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Retro Asylum - The UK’s No.1 Retro Gaming Podcast

The Retro Asylum is the UK’s number one retro gaming podcast show that looks at gaming culture from a UK perspective. The show regularly features at top of the iTunes chart and sits among some of the industry's biggest names.
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Retro Asylum - The UK’s No.1 Retro Gaming Podcast
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Now displaying: Category: episodes
Jun 22, 2021

In our latest episode Mads and Chris sit down for a chat with Michiel Kroder and Johannes Nichell of HitP Studio to talk about their forthcoming, retro-inspired shooter, Schildmaid MX.

Episode 253

Thanks to all of our Patreon’s who made this episode possible.

Chris Atwill
PM
ChrisSilva
Chris Hull
Paul Bullard
Harvey Watson
Martyn Jones
ninjixel
TJ
Andy Hudson
Ricardo Engel
Adrian Nelson
Alastair Barr
HeavyMetalDon
RoseTintedSpectrum
Matthew W
James Bentley
Wiedo Belochkin
Tony Parkinson
Gaz H
Mal Woods
Zach Glanz
Richard Rogers
Cane and Rinse
LamptonWorm
Salvio Calabrese
Mitsoyama
Rhys Wynne
Clint Humphrey
Mark Bylund
Paul Ashton
Chris Rowe
Jon Sheppard
Laurent Giroud
Deadl0ck
Aaron Maupin
Jim-OrbitsIT
Jon Veal
Thomas scoffham
Andy Marsh
Patrick Fürst
Laurens
Andrew Gilmour
Stephen Stuttard
Matt Sullivan
Magnus Esbjörner
Darren Coles
Garry Heather
Edward Fitzpatrick
Nick Lees
Blake Brett

Help support the Retro Asylum by becoming a patron: https://www.patreon.com/retroasylum

Retro Asylum on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/retroasylum/

Retro Asylum YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfCC9rIvCKoW3mdbuCsB7Ag

Retro Asylum on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_retro_asylum/

Retro Asylum on Twitch:https://www.twitch.tv/theretroasylum

Twitter: @theretroasylum

May 27, 2021

In this episode Chris and Mads scrub in and take a deep dive look at Bullfrog's Theme Hospital. Will Chris convince Mads that it really is a classic or is it just a radiator too far? We also announce something very special for June.

Thanks to all of our Patreon’s who made this episode possible.

Chris Atwill
PM
ChrisSilva
Chris Hull
Paul Bullard
Harvey Watson
Martyn Jones
ninjixel
TJ
Andy Hudson
Ricardo Engel
Adrian Nelson
Alastair Barr
HeavyMetalDon
RoseTintedSpectrum
Matthew W
James Bentley
Wiedo Belochkin
Tony Parkinson
Gaz H
Mal Woods
Zach Glanz
Richard Rogers
Cane and Rinse
LamptonWorm
Salvio Calabrese
Mitsoyama
Rhys Wynne
Clint Humphrey
Mark Bylund
Paul Ashton
Chris Rowe
Jon Sheppard
Laurent Giroud
Deadl0ck
Aaron Maupin
Jim-OrbitsIT
Jon Veal
Thomas scoffham
Andy Marsh
Patrick Fürst
Laurens
Andrew Gilmour
Stephen Stuttard
Matt Sullivan
Magnus Esbjörner
Darren Coles
Garry Heather
Edward Fitzpatrick
Nick Lees
Blake Brett

Help support the Retro Asylum by becoming a patron: https://www.patreon.com/retroasylum

Retro Asylum on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/retroasylum/

Retro Asylum YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfCC9rIvCKoW3mdbuCsB7Ag

Retro Asylum on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_retro_asylum/

Retro Asylum on Twitch:https://www.twitch.tv/theretroasylum

Twitter: @theretroasylum

May 18, 2021

In this episode Mads and Chris reveal our Discord members' choices for June's game club theme and whittle down the list to just four for the public vote.

The categories are games by id Software, C64 games released in the last 10 years, Shinobi games and games released commercially in the final years of a system's life.

251

Thanks to all of our Patreon’s who made this episode possible.

PM
ChrisSilva
Chris Hull
Paul Bullard
Harvey Watson
Martyn Jones
Ninjixel
TJ
Andy Hudson
Ricardo Engel
Adrian Nelson
Alastair Barr
HeavyMetalDon
RoseTintedSpectrum
Matthew W
James Bentley
Wiedo Belochkin
Tony Parkinson
Gaz H
Mal Woods
Zach Glanz
Richard Rogers
Cane and Rinse
LamptonWorm
Salvio Calabrese
Mitsoyama
Rhys Wynne
Clint Humphrey
Mark Bylund
Paul Ashton
Chris Rowe
Jon Sheppard
Laurent Giroud
Deadl0ck
Aaron Maupin
Jim-OrbitsIT
Jon Veal
Thomas scoffham
Andy Marsh
Patrick Fürst
Laurens
Andrew Gilmour
Stephen Stuttard
Matt Sullivan
Magnus Esbjörner
Darren Coles
Garry Heather
Edward Fitzpatrick
Nick Lees
Blake Brett

Help support the Retro Asylum by becoming a patron: https://www.patreon.com/retroasylum

Retro Asylum on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/retroasylum/

Retro Asylum YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfCC9rIvCKoW3mdbuCsB7Ag

Retro Asylum on Twitch:https://www.twitch.tv/theretroasylum

Twitter: @theretroasylum

May 1, 2021

Mads, Chris, Steve & Dean team up to tackle Taito's overlooked arcade game Zoo Keeper. Will a game that was designed to be played in short bursts in an arcade, drive them & our participating listeners mad as they play it for hours over a full month?

