Retro Titans - the giants of retro and indie gaming in conversation

• The big Thalamus interview with Andy Roberts - Creatures, Roguecraft, Cecconoid, Zzap64!, Commodore Format & more

  For 8-bit home computing fans, Thalamus is one of the great names of the late 80s and early 90s, publishing classics such as Creatures I & II, Hunters Moon, Hawkeye and Armalyte. When the company went bankrupt in the early 1990s, everyone thought the story was over - but the rights to the games were bought by former Commodore Format games writer Andy Roberts, and the company was reborn. This interview with Andy Roberts tells the full story of Thalamus's heyday, decline and return, including insights into the 80s/90s games industry, writing for Zzap64! and Commodore Format, publishing games in the early noughties and two of the latest games, Ceccanoid and Roguecraft.  🔗 Links: Website - thalamusdigital.co.uk Itch IO - thalamusdigital.itch.io Facebook - @thalamusdigital X - @thalamusdigital Bluesky - thalamusdigital.bsky.social Evercade - Thalamus Collection 1   🎵 Music: Neon Gaming, by Dope Stuff Wizzball (C64 remix), by Martin Galway and remixed by Tonka    

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• From Sensible Soccer & Cannon Fodder to Sociable Soccer 25: creativity, music and navigating the games industry, with Sensible Software co-founder Jon Hare

  Jon Hare is the co-founder of legendary game studio, Sensible Software, and was behind a host of global best-selling games, such as Sensible World of Soccer, Cannon Fodder, Mega Lo Mania and Sensible Golf. Jon's career as a creative director and game publisher stretches from the 1980s through to today, and is currently launching Sociable Soccer 25.  We cover a lot of ground in this interview, from how he found his way into the industry, through to developing hit games and navigating the challenges of the games industry. We also discuss gaming music at length, including insights into working with gaming music legends Richard Joseph and Martin Gallway, and making music with his own group, The Sensible Band.  Jon also offers advice to aspiring games developers and gives his thoughts on channelling creativity. It's an epic interview!  🔗 Links: Website - Sociable Soccer Facebook - Sociable Soccer X - @JonHare   🎵 Music: Neon Gaming, by Dope Stuff Narcissus, by Jon Hare and Richard Joseph Canon Fodder Theme, by Jon Hare and Richard Joseph Parrallax, by Martin Galway 

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• The birth of football management computer games, and their glorious return - with Football Manager developer, Kevin Toms

  If you loved football management games, this episode is a must-listen. That's because we got to speak with the man who pretty much invented the genre, Kevin Toms. He's the developer of Football Manager, the 1980s series of games that started the whole thing. Since you can also now play Kevin Toms' Football Manager on your mobile, we thought it would be a great excuse to find out the story behind the original games, and why they've returned.    🔗 Links: Website - kevintoms.games Facebook - KevinTomsGames X - KevinToms   🎵 Music: Neon Gaming, by Dope Stuff Space Invaders by Tomohiro Nishikado,

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• The past, present and future of Evercade, with Blaze Entertainment CEO, Andrew Byatt

  In this episode we catch up with Blaze Entertainment CEO, Andrew Byatt to find out more about the origins of Evercade and the key milestones that have led up to its popularity today. Andrew describes Blaze's vision for retro gaming, the reasons behind the Hyper Mega Tech! brand and explains how licensing works in retro gaming.  We also hear Andrew's desert island carts - can you guess what he picked?  🔗 Links: Websites - Evercade, Hyper Mega Tech! YouTube  - @EvercadeRetro Instagram - @EvercadeRetro Facebook - @EvercadeRetro X / Twitter - @EvercadeRetro BlueSky - @Evercade   🎵 Music: Neon Gaming, by Dope Stuff Desert Island Disc theme tune, by Eric Coates and his orchestra Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (NES), by Jun Funahashi   

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• Season 2 opener - Making Flea 2, developing the Lightbook project-mapped popup book, and making games accessible, with Ally Low

  In our second season of Retro Titans, we welcome back Ally Low, game designer and founder of Lowtek Games. Ally discusses the inspiration and challenges around making Flea 2, which returns to Evercade as well as Steam, NES, Dreamcast and Itch-IO. We also cover his new innovation, the Lightbook project-mapped popup book, and his work around making games dyslexic-friendly.  Season 2 will continue to cover Evercade extensively, but we'll also be looking beyond at other systems, so subscribe to get all the latest interviews with games designers, publishers, manufacturers and industry insiders.    🔗 Links: Website - Flea2 press kit YouTube - Lightbook teaser Facebook - LowtekGames X - Wallmasterr   🎵 Music: Neon Gaming, by Dope Stuff Noah's Ark NES music, by Chris Gill and Paul Summers.

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