503: “The Demo Scene Taught Us to Do the Impossible” – Erik Simon of Thalion - The Retro Hour EP503

The Retro Hour (Retro Gaming Podcast)

The Retro Hour

Leisure, Technology, Video Games

4.9 • 558 Ratings

🗓️ 24 October 2025

⏱️ 73 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This week's show features Erik Simon, co-founder of the legendary Thalion Software, the minds behind Lionheart, Ambermoon, and No Second Prize. Erik shares hilarious and jaw-dropping tales from the golden age of Amiga development, how the demo scene shaped Thalion’s “make the impossible happen” ethos, why Lionheart used every Amiga graphics mode. Recorded live at Amiga 40 in Germany.

Contents:

00:00 - The Week's Retro News Stories
46:59 - Erik Simon Interview

Amiga Report Archive: https://bigbookofamigahardware.com/amigareport/
This Week In Retro: https://www.rmcretro.com/this-week-in-retro

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Show notes

This ‘In The Hunt’ Tech Demo Shows What the 16-Bit Generation Lost: https://tinyurl.com/mw94hsup
Cambridge University Rescues Data from Old Floppy Disks: https://tinyurl.com/yc6tse6u
Vampire’s Veil – A New Castlevania-Inspired Indie: https://tinyurl.com/ycx3n3zh
Ymir Emulator Hits 90% Sega Saturn Compatibility: https://tinyurl.com/3a9c6z23
Fear Effect Returns with New Features: https://tinyurl.com/mttcdftj
Bubble Bobble Remastered for C64: https://tinyurl.com/5ftruknf

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Coming up on this week's show, a new demo for a forgotten console lens.
0:04.0	An arcade classic gets remastered for the C64.
0:08.0	And we talk Lionheart and Follyon with Eric Simon.
0:16.0	And the Retro Hour podcast is made possible every Friday thanks to our incredible sponsors,
0:25.6	including our mates at replay events.
0:27.8	Now, they're bringing the UK's biggest retro games market back to London on Sunday,
0:33.4	the 9th of November at the Royal National Hotel in Russell Square, London.
0:38.1	Now, this has been running for 10 years, still the biggest and the best.
0:41.6	Pop along and get some incredible bargains.
0:43.4	Doors open at 10.30am, and you can get your tickets right now at London Gaming Market.com.
0:48.9	And our friends at Bitmap Books, who will actually be there at the London Gaming Market,
0:52.8	showing off their entire library, plus at their new definitive book of SNES RPGs volume one now weighing in at more than
1:01.7	550 pages this first book covers the letters a to k so you can expect games like i have the
1:07.5	beholder breath of fire chrono trigger Earth, and lots more as well.
1:11.6	You can pre-order your copy right now and check out the rest of their retrogaming collection
1:15.1	at bitmapbooks.com.
1:19.5	Hello and welcome to the Retro Hour podcast, episode number 503, your weekly dose of retro gaming
1:25.5	and technology news with me, Dan Wood.
1:27.9	Me Ravi Abbott. and me Joe Fox.
1:30.6	And great to ever joining us for the podcast.
1:32.2	It comes out every single Friday and just loves the world of old school video games and computers.
1:38.4	It brings you up to speed on all the big stories from the world of retro from over the last seven days.
	...

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