Thanks to all of our Patreon’s who made this episode possible.

PM
ChrisSilva
Chris Hull
Paul Bullard
Harvey Watson
Martyn Jones
Ninjixel
TJ
Andy Hudson
Ricardo Engel
Adrian Nelson
Alastair Barr
HeavyMetalDon
RoseTintedSpectrum
Matthew W
James Bentley
Wiedo Belochkin
Tony Parkinson
Gaz H
Mal Woods
Zach Glanz
Richard Rogers
Cane and Rinse
LamptonWorm
Salvio Calabrese
Mitsoyama
Rhys Wynne
Clint Humphrey
Mark Bylund
Paul Ashton
Chris Rowe
Jon Sheppard
Laurent Giroud
Deadl0ck
Aaron Maupin
Jim-OrbitsIT
Jon Veal
Thomas scoffham
Andy Marsh
Patrick Fürst
Laurens
Andrew Gilmour
Stephen Stuttard
Matt Sullivan
Magnus Esbjörner
Darren Coles
Garry Heather
Edward Fitzpatrick
Nick Lees
Blake Brett

Help support the Retro Asylum by becoming a patron: https://www.patreon.com/retroasylum

Retro Asylum on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/retroasylum/

Retro Asylum YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfCC9rIvCKoW3mdbuCsB7Ag

Retro Asylum on Twitch:https://www.twitch.tv/theretroasylum

Twitter: @theretroasylum

Apr 21, 2021

Mads and Chris shake things up a little by putting up for the vote four themes for the May game club.

Thanks to all of our Patreon’s who made this episode possible.

PM
ChrisSilva
Chris Hull
Paul Bullard
Harvey Watson
Martyn Jones
Ninjixel
TJ
Andy Hudson
Ricardo Engel
Adrian Nelson
Alastair Barr
HeavyMetalDon
RoseTintedSpectrum
Matthew W
James Bentley
Wiedo Belochkin
Tony Parkinson
Gaz H
Mal Woods
Zach Glanz
Richard Rogers
Cane and Rinse
LamptonWorm
Salvio Calabrese
Mitsoyama
Rhys Wynne
Clint Humphrey
Mark Bylund
Paul Ashton
Chris Rowe
Jon Sheppard
Laurent Giroud
Deadl0ck
Aaron Maupin
Jim-OrbitsIT
Jon Veal
Thomas scoffham
Andy Marsh
Patrick Fürst
Laurens
Andrew Gilmour
Stephen Stuttard
Matt Sullivan
Magnus Esbjörner
Darren Coles
Garry Heather
Edward Fitzpatrick
Nick Lees
Blake Brett

Help support the Retro Asylum by becoming a patron: https://www.patreon.com/retroasylum

Retro Asylum on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/retroasylum/

Retro Asylum YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfCC9rIvCKoW3mdbuCsB7Ag

Retro Asylum on Twitch:https://www.twitch.tv/theretroasylum

Twitter: @theretroasylum

Apr 19, 2021

In this segments episode, Steve chats to the guys behind Zapped To The Past podcast, we take a flick through issue 28 of Zzap!64 magazine plus Mads & Chris ask two of our listeners what is their favourite game?

Thanks to all of our Patreon’s who made this episode possible.

PM
ChrisSilva
Chris Hull
Paul Bullard
Harvey Watson
Martyn Jones
Ninjixel
TJ
Andy Hudson
Ricardo Engel
Adrian Nelson
Alastair Barr
HeavyMetalDon
RoseTintedSpectrum
Matthew W
James Bentley
Wiedo Belochkin
Tony Parkinson
Gaz H
Mal Woods
Zach Glanz
Richard Rogers
Cane and Rinse
LamptonWorm
Salvio Calabrese
Mitsoyama
Rhys Wynne
Clint Humphrey
Mark Bylund
Paul Ashton
Chris Rowe
Jon Sheppard
Laurent Giroud
Deadl0ck
Aaron Maupin
Jim-OrbitsIT
Jon Veal
Thomas scoffham
Andy Marsh
Patrick Fürst
Laurens
Andrew Gilmour
Stephen Stuttard
Matt Sullivan
Magnus Esbjörner
Darren Coles
Garry Heather
Edward Fitzpatrick
Nick Lees
Blake Brett

Help support the Retro Asylum by becoming a patron: https://www.patreon.com/retroasylum

Retro Asylum on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/retroasylum/

Retro Asylum YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfCC9rIvCKoW3mdbuCsB7Ag

Retro Asylum on Twitch:https://www.twitch.tv/theretroasylum

Twitter: @theretroasylum

Apr 5, 2021

Mads and Chris jump into the cockpit and take flight for a detailed look at the world of Wing Commander 3: Heart of the Tiger

Thanks to all of our Patreon’s who made this episode possible.

