Stuff Captain Blood soundtrack - "Ethnicolor" by Jean Michel Jarre
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1:25:51
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1:25:51
Making modern Game Boy Color games, from Block Droppin to OutRun - with Shane McCafferty
Despite being over 27 years old, developers are still making games for the Game Boy Color - and one such game designer and coder is Shane McCafferty. He has been making games since he was 11, but has taken his side hustle and hobby onto a whole new level, releasing 9 Game Boy Color games on ItchIO in the past 18 months. We find out what it is that compels Shane to make games like Block Droppin, Cave Dave and Word Forward for the Game Boy Color, which projects kept him up at night, and the ones he's most proud of. We also discuss his current project to make a 'What If?' version of OutRun for the GBC. 🔗 YouTube Links: Itch.IO - @egvrooms-game-boy-games BlueSky - @EGVroom X - @EGVroom 🎵 Music: Neon Gaming and Space Technology, by Dope Stuff Robocop (Spectrum version), by Jonathan Dunn
About Retro Titans - the giants of retro and indie gaming in conversation
Retro Titans: the podcast dedicated to the epic world of retro and indie gaming. Interviews with the people who brought us the games, computers and consoles we love - and those who are bringing it all back.
Listen to Retro Titans - the giants of retro and indie gaming in conversation, The Simpler Life? with James & William and many other podcasts from around the world with the radio.net app
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