The Retro Hour (Retro Gaming Podcast)

This week, we chat with Andy Davidson, the creator of the legendary game Worms. Andy shares how a quirky artillery game made on a school Amiga evolved into one of the most recognisable franchises in gaming history. From ripping sprites out of Lemmings for a laugh, to a five-minute pitch that landed him a publishing deal with Team17, plus some updates on the upcoming Worms Director's Cut 1.5 for the Amiga!  Andy Davidson on X: https://x.com/totalwormage [https://x.com/totalwormage] Contents: 00:00 - The Week's Retro News Stories  35:31 - Andy Davidson Interview Please visit our amazing sponsors and help to support the show: Crawley Gaming Market: https://www.crawleygamingmarket.com/ [https://www.crawleygamingmarket.com/] Bitmap Books - https://www.bitmapbooks.com [https://www.bitmapbooks.com] Take your business to the next level today and enjoy 3 months of Shopify for £1/month: https://shopify.co.uk/retrohour [https://shopify.co.uk/retrohour] 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://theretrohour.com/support/] https://www.patreon.com/retrohour [https://www.patreon.com/retrohour] Get your Retro Hour merchandise: https://bit.ly/33OWBKd [https://bit.ly/33OWBKd] Join our Discord channel: https://discord.gg/GQw8qp8 [https://discord.gg/GQw8qp8] Website: http://theretrohour.com [http://theretrohour.com] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theretrohour/ [https://www.facebook.com/theretrohour/] X: https://twitter.com/retrohouruk [https://twitter.com/retrohouruk] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/retrohouruk/ [https://www.instagram.com/retrohouruk/] Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/theretrohour.com [https://bsky.app/profile/theretrohour.com] Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/theretrohour [https://www.twitch.tv/theretrohour] Show notes Rare's 40th Anniversary Blue Plaque: https://tinyurl.com/yfvut7sc [https://tinyurl.com/yfvut7sc] Rare Evercade Collection: https://tinyurl.com/bdd3emcb [https://tinyurl.com/bdd3emcb] Rare Vinyl Set: https://tinyurl.com/4puzktvw [https://tinyurl.com/4puzktvw] Rick Dangerous Mega Drive Port: https://tinyurl.com/ydr25k9f [https://tinyurl.com/ydr25k9f] Zelda Homage NES-Style Spin-Off: https://tinyurl.com/4ahudfru [https://tinyurl.com/4ahudfru] Groundbreaking Game Descent’s Anniversary: https://tinyurl.com/tddfybfa [https://tinyurl.com/tddfybfa]

This week we’re joined by Matt Porter, former programmer at Argonaut Software and one of the key developers behind Croc: Legend of the Gobbos. Matt shares inside stories from the development of titles like Creature Shock, Scooby-Doo Mysteries, and SWAT: Global Strike Team, delves into the challenges of porting games across wildly different platforms, and teases some fascinating lost betas and unreleased gems he’s been finding on 30-year-old hard drives. Dovetail Games: https://dovetailgames.com/ [https://dovetailgames.com/] Contents: 00:00 - The Week's Retro News Stories  37:40 - Matt Porter Interview Please visit our amazing sponsors and help to support the show: Sheffield Gaming Market: https://www.sheffieldgamingmarket.com/ [https://www.sheffieldgamingmarket.com/] Bitmap Books - https://www.bitmapbooks.com [https://www.bitmapbooks.com] Take your business to the next level today and enjoy 3 months of Shopify for £1/month: https://shopify.co.uk/retrohour [https://shopify.co.uk/retrohour] 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://theretrohour.com/support/] https://www.patreon.com/retrohour [https://www.patreon.com/retrohour] Get your Retro Hour merchandise: https://bit.ly/33OWBKd [https://bit.ly/33OWBKd] Join our Discord channel: https://discord.gg/GQw8qp8 [https://discord.gg/GQw8qp8] Website: http://theretrohour.com [http://theretrohour.com] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theretrohour/ [https://www.facebook.com/theretrohour/] X: https://twitter.com/retrohouruk [https://twitter.com/retrohouruk] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/retrohouruk/ [https://www.instagram.com/retrohouruk/] Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/theretrohour.com [https://bsky.app/profile/theretrohour.com] Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/theretrohour [https://www.twitch.tv/theretrohour] Show notes James Pond Revival and AI Campaign: https://tinyurl.com/9wafa3zx [https://tinyurl.com/9wafa3zx] Bitmap Bureau Terminator Game Delay: https://tinyurl.com/yry357hp [https://tinyurl.com/yry357hp] Game Gear Camera Mod Using GBC Hardware: https://tinyurl.com/msrus64r [https://tinyurl.com/msrus64r] Rare 3DO M2 Console Withdrawn from Sale: https://tinyurl.com/4z6hv5h7 [https://tinyurl.com/4z6hv5h7] Super Mario Bros. Remastered Coming to PC: https://tinyurl.com/4dmy62vk [https://tinyurl.com/4dmy62vk]