Shane Dowling
ChrisSilva
Chris Hull
Paul Bullard
Harvey Watson
Martyn Jones
Ninjixel
TJ
Andy Hudson
Ricardo Engel
Adrian Nelson
Alastair Barr
HeavyMetalDon
RoseTintedSpectrum
Matthew W
James Bentley
Wiedo Belochkin
Tony Parkinson
Gaz H
Mal Woods
Zach Glanz
Richard Rogers
Cane and Rinse
LamptonWorm
Salvio Calabrese
Mitsoyama
Rhys Wynne
Clint Humphrey
Mark Bylund
Paul Ashton
Chris Rowe
Jon Sheppard
Laurent Giroud
Deadl0ck
Aaron Maupin
Jim-OrbitsIT
Jon Veal
Thomas scoffham
Andy Marsh
Patrick Fürst
Laurens
Andrew Gilmour
Stephen Stuttard
Matt Sullivan
Magnus Esbjörner
Darren Coles
Garry Heather
Edward Fitzpatrick
Nick Lees
Blake Brett

Help support the Retro Asylum by becoming a patron: https://www.patreon.com/retroasylum

Retro Asylum on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/retroasylum/

Retro Asylum YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfCC9rIvCKoW3mdbuCsB7Ag

Retro Asylum on Twitch:https://www.twitch.tv/theretroasylum

Twitter: @theretroasylum

Mar 23, 2021

Mads, Dean and Chris look ahead to April's Taito game club theme by cutting an eight game long list down to four. Join us to find out which games you will be voting on.

Thanks to all of our Patreon’s who made this episode possible.

Shane Dowling
ChrisSilva
Chris Hull
Paul Bullard
Harvey Watson
Martyn Jones
Ninjixel
TJ
Andy Hudson
Ricardo Engel
Adrian Nelson
Alastair Barr
HeavyMetalDon
RoseTintedSpectrum
Matthew W
James Bentley
Wiedo Belochkin
Tony Parkinson
Gaz H
Mal Woods
Zach Glanz
Richard Rogers
Cane and Rinse
LamptonWorm
Salvio Calabrese
Mitsoyama
Rhys Wynne
Clint Humphrey
Mark Bylund
Paul Ashton
Chris Rowe
Jon Sheppard
Laurent Giroud
Deadl0ck
Aaron Maupin
Jim-OrbitsIT
Jon Veal
Thomas scoffham
Andy Marsh
Patrick Fürst
Laurens
Andrew Gilmour
Stephen Stuttard
Matt Sullivan
Magnus Esbjörner
Darren Coles
Garry Heather
Edward Fitzpatrick
Nick Lees
Blake Brett

Help support the Retro Asylum by becoming a patron: https://www.patreon.com/retroasylum

Retro Asylum on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/retroasylum/

Retro Asylum YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfCC9rIvCKoW3mdbuCsB7Ag

Retro Asylum on Twitch:https://www.twitch.tv/theretroasylum

Twitter: @theretroasylum

Mar 1, 2021

This month we don our fedoras and save mankind in Tex Murphy: Under a Killing Moon. Does this FMV adventure still hold up in 2021? Find out in this episode.

Thanks to all of our Patreon’s who made this episode possible.

Chris Silva
Chris Hull
Paul Bullard
Harvey Watson
Martyn Jones
William E Rimmer
Ninjixel
TJ
Andy Hudson
Ricardo Engel
Adrian Nelson
Alastair Barr
HeavyMetalDon
RoseTintedSpectrum
Matthew W
James Bentley
Wiedo Belochkin
Tony Parkinson
Gaz H
Mal Woods
Zach Glanz
Richard Rogers
Cane and Rinse
LamptonWorm
Salvio Calabrese
Mitsoyama
Rhys Wynne
Clint Humphrey
Mark Bylund
Paul Ashton
Chris Rowe
Jon Sheppard
Laurent Giroud
Martin Stephenson
Aaron Maupin
Jim-OrbitsIT
Jon Veal
Thomas Scoffham
Andy Marsh
Patrick Fürst
Laurens
Andrew Gilmour
Stephen Stuttard
Matt Sullivan
Magnus Esbjörner
Darren Coles
Garry Heather
Edward Fitzpatrick
Nick Lees
Blake Brett

Help support the Retro Asylum by becoming a patron: https://www.patreon.com/retroasylum

Retro Asylum on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/retroasylum/

Retro Asylum YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfCC9rIvCKoW3mdbuCsB7Ag

Retro Asylum on Twitch:https://www.twitch.tv/theretroasylum

Twitter: @theretroasylum

Feb 22, 2021

Dean and Steve link up with Vic and Shaun of The Ten Pence arcade to discuss classic computer games that would've been great in the arcade.

Thanks to all of our Patreon’s who made this episode possible.

