In this episode of Retro Titans, Phil sits down with coder, musician and game porter Ian "Hoffman" Ford — a veteran of the Amiga demoscene whose work has helped bring classic games to new audiences across modern retro platforms.
From creating tracker music as a teenager during the UK home computer boom to porting iconic titles like Metal Gear, Shinobi, Golden Axe and Turrican, Ian has spent decades combining technical expertise with a passion for retro gaming. Equally at home composing soundtracks, designing sound effects and writing low-level code, he occupies a unique place in the modern retro scene.
Together, Phil and Ian explore the worlds of game porting and retro game music, discussing what it takes to faithfully bring classic games to new hardware, how vintage systems shape the creative process, and why preserving the look, feel and sound of these games remains so important today.
In this episode, we explore:
1️⃣ The art of porting classic games
What really happens when a game moves from one platform to another — and why understanding both the original hardware and the destination system is only the beginning.
2️⃣ From the Amiga demoscene to modern retro development
How a teenage passion for music, coding and creativity evolved into a career spanning decades of retro gaming projects.
3️⃣ Music, sound and atmosphere in retro games
From tracker music and game soundtracks to sound design and audio production, Ian explains how he creates music that enhances the retro gaming experience.
4️⃣ Head Over Heels: Return to Blacktooth
A behind-the-scenes look at one of the most anticipated modern retro releases, and the work involved in bringing the Atari ST project to the Amiga.
5️⃣ Preserving gaming history for new generations
From Metal Gear on the MSX to modern Neo Geo projects, Ian discusses why classic games still matter and how they continue to inspire today's developers and players.
Ian also shares stories from the Amiga demo scene, explains how a chance discovery of the Metal Gear source code sparked his first major porting project, discusses his work on Seekanoid and Roguecraft DX, and reveals the games that shaped his life — from Tetris and Journey to the Neo Geo classic Neo Turf Masters.
🔗 Guest links
GitHub: https://github.com/h0ffman
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/h0ffman
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/h0ffman.bsky.social
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@h0ffman
🎙️ Credits
Retro Titans is sponsored by Thalamus Digital Publishing
Produced by Rocket Media, with voiceover from Mark Silk
Music: "8 Bit Skyway" © Piotr Pacyna
Used under licence from shockwave-sound.com