This week’s guest is Rob Smith: the mad‑scientist of the retro scene. Rob takes us on a tour of his wild inventions—from a disco‑themed floppy‑disk cleaning workstation that actually plays tunes, to a full‑scale whack‑a‑mole game controlled by an Amiga via Arduino and AMOS, and his glowing levitating Boing Ball built with magnets and LEDs. He also talks about the Retro Directory, disc backup stations, and his journey from VIC 20 BASIC to making modern retro PD titles. Rob Smith's website: https://robsmithdev.co.uk/ [https://robsmithdev.co.uk/] Contents: 00:00 - The Week's Retro News Stories  47:48 - Dave Isherwood Interview Please visit our amazing sponsors and help to support the show: Sheffield Gaming Market: https://www.sheffieldgamingmarket.com/ [https://www.sheffieldgamingmarket.com/] Bitmap Books - https://www.bitmapbooks.com [https://www.bitmapbooks.com] Take your business to the next level today and enjoy 3 months of Shopify for £1/month: https://shopify.co.uk/retrohour [https://shopify.co.uk/retrohour] 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://theretrohour.com/support/] https://www.patreon.com/retrohour [https://www.patreon.com/retrohour] Get your Retro Hour merchandise: https://bit.ly/33OWBKd [https://bit.ly/33OWBKd] Join our Discord channel: https://discord.gg/GQw8qp8 [https://discord.gg/GQw8qp8] Website: http://theretrohour.com [http://theretrohour.com] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theretrohour/ [https://www.facebook.com/theretrohour/] X: https://twitter.com/retrohouruk [https://twitter.com/retrohouruk] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/retrohouruk/ [https://www.instagram.com/retrohouruk/] Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/theretrohour.com [https://bsky.app/profile/theretrohour.com] Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/theretrohour [https://www.twitch.tv/theretrohour] Show notes Atari Classics in Volkswagen Vehicles: https://tinyurl.com/wfner8j2 [https://tinyurl.com/wfner8j2] Paprium Flash Cart Release: https://tinyurl.com/2ucerftm [https://tinyurl.com/2ucerftm] Metro’s Top 20 Amiga Games: https://tinyurl.com/ftz5y86h [https://tinyurl.com/ftz5y86h] Grant Sinclair Gamercard: https://tinyurl.com/nzc9uuem [https://tinyurl.com/nzc9uuem] Atari x Pac-Man Collection – Limited Edition 2600+: https://tinyurl.com/47ar835w [https://tinyurl.com/47ar835w] Atari 50 Namco DLC: https://tinyurl.com/bd8xczzs [https://tinyurl.com/bd8xczzs] Modern SNES Handheld in Development: https://tinyurl.com/45c8u3jn [https://tinyurl.com/45c8u3jn]