Chris Silva
Chris Hull
Paul Bullard
Harvey Watson
Martyn Jones
William E Rimmer
Ninjixel
TJ
Andy Hudson
Ricardo Engel
Adrian Nelson
Alastair Barr
HeavyMetalDon
RoseTintedSpectrum
Matthew W
James Bentley
Wiedo Belochkin
Tony Parkinson
Gaz H
Mal Woods
Zach Glanz
Richard Rogers
Cane and Rinse
LamptonWorm
Salvio Calabrese
Mitsoyama
Rhys Wynne
Clint Humphrey
Mark Bylund
Paul Ashton
Chris Rowe
Jon Sheppard
Laurent Giroud
Martin Stephenson
Aaron Maupin
Jim-OrbitsIT
Jon Veal
Thomas Scoffham
Andy Marsh
Patrick Fürst
Laurens
Andrew Gilmour
Stephen Stuttard
Matt Sullivan
Magnus Esbjörner
Darren Coles
Garry Heather
Edward Fitzpatrick
Nick Lees
Blake Brett

Help support the Retro Asylum by becoming a patron: https://www.patreon.com/retroasylum

Retro Asylum on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/retroasylum/

Retro Asylum YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfCC9rIvCKoW3mdbuCsB7Ag

Retro Asylum on Twitch:https://www.twitch.tv/theretroasylum

Twitter: @theretroasylum

Feb 22, 2021

In our latest Games Club episode, Chris and Mads select a shortlist of four 3DO games to take forward to the vote for the game club game for March.

Thanks to all of our Patreon’s who made this episode possible.

Chris Silva
Chris Hull
Paul Bullard
Harvey Watson
Martyn Jones
William E Rimmer
Ninjixel
TJ
Andy Hudson
Ricardo Engel
Adrian Nelson
Alastair Barr
HeavyMetalDon
RoseTintedSpectrum
Matthew W
James Bentley
Wiedo Belochkin
Tony Parkinson
Gaz H
Mal Woods
Zach Glanz
Richard Rogers
Cane and Rinse
LamptonWorm
Salvio Calabrese
Mitsoyama
Rhys Wynne
Clint Humphrey
Mark Bylund
Paul Ashton
Chris Rowe
Jon Sheppard
Laurent Giroud
Martin Stephenson
Aaron Maupin
Jim-OrbitsIT
Jon Veal
Thomas Scoffham
Andy Marsh
Patrick Fürst
Laurens
Andrew Gilmour
Stephen Stuttard
Matt Sullivan
Magnus Esbjörner
Darren Coles
Garry Heather
Edward Fitzpatrick
Nick Lees
Blake Brett

Jan 31, 2021

In our latest game club episode, Chris and Mads ready their blasters once more as they take a detailed look at Dark Forces 2: Jedi Knight. They also reveal the result of the February poll and announce the theme for March.

Thanks to all of our Patreon’s who made this episode possible.

Chris Hull
Paul Bullard
Harvey Watson
Martyn Jones
William E Rimmer
Ninjixel
TJ
Andy Hudson
Ricardo Engel
Adrian Nelson
Alastair Barr
HeavyMetalDon
RoseTintedSpectrum
Matthew W
James Bentley
Wiedo Belochkin
Tony Parkinson
Gaz H
Mal Woods
Zach Glanz
Richard Rogers
Cane and Rinse
LamptonWorm
Salvio Calabrese
Mitsoyama
Rhys Wynne
Clint Humphrey
Mark Bylund
Paul Ashton
Chris Rowe
Jon Sheppard
Laurent Giroud
Martin Stephenson
Aaron Maupin
Jim-OrbitsIT
Jon Veal
Thomas Scoffham
Andy Marsh
Patrick Fürst
Laurens
Andrew Gilmour
Stephen Stuttard
Matt Sullivan
Magnus Esbjörner
Darren Coles
Garry Heather
Edward Fitzpatrick
Nick Lees
Blake Brett

Jan 18, 2021

Chris and Mads present the games that are up for vote in February's game club.

Thanks to all of our Patreon’s who made this episode possible.

Chris Hull
Paul Bullard
Harvey Watson
Martyn Jones
William E Rimmer
ninjixel
TJ
Andy Hudson
Ricardo Engel
Adrian Nelson
Alastair Barr
HeavyMetalDon
RoseTintedSpectrum
Matthew W
James Bentley
Wiedo Belochkin
Tony Parkinson
Gaz H
Mal Woods
Zach Glanz
Richard Rogers
Cane and Rinse
LamptonWorm
Salvio Calabrese
Mitsoyama
Rhys Wynne
Clint Humphrey
Mark Bylund
Paul Ashton
Chris Rowe
Jon Sheppard
Laurent Giroud
Martin Stephenson
Aaron Maupin
Jim-OrbitsIT
Jon Veal
Thomas scoffham
Andy Marsh
Patrick Fürst
Laurens
Andrew Gilmour
Stephen Stuttard
Matt Sullivan
Magnus Esbjörner
Darren Coles
Garry Heather
Edward Fitzpatrick
Nick Lees
Blake Brett

Jan 3, 2021

In this, the very first show of 2021, Dean, Chris and Mads talk about their experiences playing December's game club game Exile on the BBC Micro.

Episode 240:

Thanks to all of our Patreon’s who made this episode possible.

William E Rimmer
Ninjixel
TJ
Andy Hudson
Ricardo Engel
Adrian Nelson
Alastair Barr
Straight2Video
RoseTintedSpectrum
Matthew W
James Bentley
Wiedo Belochkin
Tony Parkinson
Gaz H
Mal Woods
Zach Glanz
Richard Rogers
Cane and Rinse
LamptonWorm
Salvio Calabrese
Mitsoyama
Rhys Wynne
Clint Humphrey
MARK BYLUND
Paul Ashton
Chris Rowe
Jon Sheppard
Laurent Giroud
Martin Stephenson
Aaron Maupin
Jim-OrbitsIT
Jon Veal
Thomas scoffham
Andy Marsh
Patrick Fürst
Laurens
Andrew Gilmour
Stephen Stuttard
Matt Sullivan
Magnus Esbjörner
Darren Coles
Garry Heather
Edward Fitzpatrick
Nick Lees
Blake Brett

 

Q and A with Peter Irvin.

