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. He shares behind-the-scenes stories from iD Software, reveals how a Ferrari-driving neighbour turned out to be John Carmack, and discusses the gothic inspirations behind American McGee’s Alice. Plus, we hear about his time at EA, and why being fired from iD turned out to be one of the best things that ever happened to him!

Contents:

00:00 - The Week's Retro News Stories
35:28 - American McGee Interview

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Show notes

YouTube Turns 20: https://tinyurl.com/mrx88ybs
Windows on Game Boy: https://tinyurl.com/25mkwpdp
OutRun the Movie: https://tinyurl.com/5n6r8ntk
Neon Hearts City: https://tinyurl.com/yvezebcn

Upcoming events

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Avsnitt(500)

488: "My Spectrum Caught Fire on Boxing Day!" - RetroBytes - The Retro Hour EP488

488: "My Spectrum Caught Fire on Boxing Day!" - RetroBytes - The Retro Hour EP488

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 r...

11 Juli 20251h 29min

487: “We Cold-Called Nintendo After a Few Ciders” The Story of Enigma Variations - The Retro Hour EP487

487: “We Cold-Called Nintendo After a Few Ciders” The Story of Enigma Variations - The Retro Hour EP487

This week, we’re joined by Darren Melbourne and Mark Greenshields to unravel the untold story of British software house Enigma Variations. From bargain licensing deals for Postman Pat and Bugs Bunny t...

3 Juli 20251h 33min

486: He Cracked Games at 14, Then Made Game Genie and Rock n’ Roll Racing - The Retro Hour EP486

486: He Cracked Games at 14, Then Made Game Genie and Rock n’ Roll Racing - The Retro Hour EP486

We’re joined by Allen Anderson, a veteran SNES coder, and one of the key programmers behind Rock n’ Roll Racing. Starting as a teenage game cracker in Arkansas, he shares how hacking games led him int...

27 Juni 20251h 40min

485: Psygnosis to PSN: Phil Gaskell on Shaping Sony’s Early Playstation Era - The Retro Hour EP485

485: Psygnosis to PSN: Phil Gaskell on Shaping Sony’s Early Playstation Era - The Retro Hour EP485

This week, we chat with game developer and producer Phil Gaskell, whose career spans from typing BASIC on a ZX81 to shaping titles at Psygnosis, Sony Playstation and Warthog. Phil shares behind-the-sc...

20 Juni 20251h 32min

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 Juni 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 Juni 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 Maj 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 Maj 20251h 22min

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