his week, we go behind the scenes of ’90s game testing with QA veteran Dave Isherwood! From the chaos of Virgin Interactive’s wild office parties to uncovering show-stopping bugs just hours before launch. Hear about the day Virgin fell apart, the mystery of the deadly red screen, and why he had to fake losing video game tournaments.  Contents: 00:00 - The Week's Retro News Stories  37:37 - Dave Isherwood Interview Please visit our amazing sponsors and help to support the show: Bitmap Books - https://www.bitmapbooks.com [https://www.bitmapbooks.com] Take your business to the next level today and enjoy 3 months of Shopify for £1/month: https://shopify.co.uk/retrohour [https://shopify.co.uk/retrohour] 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://theretrohour.com/support/] https://www.patreon.com/retrohour [https://www.patreon.com/retrohour] Get your Retro Hour merchandise: https://bit.ly/33OWBKd [https://bit.ly/33OWBKd] Join our Discord channel: https://discord.gg/GQw8qp8 [https://discord.gg/GQw8qp8] Website: http://theretrohour.com [http://theretrohour.com] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theretrohour/ [https://www.facebook.com/theretrohour/] X: https://twitter.com/retrohouruk [https://twitter.com/retrohouruk] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/retrohouruk/ [https://www.instagram.com/retrohouruk/] Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/theretrohour.com [https://bsky.app/profile/theretrohour.com] Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/theretrohour [https://www.twitch.tv/theretrohour] Show notes Commodore 64 Ultimate Edition: https://www.commodore.net/ [https://www.commodore.net/] Rare Sega Genesis Re-Release: https://tinyurl.com/5n6ftw5a [https://tinyurl.com/5n6ftw5a] Worms Forever Game Boy Mod: https://tinyurl.com/8j86zb7b [https://tinyurl.com/8j86zb7b] Beat ’Em Up Collection – QUByte Classics: https://tinyurl.com/mr4nuuxk [https://tinyurl.com/mr4nuuxk] YouTuber Copyright Lawsuit: https://tinyurl.com/jbdjdmr5 [https://tinyurl.com/jbdjdmr5]

This week, we’re joined by John from the awesome YouTube channel RetroBytes - a creator who dives into the obscure corners of computing history. From his childhood memories of a flaming Spectrum, to restoring Unix workstations, the beauty of operating systems that time forgot, and why Gopher might’ve beaten the web, if not for one fatal mistake.  RetroBytes on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@RetroBytesUK [https://www.youtube.com/@RetroBytesUK] Contents: 00:00 - The Week's Retro News Stories  40:03 - RetroBytes Interview Please visit our amazing sponsors and help to support the show: Bitmap Books - https://www.bitmapbooks.com [https://www.bitmapbooks.com] Take your business to the next level today and enjoy 3 months of Shopify for £1/month: https://shopify.co.uk/retrohour [https://shopify.co.uk/retrohour] 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://theretrohour.com/support/] https://www.patreon.com/retrohour [https://www.patreon.com/retrohour] Join our Discord channel: https://discord.gg/GQw8qp8 [https://discord.gg/GQw8qp8] Website: http://theretrohour.com [http://theretrohour.com] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theretrohour/ [https://www.facebook.com/theretrohour/] X: https://twitter.com/retrohouruk [https://twitter.com/retrohouruk] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/retrohouruk/ [https://www.instagram.com/retrohouruk/] Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/theretrohour.com [https://bsky.app/profile/theretrohour.com] Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/theretrohour [https://www.twitch.tv/theretrohour] Events: The Amiga at 40: https://tinyurl.com/4wu2866h [https://tinyurl.com/4wu2866h] NottsVGE: https://www.nottsvge.com/ [https://www.nottsvge.com/] RetroMessa: https://www.retromessa.no/ [https://www.retromessa.no/] Show notes Xbox Mass Lay Offs: https://tinyurl.com/47t45sum [https://tinyurl.com/47t45sum] New Jazz Mag: https://www.supercellphonegamer.com/ [https://www.supercellphonegamer.com/] GameCube to Switch 2 Dock: https://tinyurl.com/5k32x59t [https://tinyurl.com/5k32x59t] Flipping Good Game: https://tinyurl.com/bddecmvz [https://tinyurl.com/bddecmvz] 3D Print with Accuracy: https://tinyurl.com/37t6zwsz [https://tinyurl.com/37t6zwsz]