Q: Where did the concept of the game come from? Was it influenced by earlier videogames?

A: The concept for Exile started as just the idea of a man with a jetpack exploring an underground cavern system, having to solve problems to progress, fighting off hostiles. It wasn’t influenced by other games, more from TV/film - like Star Trek, Blakes 7, Forbidden Planet.

Q: Was the game built around the plot or did the mechanics of the game come first?

A: The mechanics came first and we kept adding stuff to the game engine until we knew what the limits were and how far we could go with the resources available. The plot crystallised over time, after we worked out what could be achieved, then we had to populate the map to match and make a playable game. Major way points were decided, like the Rune Door and Triax’s lab, and the scattering of other puzzles, equipment and encounters designed to get the player equipped to pass through these way points. However we sometimes had “we could add this cool thing” moments and had to include that - like the digital speech on the large RAM BBC micro version.

Q: Nowadays, there is infinite memory to craft a story and provide lots of context for the game. That was not possible for you. How early did you develop the idea of a novella?

A: To include a novella was decided quite late in the day. Yes, it was a way to help explain the game back story better but it was also a way to add perceived value to the game, and reduce piracy - the thinking being that people would pay more and pirates would think they were missing out on important stuff if they did’t have the full package, though I’m not convinced by that.

Q: How much of what you and Jeremy learned from Thrust did you carry forward into Exile?

A: With Thrust, Jeremy showed that implementing physics well - gravity, thrusting, multi-body mechanics - was actually rewarding for the player; it was pleasing just to fly around. We were both interested in physics so that had to be a big part of Exile, and a lot of time was spent getting the physics engine right - all the acceleration rates, gravity, impacts, wind forces, floating, etc work in balance and to feel ok but coded with very little memory.

Q: Were there any interesting alien life forms that you prototyped but had to cut?

A: There were a few but the details are lost to me by the passing of time. Most memorable now was a dog - which was to be the player’s faithful companion, helping out as best he could. He was included from the beginning as it came over from an unfinished game I was doing before Exile called “Wizard’s Walk” - a wizard travelling down a long pretty cave populated by hazards. The dog used too much RAM for its graphics in Exile - it needed extra frames due to walking up diagonals. It also had to be indestructible, and manage to get around the map as well as the player or the game wouldn’t work, so it ended up being removed and we put in Fluffy which was small alien bundle of pixels and trivial code to control.

Q: Some game reviews show screenshots that are clearly from a different game map. Were review copies sent out that were radically different or were these more likely pictures from earlier prototype builds?

A: I don’t recall any wrong maps being reviewed. Perhaps on the Amiga version? The BBC Micro Exile game map was generated by a tiny algorithm to produce the straight tunnels, a scattering of caverns, some individual tiles and areas that could be hand-defined (like for the top ship, the top underground base, Triax’s lab, various doors, etc. The map code was fixed in stone at a very early stage because changing it would have meant repopulating the entire game.

Q: The manual quite bluntly tells players that it’s a game which requires thought. Where you worried that people wouldn’t “get it”?

A: Exile was hard to play in parts and required people to use their brains in some places to solve the natural puzzles. That wasn’t the way games were back then - most were short duration entertainment requiring little thought. We designed Exile as the sort of game we wanted to play, hoped others would accept it, but knew if they got stuck they could ask their friends or get advice from one of the games magazines. It isn’t a “levels game” where you just shoot your way through and collect stars, it was more like a movie - one big adventure. It was also more difficult than it should have been partly due to the limitations and efficiencies of the physics engine and shared general purpose code between many creatures. Many people didn’t complete Exile, or even get as far as the excitement of destroying the maggot machine, the earthquake and the flooding caverns, but I like to think they still got value for money. It’s hard to balance a game for all abilities when the resources are so tight and trying not to allow dead ends in progress were the player to have inadvertently wasted all the required resources to overcome upcoming obstacles, but in retrospect perhaps some things should have been easier.

Q: The purple, vertical blast door near the start has a gap at the top which can be flown through, with enough time and patience. Did you know about it when the game shipped, but decided it wasn't a big enough game-breaker to fix?

A: There were many such collision “features” - a side effect of a general purpose physics engine with limited resources to prevent special cases. Anyway, quantum tunnelling happens in physics, so surely that’s fine!

Q: Are there any (other) bugs in the game which you look back on now and think “ah, if only we could patch it!”?

A: There were many of what I call “features” rather than bugs in Exile and I think we knew about most of the ways things could go wrong but had no spare RAM to fix. My favourite one was, with your back to a vertical door, holding something, suddenly turning around while thrusting forward and do a throw - the thrown object can usually be made to appear on the other side of the door to you. Sometimes you could use a similar system to get yourself through! There were so many things to balance - like the relationship between the speed of a firer, the speed and dimensions of bullets and the thickness of doors, otherwise they could tunnel through the door or bullets hit the firer.

