505: “I Presented the Amiga Chipset to Atari… and Everyone Freaked Out!” - Atari's Matt Householder - The Retro Hour Podcast EP505

505: “I Presented the Amiga Chipset to Atari… and Everyone Freaked Out!” - Atari's Matt Householder - The Retro Hour Podcast EP505

From hating Pong to working for Atari, this week we chat with Matt Householder. From his early days at Gaming Devices Inc. and designing the arcade classic Krull, through to joining Atari right after the video game crash and witnessing the dramatic Amiga chipset saga from the inside. Matt reveals what it was really like working under Jack Tramiel, converting GEM for the Atari ST in record time, and why developers had to sell snacks from their desks just to survive. He then takes us into the golden years at Epyx, creating World Games and the smash hit California Games, before moving on to 3DO, where a secret project he managed ended up helping fund Diablo.

Contents:

00:00 - The Week's Retro News Stories
54:26 - Matt Householder Interview

Please visit our amazing sponsors and help to support the show:

Doncaster Gaming Market: https://www.doncastergamingmarket.com/

Bitmap Books - https://www.bitmapbooks.com

Check out PCBWay at https://pcbway.com for all your PCB needs

Take your business to the next level today and enjoy 3 months of Shopify for £1/month: 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://www.patreon.com/retrohour

Join our Discord channel: https://discord.gg/GQw8qp8

Website: http://theretrohour.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theretrohour/
X: https://twitter.com/retrohouruk
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/retrohouruk/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/theretrohour.com
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/theretrohour

Show notes

Solid Aluminium Xbox Prototype Actually Works: https://youtu.be/0OMP8JvGWNY
Lost Destruction Derby 2 Saturn Prototype Unearthed: https://tinyurl.com/5c75zhxa
James Pond Makes a Comeback on Modern Consoles: https://tinyurl.com/2s4j38wd
Castlevania Amiga Remake Gets CD32 Upgrade: https://tinyurl.com/47624rsa
Castlevania Comes to the Atari 2600 (!): https://tinyurl.com/2k5ub8f5
Sonic Finally Lands on the GX4000: https://tinyurl.com/bdm5svj2
Worms Turns 30 – Team17’s Classic Celebrated: https://tinyurl.com/mrvtutnc

Jaksot(500)

484: The Man Who Tried To Save the Amiga: Petro Tyschtschenko - The Retro Hour EP484

484: The Man Who Tried To Save the Amiga: Petro Tyschtschenko - The Retro Hour EP484

This week we hear about the turbulent post-Commodore years with former Amiga Technologies President, Petro Tyschtschenko. From scrambling to find buyers after Commodore’s collapse to selling Amiga 120...

13 Kesä 20251h 37min

483: Last Action Hero to Chronicles of Riddick: Cos Lazouras Tells All - The Retro Hour EP483

483: Last Action Hero to Chronicles of Riddick: Cos Lazouras Tells All - The Retro Hour EP483

This week we welcome Cos Lazouras, a true veteran with over three decades in the games industry. From blagging his way into Bits Studios to working with Vin Diesel on The Chronicles of Riddick, Cos sh...

5 Kesä 20251h 27min

482: Medal of Honor: The Inside Story with Chris Cross - The Retro Hour EP482

482: Medal of Honor: The Inside Story with Chris Cross - The Retro Hour EP482

This week we’re joined by Chris Cross, the original lead designer of Medal of Honor, who cut his teeth at Blizzard on Warcraft II and Diablo, worked on Small Soldiers: Squad Commander, survived Trespa...

29 Touko 20251h 38min

481: Tony Warriner & Stoo Cambridge’s UrbX Warriors: A Masterpiece for the ZX Spectrum Next - The Retro Hour EP481

481: Tony Warriner & Stoo Cambridge’s UrbX Warriors: A Masterpiece for the ZX Spectrum Next - The Retro Hour EP481

This week, we chat with two legends of the British gaming scene, Tony Warriner (Revolution Software) and Stoo Cambridge (Sensible Software),  who’ve teamed up to create UrbX Warriors, an incredible ne...

23 Touko 20251h 22min

480: Diablo, StarCraft & Comix Zone: Stieg Hedlund Reveals All - The Retro Hour EP480

480: Diablo, StarCraft & Comix Zone: Stieg Hedlund Reveals All - The Retro Hour EP480

This week we hear about the incredible career of game designer Stieg Hedlund! From his early days tinkering with BASIC on a Bally Astrocade to shaping some of the most iconic titles of the '90s like C...

15 Touko 20251h 25min

479: Psygnosis, G-Police & Writing FPS History with Stuart Maine - The Retro Hour EP479

479: Psygnosis, G-Police & Writing FPS History with Stuart Maine - The Retro Hour EP479

This week, we’re joined by game designer and author Stuart Maine, whose 28-year career spans iconic titles like Theme Hospital, Dungeon Keeper, and G-Police: Weapons of Justice. Stuart shares stories ...

9 Touko 20251h 31min

478: Why The Demo Scene Is Now a Cultural Treasure - The Retro Hour EP478

478: Why The Demo Scene Is Now a Cultural Treasure - The Retro Hour EP478

This week, we’re joined by the brilliant Tobias Kopka—aka Melkor of Haujobb—as we explore the importance of the demo scene. We explore how this underground digital art movement went from C64 crack int...

2 Touko 20251h 31min

477: American McGee - From Doom to Dark Wonderland - The Retro Hour EP477

477: American McGee - From Doom to Dark Wonderland - The Retro Hour EP477

We’re joined by legendary game developer American McGee, who takes us on a journey from his humble beginnings on the Timex Sinclair and Commodore 64 to designing iconic levels for Doom II and Quake. H...

25 Huhti 20251h 27min

Suosittua kategoriassa Vapaa-aika

antin-matka
nikotellen
ihan-oikeesti
sita
the-harlin-show
unicast
rss-nikotellen
mutsiputki
tahtitehdas
eturivi
oral-sex
everypodi
kaikkea-hyvaa
terkuin-jenna
teen-spirit
mysteeripodcast
kasper-ja-mikko
himocast
moottoripodi-2
20-30-40-podcast