213 The Jon Ritman Interview

Retro Gaming Discussion Show

Hello and welcome to another fantastic episode of RGDS. This time we interview a true legend, with the brilliant Jon Ritman.

Jon, the man behind such classics as Head Over Heels, Batman and Match Day games gives us an in-depth interview spanning across his full career. He is a true gent and I guarantee you will adore this in-depth interview. Show Notes:

The ZX81 book that taught Ritman Basic in 1 week was Sinclair ZX81 BASIC Programming written by Steven Vickers

http://zxnext.narod.ru/manuals/ZX81_Manual.pdf

The book that finally taught Ritman how to write Machine Code was Mastering Machine Code by Tony Baker

http://www.users.waitrose.com/~thunor/mmcoyzx81/

Ritman Raiders (1982) On the ZX81

A competent shooter on the ZX81 based on an obscure arcade game Jon stumbled across whilst camping with some mates.

Play the Game Online Here:

The Inspiration for Ritman Raiders we believe was an obscure 1980 Irem game called Uniwar S. Ritman would have played the bootleg version called Sky Raiders. The game is playable in MAME but here is a video of the game running https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRrt_OSZnkY.

Cosmic Debris (1983) On the ZX Spectrum

Jon next turned his sites to a great Asteroids clone.

Download the game here

Play the game using the Speculator emulator or the free online emulator here http://torinak.com/qaop

3D Combat Zone (1983) On the ZX Spectrum

Always looking to push himself, Jon next tried to tackle 3D graphics on the Spectrum, taking on the Atari game Battlezone.

Download the game here

Play the game using the Speculator emulator or the free online emulator here http://torinak.com/qaop

Dimension Destructors (1983) On the ZX Spectrum

Jon's next game was his first original game, being a 3D space shooter. It is great fun and is similar to how Star Raiders played.

Download the game here

Play the game using the Speculator emulator or the free online emulator here http://torinak.com/qaop

Bear Bovver (1983) On the ZX Spectrum

After someone brought in the Mattel Intellivision and the game Burger Time, Jon felt inspired to take on a clone that could rival his heroes at Ultimate Play The Game.

Download the game here

Play the game using the Speculator emulator or the free online emulator here http://torinak.com/qaop

Match Day (1984) On the Various

Always looking for what was popular, at a computer show he realised there was a desperate need for a Spectrum version on International Soccer on the C64. So despite having no personal interest in the sport, Jon set about making the best football series on the Spectrum.

Download the game here

Play the game using the Speculator emulator or the free online emulator here http://torinak.com/qaop

Batman (1986) On the Various

Jon next set his sights on a licensed game. Being the honour of the first Batman video game ever released.

Download the game here

Play the game using the Speculator emulator or the free online emulator here http://torinak.com/qaop

Head Over Heels (1987)

Jon would build on what he had learned from the Batman game, to make the second best Isometric game ever released.

Download the game here

Play the game using the Speculator emulator or the free online emulator here http://torinak.com/qaop

Match Day 2 (1987)

Jon would return to football for an amazing sequel.

Download the game here

Play the game using the Speculator emulator or the free online emulator here http://torinak.com/qaop

GLAM (1988 - 1992)

Jon would look to write development tools behind the scenes. This was the tool Rare used, so if you played Donkey Kong Country or any of their Gameboy or SNES classics, then chances are it was written using Jon's development tool.

Monster Max (1994)

Jon would use the GLAM tool for a new isometic game for the Gameboy. Called Monster Max it truely is the best isometric game ever released.

To watch the game:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4EVqKSPrcs

Super Match Soccer (Match Day 3) (1998)

Demo of game:

https://archive.org/details/SUPER_201402

Connect with us on

Twitter @RDGSpodcast

Paul Driscoll @TheDrisk

Gordon @UVTKingy

http://www.ritman.co.uk/

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