Q: Did it bother you that the published solutions made use of physics/engine glitches to get the coronium rocks out of the eastern area, instead of the 'correct' solution which involves creating additional coronium by luring slimes through a piece of solid rock, converting them to yellow balls, then passing them through the underwater structure containing red blobs to the west of the windy shaft?

A: No, I’m not really bothered about players making use of things they found. Exile is about exploration and experiment, so finding shortcuts, even if relying on “features” is still in that spirit. We wanted several ways to do many of the puzzles anyway, and the eastern tunnels were meant to be a natural area uncorrupted yet by Triax, where the player could experiment to discover the tools they would need in the western caves. This probably didn’t come across to the player. Also some of the puzzles were a bit contrived I suppose - nevertheless rewarding if you solved them.

Q: Which version of the game do you consider definitive?

A: The BBC micro version was the most definitive. It was the first and a genuine struggle to make happen at all, and I believe took that platform to its limits. I hated the Electron version - there was no way to avoid having a border of white noise (ie code) around the game view - buyers must have been so forgiving.

Q: We are aware of the tragic circumstances around Jeremy’s death. Was a sequel planned before he died?

A: From fading memory, I think we were still working on bits and pieces with the original game - like an Amiga CD 32 console game, and we had tried to get publishers interested in a Sega Mega Drive version but the console market was very controlled, with publishers taking few risks on unconventional product due to the costs of making the expensive ROM cartridges. You almost had to have a working game already on the platform to be considered seriously and with development systems hard to come we didn’t have the funds to make that happen ourselves. There were some explorations into making use of the code for a new game but nothing solid.

Q: You had a version of the game planned for iOS and Android back in 2010. Are we correct to assume that that project has been discontinued?

A: No, it is my intention that this should still happen. It’s difficult to know how non-retro it would need to be to have any measure of success against todays effects-driven offerings, though computer gaming is a broad church.

Q: If the mobile project had gone ahead, would there have been any fundamental changes to the game?

A: The first release would be very familiar, but enhanced in details, the plot cleaned up - more obvious - and easier to play. The control system on a touch screen can’t depend on the zillion keys that Exile required either! I don’t think it should stray too far from the original fundamentally as the audience would include fans of the originals; but sequels could go much further.

 

Dec 24, 2020

The lads have nicked Santa's Sleigh and are off to visit all their podcast mates. More importantly will the sleigh get returned in time for Santa to deliver all the kids presents or will the lads have ruined Christmas?

A Special thank you to Scott Pearson aka Scopie for our wonderful cover art for this episode!

Thanks again to all of our Patreon’s who made this episode possible.

William E Rimmer
ninjixel
TJ
Andy Hudson
Ricardo Engel
Adrian Nelson
Alastair Barr
Straight2Video
RoseTintedSpectrum
Matthew W
James Bentley
Wiedo Belochkin
Tony Parkinson
Gaz H
Mal Woods
Zach Glanz
Richard Rogers
Cane and Rinse
LamptonWorm
Salvio Calabrese
Mitsoyama
Rhys Wynne
Clint Humphrey
Mark Bylund
Paul Ashton
Chris Rowe
Jon Sheppard
Laurent Giroud
Martin Stephenson
Aaron Maupin
Jim-OrbitsIT
Jon Veal
Thomas scoffham
Andy Marsh
Patrick Fürst
Laurens de Bruijn
Andrew Gilmour
Stephen Stuttard
Matt Sullivan
Magnus Esbjörner
Darren Coles
Garry Heather
Edward Fitzpatrick
Chris Worthington
Nick Lees
Blake Brett

Dec 23, 2020

Mads and Chris indulge themselves and choose the game club game for January from the sequels to games already covered in the game club. Tune in to hear which games have been cast aside and which will be the chosen one for January.

Lookout for our bumper Christmas episode which will be released on Christmas Eve!

Special thanks to all of our Patreon’s who made this episode possible.

William E Rimmer
ninjixel
TJ
Andy Hudson
Ricardo Engel
Adrian Nelson
Alastair Barr
Straight2Video
RoseTintedSpectrum
Matthew W
James Bentley
Wiedo Belochkin
Tony Parkinson
Gaz H
Mal Woods
Zach Glanz
Richard Rogers
Cane and Rinse
LamptonWorm
Salvio Calabrese
Mitsoyama
Rhys Wynne
Clint Humphrey
Mark Bylund
Paul Ashton
Chris Rowe
Jon Sheppard
Laurent Giroud
Martin Stephenson
Aaron Maupin
Jim-OrbitsIT
Jon Veal
Thomas scoffham
Andy Marsh
Patrick Fürst
Laurens de Bruijn
Andrew Gilmour
Stephen Stuttard
Matt Sullivan
Magnus Esbjörner
Darren Coles
Garry Heather
Edward Fitzpatrick
Chris Worthington
Nick Lees
Blake Brett

Dec 22, 2020

In this special bonus episode, Dean Swain talks to Oliver Harper about the upcoming Street Fighter 2 documentary 'Here Comes A New Challenger' and discusses how Oliver become a successful YouTuber and director.

Checkout the Kickstarter campaign for more information.

Checkout Olivers YouTube channel to see more of his amazing work.

Special thanks to all of our Patreon’s who made this episode possible.

