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Podcasts featuring those behind the scenes in the Spectrum era

Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2017 12:01 pm
by PeteProdge
I like to cherry pick some of the Retro Asylum podcasts for long late night drives, particularly anything relevant to the ZX Spectrum. Here's one featuring Ocean Software artist Simon Butler.

It's very good indeed, covering Imagine's demise and utter ineptitude of Active Minds in producing Total Recall for Ocean. That latter topic has been discussed here, but nice to hear the story again and with a bit more detail.

I'm loving behind-the-scenes stories about how ZX Spectrum games were put together. Does anyone have any recommendations for other podcasts or video documentaries on this subject?

Podcasts featuring those behind the scenes in the Spectrum era

Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2017 12:37 pm
by Joefish
I realise it's a quote, but let's not get into posting threads with titles that are openly abusive, to anyone.

Ahem

Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2017 1:04 pm
by PeteProdge
Joefish wrote: Wed Nov 15, 2017 12:37 pm I realise it's a quote, but let's not get into posting threads with titles that are openly abusive, to anyone.
Okay, I've edited the topic title. For anyone wondering what's going on, it was a direct quote of Simon Butler in that podcast, calling a certain director of a software house an unpleasant term. I do not necessarily condone his opinion. *cough*

Podcasts featuring those behind the scenes in the Spectrum era

Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2017 1:08 pm
by Mike Davies
I was hooked listening to the entire Simon Butler segment, that was a bit raw even three decades later. Read the RetroGamer piece on the development of Platoon around the same time, Simon being the lead designer on that.

That's one of the things I like about the current retro-gaming scene, the emergence of voices from the people developing the games and systems we were playing. I'm hoping that as a community project we curate these fabulous bits of content and bring them into ZXDB as citable references for titles, publishers, people etc. We're learning new things we didn't know about before, that are only surfacing now. Like Adrian Singh making a playable demo from the original covertape (?) watchable demo of that first Total Recall game -- that only happened this year.

Re: Podcasts featuring those behind the scenes in the Spectrum era

Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2017 1:11 pm
by R-Tape
I might be wrong, but I get the impression that Simon Butler chap likes to speak as he finds.

Re: Podcasts featuring those behind the scenes in the Spectrum era

Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2017 1:33 pm
by PeteProdge
R-Tape wrote: Wed Nov 15, 2017 1:11 pm I might be wrong, but I get the impression that Simon Butler chap likes to speak as he finds.
Oh yes, he certainly does and he admits that being that way has probably cost him a few jobs.

There's an uncomfortable bit where his condemnation of an Irish project developer is just about borderline xenophobic, I have to admit.

Re: Podcasts featuring those behind the scenes in the Spectrum era

Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2017 1:36 pm
by Spud
I recall it was a very entertaining listen and certainly brightened up a laborious trip to the galactic core in Elite Dangerous earlier this year. Is it Simon Butler who had a few choice words to say about Joffa's performance at that retro event several years back?

Re: Podcasts featuring those behind the scenes in the Spectrum era

Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2017 5:18 pm
by Wall_Axe
byte back?
Just did some research about it - lol

Re: Podcasts featuring those behind the scenes in the Spectrum era

Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2017 5:45 pm
by R-Tape
Yeah the Ocean forum around that time was one hell of a read.