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

The Retro Hour (Retro Gaming Podcast)

The Retro Hour

Technology, Leisure, Video Games

4.9 • 558 Ratings

🗓️ 27 June 2025

⏱️ 101 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

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 into the industry, the chaos of SNES development with homemade dev kits, and how he programmed the Game Genie under insane deadlines, and the story behind the legendary cancelled Sega Saturn title, Propaganda.

Contents:

00:00 - The Week's Retro News Stories
38:20 - Allen Anderson Interview

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Show notes:

Switch 2 Emulation Issues: https://youtu.be/A3ylCAr0dbs
Maplin Returns: https://tinyurl.com/23w9xy5p
Duke Nukem Netflix Project: https://tinyurl.com/yc8euk4h
Turrican CPC Remaster: https://tinyurl.com/mr3se7jp
Linux Format Closes: https://tinyurl.com/5e9dhzcx

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Coming up on this week's show, has the Switch 2 got emulation problems?
0:05.0	A long-rugging tech magazine comes to an end.
0:08.0	And we chat with legendary programmer Alan Anderson.
0:25.6	And the Retro Hour podcast is brought to you each and every Friday with our sponsor,
0:27.5	our great friends, a bitmap books.
0:30.0	Now, today, lots of Super Nintendo chat.
0:36.0	Have you seen their incredible book, Super Nintendo slash Super Famicom, a visual compendium?
0:39.5	Now, in stock now, this is a real love letter to the SNES,
0:41.1	covering some of the biggest titles on there.
0:43.0	Actually, all the titles you remember,
0:45.1	and some forgotten classics as well,
0:48.4	weighing in at more than 500 pages,
0:50.4	and bringing those games to life alongside gorgeous screenshots,
0:52.2	text anecdotes, and lots more as well
0:53.9	if you love Super Nintendo
0:54.9	Gaming and must buy. You can check it out in the rest of their retro gaming collection
0:58.3	at bitmapbooks.com. And with our friends at PCB way. Now maybe you're working on a retro
1:06.2	project over the summer. Have you seen their website? They offer fully featured custom PCB prototyping, and if you're in the market for services
1:13.7	like 3D printing and injection molding, they've got you covered and maybe need some ideas.
1:18.1	They've got an incredible shared project section on their website.
1:20.9	And also get an instant quote for yours right now.
1:23.9	Head to their website at PCBway.com.
	...

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