2018: An Amiga Podcast Odyssey
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by Puni/Void
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by Puni/Void
Back in December 2016 I wrote an article for Versus about the various Amiga podcasts out there. A year and more has passed since then and I ask myself, how's the Amiga podcast scene looking today?
In this article I'll provide a quick overview of the different shows out there.
The Two Amigos
The show that has grown the most since last time is with no doubt the Amigos Amiga Podcast.
Aaron and John (Boat), both from West Virginia in the US, started out with their show back in 2015 and have since then launched their own website (everythingamiga.com), other non-Amiga projects and more. They also have an established team (which they call the "brain trust") with several people participating with articles, graphics, hardware guides and so forth.
If you look at their YouTube-channel and website, you'll quickly see that there is now an "Amigos" community consisting of fans all over the world. Sometimes Aaron and John receive packages in the mail from them with sweets, magazines, games and all kinds of other stuff. They open these presents live on air, which can be entertaining to watch.
The focus of the podcast is still Amiga games, but they have mentioned demos from time to time as well. I have a hope that they'll make a special episode about the Demoscene in the future.
The One with all the Celebrities
Dan Wood and Ravi Abbott are still going strong with their The Retro Hour podcast. As I write this, they've just released episode 121! That is very impressive to say the least!
One thing you'll quickly notice about The Retro Hour is that it always has interesting guests. If you want to listen to interviews with developers of old games, software or with people who played other roles the industry in the past, this podcast delivers the goods. Their guest-list is longer than my daughters wish-list for Christmas!
John Romero (Wolfenstein 3D, Doom), Martyn Brown (Team 17 founder), Trevor Dickinson (Mr. Amiga), Ben Vost (Amiga Format editor) and Al Lowe (Leisure Suit Larry) are some of the people they've had on the show.
The Amiga still has a big place in their hearts and both Dan and Ravi are to be seen in various Amiga related videos on YouTube. As last time, their address is theretrohour.com.
We're Talking Next-Gen
AMIcast by Krzysztof Radzikowski a.k.a Radzik is quite different from the two podcasts we've looked at earlier in this text. His focus is more orientated towards the time we're living in now and to were we are heading in the future. He also looks past the games and into productivity software, operating systems and hardware. Not everything has to be retro even if we're into the Amiga, so I find Radzik's approach refreshing. It is also good to listen to topics about other stuff than games. As we know, there are more to our platform than just gaming.
As I wrote in the last issue of Versus, Radzik is an AmigaOS 4 user and owns an AmigaOne X5000 computer. If you're not familiar with the AmigaOne range of machines, then you should have a look at A-EON Technology and their projects (AmigaOne X1000, X5000, A1222), but also on the SAM's from ACube Systems and original AmigaOne's from EyeTech.
Since Radzik has hands-on experience with AmigaOne and uses his machine all the time, he provides the listener with a valuable insight into the current status of the AmigaOS 4 platform, both its strengths and weaknesses.
During the last year he's done plenty of interesting interviews, even with members of the Versus staff (Browallia and Menthos).
I highly recommend you checking out his podcast and I'm sure we'll hear more from him in the future. The address is amigapodcast.com.
New Kid on the Block
A new Amiga podcast in 2017? Yes, that is right! The YouTuber Lorfarius launched the AMIGArama podcast back in October last year and has since then produced 28 episodes.
Lorfarius approach is on Amiga and gaming. In each episode he reviews a new game and so far he's had a look at titles such as DreamWeb, The Secret of the Monkey Island, The Speris Legacy and Brutal Sports Football. He's open to suggestions for games to review, so you can visit his website (amigarama.com) and submit your ideas.
I've enjoyed listening to many of his episodes and look forward to more in the future.
His website is amigarama.com in case you'd like to have a listen.
Boing, Boing from Germany
Ok, I'll admit it right away. I'm not proud of this, but I have almost zero knowledge of the German language. Had it in school, but failed to pay enough attention to the teacher back then. That is something I regret now, as it would have been cool to know this language!
Anyway, from Germany comes the podcast Boings World! It has been around since 2010, but is only in German, so it does not have the reach the other podcasts has.
Their latest podcast was released on the 28th of April this year and features an interview with Geit from the MorphOS team.
From their archive they've done a lot of interviews with various developers (Bert Jahn / WHDLoad, Markus Tillmann / Amiga32.de, Frank Wendt and more).
The focus seems, like in the case with AMIcast, to be on more current Amiga stuff rather than the retro part.
If you want to check it out, you can visit their website at boingsworld.de.
This is the Emerald Isle Calling
Since the last issue of Versus, we've seen the emergence of a brand new podcast from Ireland! It is called The Amiga Ireland Podcast and is connected to the Commodore Amiga Users Ireland group.
They've done a lot of great episodes where they discuss the latest Amiga news and what is currently going on in the community.
It is worth mentioning that they often mention topics related to the demoscene, but they cover everything from hardware to software as well. One can say that their show fits all Amiga flavours.
They also arrange an event for Amiga users over in Ireland with games competitions and so forth.
For those who'd like to give it a go, please visit their page at amigausers.ie/listen/.
Hopes for the Future
We've now had a look at the current status of the Amiga podcast scene. It is clear that we've got a lot of different shows to choose from these days and whether you're into retro gaming or next-gen Amiga systems, there is something for you out there. Most areas are covered, except for the Amiga demoscene. If there is a new show I'd like to listen to, it would be one about Amiga demos. Who knows, maybe such a show will emerge in 2018?
If there is a show I've missed, please send me a message at punivoid at protonmail.com. I will then include this podcast in the next round-up.
Thanks for reading and hope you'll check out these shows if you haven't already. Cheers!