William E Rimmer
ninjixel
TJ
Andy Hudson
Ricardo Engel
Adrian Nelson
Alastair Barr
Straight2Video
RoseTintedSpectrum
Matthew W
James Bentley
Wiedo Belochkin
Tony Parkinson
Gaz H
Mal Woods
Zach Glanz
Richard Rogers
Cane and Rinse
LamptonWorm
Salvio Calabrese
Mitsoyama
Rhys Wynne
Clint Humphrey
Mark Bylund
Paul Ashton
Chris Rowe
Jon Sheppard
Laurent Giroud
Martin Stephenson
Aaron Maupin
Jim-OrbitsIT
Jon Veal
Thomas scoffham
Andy Marsh
Patrick Fürst
Laurens de Bruijn
Andrew Gilmour
Stephen Stuttard
Matt Sullivan
Magnus Esbjörner
Darren Coles
Garry Heather
Edward Fitzpatrick
Chris Worthington
Nick Lees
Blake Brett

Nov 30, 2020

Chris and Mads don their helmets and jump into the Super Fighter to take on Dogurava and the Gidans in the classic shmup Truxton on the Mega Drive. Did Chris really get a higher score than Mads? Why is Mads crying? Find the answers to these questions and more in this episode.

Special thanks to all of our Patreon’s who made this episode possible.

William E Rimmer
ninjixel
TJ
Andy Hudson
Ricardo Engel
Adrian Nelson
Alastair Barr
Straight2Video
RoseTintedSpectrum
Matthew W
James Bentley
Wiedo Belochkin
Tony Parkinson
Gaz H
Mal Woods
Zach Glanz
Richard Rogers
Cane and Rinse
LamptonWorm
Salvio Calabrese
Mitsoyama
Rhys Wynne
Clint Humphrey
Mark Bylund
Paul Ashton
Chris Rowe
Jon Sheppard
Laurent Giroud
Martin Stephenson
Aaron Maupin
Jim-OrbitsIT
Jon Veal
Thomas scoffham
Andy Marsh
Patrick Fürst
Laurens de Bruijn
Andrew Gilmour
Stephen Stuttard
Matt Sullivan
Magnus Esbjörner
Darren Coles
Garry Heather
Edward Fitzpatrick
Chris Worthington
Nick Lees
Blake Brett

Nov 29, 2020

In this episode Dean, Steve & Matt travel back to a time when games could be bought for a couple of quid at the local newsagents.

 

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Special thanks to all of our Patreon’s who made this episode possible.

William E Rimmer
ninjixel
TJ
Andy Hudson
Ricardo Engel
Adrian Nelson
Alastair Barr
Straight2Video
RoseTintedSpectrum
Matthew W
James Bentley
Wiedo Belochkin
Tony Parkinson
Gaz H
Mal Woods
Zach Glanz
Richard Rogers
Cane and Rinse
LamptonWorm
Salvio Calabrese
Mitsoyama
Rhys Wynne
Clint Humphrey
Mark Bylund
Paul Ashton
Chris Rowe
Jon Sheppard
Laurent Giroud
Martin Stephenson
Aaron Maupin
Jim-OrbitsIT
Jon Veal
Thomas scoffham
Andy Marsh
Patrick Fürst
Laurens de Bruijn
Andrew Gilmour
stephen stuttard
Matt Sullivan
Magnus Esbjörner
Darren Coles
Garry Heather
Edward Fitzpatrick
Chris Worthington
Nick Lees
Blake Brett

Nov 22, 2020

In our latest Game Club episode, Mads, Chris and game club guest Dean choose a shortlist of three BBC Micro games to go forward to our poll for December's game club game.

Thanks again to all of our Patreon’s who made this episode possible.

ninjixel
TJ
Andy Hudson
Ricardo Engel
Adrian Nelson
Alastair Barr
Straight2Video
RoseTintedSpectrum
Matthew W
James Bentley
Wiedo Belochkin
Tony Parkinson
Gaz H
Mal Woods
Zach Glanz
Richard Rogers
Cane and Rinse
LamptonWorm
Salvio Calabrese
Mitsoyama
Rhys Wynne
Clint Humphrey
MARK BYLUND
Paul Ashton
Chris Rowe
Jon Sheppard
Laurent Giroud
Martin Stephenson
Aaron Maupin
Jim-OrbitsIT
Jon Veal
Thomas scoffham
Andy Marsh
Patrick Fürst
Laurens de Bruijn
Andrew Gilmour
stephen stuttard
Matt Sullivan
Magnus Esbjörner
Darren Coles
Garry Heather
Edward Fitzpatrick
Chris Worthington
Nick Lees
Blake Brett

Nov 1, 2020

Our resident game clubbers Chris and Mads are scared s***less as they play through this survival horror classic on the original PlayStation.

Thanks again to all of our Patreon’s who made this episode possible.

TJ
Andy Hudson
Ricardo Engel
Adrian Nelson
Alastair Barr
Straight2Video
RoseTintedSpectrum
Matthew W
James Bentley
Wiedo Belochkin
Tony Parkinson
Mal Woods
Zach Glanz
Richard Rogers
Cane and Rinse
LamptonWorm
Salvio Calabrese
Stephen Bell
Rhys Wynne
Clint Humphrey
Mark Bylund
Aiden Marriott
Paul Ashton
Chris Rowe
Jon Sheppard
Laurent Giroud
Martin Stephenson
Aaron Maupin
Jim-OrbitsIT
Jon Veal
Thomas scoffham
Andy Marsh
Patrick Fürst
Laurens de Bruijn
Andrew Gilmour
Stephen Stuttard
Matt Sullivan
Magnus Esbjörner
Darren Coles
Garry Heather
Edward Fitzpatrick
Chris Worthington
Nick Lees
Blake Brett

 

Sep 30, 2020

Chris and Mads spend two months bumping into stuff in Ys I and II on the PC Engine. We also reveal which spooky game we will be playing in October.

Thanks again to all of our Patreon’s who made this episode possible.

Andy Hudson
Ricardo Engel
Adrian Nelson
Alastair Barr
Straight2Video
RoseTintedSpectrum
Matthew W
James Bentley
Wiedo Belochkin
Tony Parkinson
Gaz H
Mal Woods
Zach Glanz
Richard Rogers
Cane and Rinse
LamptonWorm
Salvio Calabrese
Stephen Bell
Rhys Wynne
Clint Humphrey
Mark Bylund
Aiden Marriott
Paul Ashton
Rick Jackson
Chris Rowe
Jon Sheppard
Laurent Giroud
Martin Stephenson
Aaron Maupin
Jim-OrbitsIT
Jon Veal
Thomas scoffham
Richard May
Andy Marsh
Patrick Fürst
Laurens de Bruijn
Andrew Gilmour
Stephen Stuttard
Matt Sullivan
Magnus Esbjörner
Darren Coles
Garry Heather
Edward Fitzpatrick
Chris Worthington
Nick Lees
Blake Brett

Sep 26, 2020

Dean and Chris get together for the first in a new series of Spectrum Next themed episodes. In this episode, they look back at the two Kickstarters and talk Spectrum Next programming with Sunteam's Paul Weller.

Thank you again to all of our Patreon’s who made this episode possible.

Andy Hudson
Ricardo Engel
Adrian Nelson
Alastair Barr
Straight2Video
RoseTintedSpectrum
Matthew W
James Bentley
Wiedo Belochkin
Tony Parkinson
Gaz H
Mal Woods
Zach Glanz
Richard Rogers
Cane and Rinse
LamptonWorm
Salvio Calabrese
Stephen Bell
Rhys Wynne
Clint Humphrey
Mark Bylund
Aiden Marriott
Paul Ashton
Rick Jackson
Chris Rowe
Jon Sheppard
Laurent Giroud
Martin Stephenson
Aaron Maupin
Jim-OrbitsIT
Jon Veal
Thomas scoffham
Richard May
Andy Marsh
Patrick Fürst
Laurens de Bruijn
Andrew Gilmour
Stephen Stuttard
Matt Sullivan
Magnus Esbjörner
Darren Coles
Garry Heather
Edward Fitzpatrick
Chris Worthington
Nick Lees
Blake Brett

Sep 8, 2020

In this episode Dean and Steve talk to Daz and Taggster from The Arcade Perfect podcast and debate which home micro version of the Star Wars arcade was the best plus Nintendo's recent Super Mario Bros Game & Watch is discussed!

Thank you yet again to all of our Patreon’s who made this episode possible.


Andy Hudson
Ricardo Engel
Adrian Nelson
Paul Davies
Alastair Barr
Straight2Video
RoseTintedSpectrum
Matthew W
James Bentley
Wiedo Belochkin
Tony Parkinson
Gaz H
Mal Woods
Zach Glanz
Richard Rogers
Cane and Rinse7
LamptonWorm
Salvio Calabrese
Stephen Bell
Rhys Wynne
Clint Humphrey
MARK BYLUND
Aiden Marriott
Paul Ashton
Rick Jackson
Chris Rowe
Jon Sheppard
Laurent Giroud
Martin Stephenson
Aaron Maupin
Jim-OrbitsIT
Jon Veal
Thomas scoffham
Richard May
Andy Marsh
Patrick Fürst
Laurens de Bruijn
Andrew Gilmour
stephen stuttard
Matt Sullivan
Magnus Esbjörner
Darren Coles
Garry Heather
Edward Fitzpatrick
Chris Worthington
Nick Lees
Blake Brett

Aug 16, 2020

There's a slice of retro for everyone as Dean and Steve talk about the Evercade handheld console by Blaze, Matt looks back at the demoscene, plus Chris and Mads talk to two of our Patreon's about their favourite games.

Thank you yet again to all of our Patreon’s who made this episode possible.


Adrian Nelson
Paul Davies
Alastair Barr
Straight2Video
RoseTintedSpectrum
Matthew W
James Bentley
Wiedo Belochkin
Tony Parkinson
Gaz H
Mal Woods
Zach Glanz
Richard Rogers
Cane and Rinse
LamptonWorm
Salvio Calabrese
Stephen Bell
Rhys Wynne
Clint Humphrey
MARK BYLUND
Aiden Marriott
Paul Ashton
Rick Jackson
Laurens de Bruijn
Chris Rowe
Jon Sheppard
Laurent Giroud
Martin Stephenson
Aaron Maupin
Jim-OrbitsIT
Jon Veal
Thomas scoffham
Richard May
Andy Marsh
Patrick Fürst
Andrew Gilmour
stephen stuttard
Matt Sullivan
Magnus Esbjörner
Darren Coles
Garry Heather
Edward Fitzpatrick
Chris Worthington
Nick Lees
Blake Brett

 

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