The Making of Syndicate - Alex Trowers (Bullfrog Productions)

Рет қаралды 75,076

Ай бұрын

Learn how Bullfrog Productions created Syndicate with this exclusive interview with Alex Trowers. Alex also worked on Theme Park, Hi-Octane, Magic Carpet and Dungeon Keeper 2. Alex reflects on how he helped create these classic titles, and shares some really fun trivia on his work with Bullfrog and what the gaming industry was really like in the 90s. Alex helped design some of Bullfrog's best ever levels and became one of gamings most important level designers in the 90s.
While listening to how Syndicate and other classic titles were made, please enjoy this part playthrough of Syndicate.
Alex reflects on his career in gaming and even shares some insights on making Amiga and PC classics and his views on the gaming scene. Alex also shares some amazing behind the scenes and never heard stories on how he gave so many classic games their iconic feel.
If you ever wanted to learn how Bullfrog Productions created so many classics, check out this interview today.
Please check out the Arcade Attack homepage for all our retro reviews, podcasts, interviews and lots more: www.arcadeattack.co.uk/
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#syndicate #dungeonkeeper #bullfrog #retrogaming #amiga

Пікірлер: 399

@MikeD-hn9hf 14 күн бұрын

I'm 42 years old and I STILL occasionally think about this game. It was so immersive. I kept hoping that one day there would be something made to rival the experience, but with AI NPCs and squadmates to take the whole thing to the stratosphere. Maybe this is the decade.

@grendelbiter303 8 күн бұрын

There is this game called Satellite Reign, not nearly as good but still a solid game.

@timothywells8589 7 күн бұрын

Me too, it came bundled with our HP 486 in 1994. 11 year old me used to sneek downstairs when mum and dad had gone to bed and play late into the night, good times. I didn't have a similar experience or wanting to play all night again until BG3 was released.

@MikeD-hn9hf 7 күн бұрын

@@timothywells8589 haha! How great! Thanks for sharing my dude

@MrJonnyrebel86 7 күн бұрын

Me too!

@Luos_83 6 күн бұрын

same!

@iwasinnamuknow Ай бұрын

Bullfrog and Westwood were my entrance to PC gaming and I will never forget those times. I'll be forever grateful for the people that worked on those games

@ArcadeAttack Ай бұрын

True pioneers of their field. I agree.

@Charles_Bro-son 25 күн бұрын

Bullfrog, Westwood, Origin... all eliminated by EA^^

@razorback0z 17 күн бұрын

Same.

@Groaznic 9 күн бұрын

Same.

@Jakob.Hamburg 6 күн бұрын

@@Charles_Bro-son Again, capitalism killed some lovely things.

@rocznik83 14 күн бұрын

Putting those "Syndicate" floppies into my Amiga 500 and getting to see that intro for the first time was a landmark experience for me as a gamer.

@gluehoof573 10 күн бұрын

Completing Syndicate was such an event in my young (at the time) life, I can still remember it. My squad was all armed with lasers for the last mission, and I cut through it like butter. Good times. Thanks to everyone involved for creating something that left such a positive impression on me.

@a_wise_peach 2 күн бұрын

I did a 1 week work experience for Bullfrog arranged by my school back in 1992, and consequently did playtesting for Syndicate. As a 15-year old I was over the moon to eventually see my name listed on the credits. Sean Cooper gave me a lift to Guildford every morning, and I got in trouble with Peter Molyneux for sitting in his chair. The original Syndicate that I playtested had 8 agents as opposed to 4.

@digitaltreats Ай бұрын

when i was a kid,I played this game, i had the 4 guys pile into the transport and then they got into a fire fight and they all popped out on fire. For a kid that was crazy. One of the most memorable moments in amiga gaming.

@jmh8697 25 күн бұрын

Syndicate still works as a fantastic game. Finding fun ways to assassinate targets, upgrading agents' hardware, 'persuading' civilians, police and even enemy agents - amazing! We need a HD revamp!

@scarter9447 24 күн бұрын

Satellite Reign is a good modern spiritual successor, very good in it own right in it advances the original game play of Syndicate. And its 80% off in Steam right now.

@telmovaz 23 күн бұрын

@@scarter9447 Satellite Reign is great but has more in common with Commandos than Syndicate in terms of gameplay. no other game exists right now that plays like syndicate 93

@jmh8697 22 күн бұрын

@scarter9447 I'll check it out, thanks.

@harbinger200 13 күн бұрын

@@scarter9447 Yep, satellite rign is not syndicate.

@scarter9447 13 күн бұрын

@@harbinger200 your right it's not. It's superior in modern gaming to the computation bound time bound syndicate. Thankfully we still can enjoy syndicate on hardware or software if we so choose.

@fidelrivera2887 12 күн бұрын

A friend of mine had this on his PC and I didn't understand it at first. So complicated compared to the console games I was used to. After playing it a few times I realized it was something special, something different. It had a level of sophistication I had never experienced up until then and I always knew seeing that Bullfrog logo when booting up a game meant a good time with a quality game.

@symmetricat188 Ай бұрын

This was great. Bullfrog shall never be forgotten. Thank you both.

@ArcadeAttack Ай бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it

@symmetricat188 Ай бұрын

@@ArcadeAttack Now I'm in the middle of your Mortal Kombat interview with John Tobias. You're doing good work. Subscribed.

@skeleton.wizard 8 күн бұрын

"SE-LEC-TED" is forever burned in my brain from the bazillion hours I played this game.

@barkingboyuk 29 күн бұрын

Syndicate is still one of my all time favourite games. Played for many, many hours on the Amiga version.

@efpcvintageplanet3406 Ай бұрын

This title bundled with the Creative multimedia kit in 1994/95 played on my 486 dx2 66 made me fall in love with PC gaming. Futuristic and brilliant considering that it was released in 1993 and has a wonderful soundtrack like all Bullfrog masterpieces. Thanks ❤

@unbearifiedbear1885 Ай бұрын

"Multimedia PC" was _the_ buzzword when I was a kid 😂❤ Going to my mates house to do homework because he had Encarta '97 (but usually just playing Duke 3d, C&C Red Alert or modded Quake instead lol)

@RicardoDawkins Ай бұрын

yeah ..those Creative Labs kits introduced many of us to the real multimedia gaming.

@efpcvintageplanet3406 Ай бұрын

@@RicardoDawkins i agree i had thi experience in 1994. I just found a socket 7 PC already boxed with Pentium 100 and a original Creative Labs multimedia kit with Vibra and 8X Creative CDROM connected on the sound card controller. A sort of time travel machine 😉

@RicardoDawkins Ай бұрын

@@efpcvintageplanet3406 1994 was the year for me too

@matka5130 Ай бұрын

it was gamechanger for me too

@graveborne8724 7 күн бұрын

I still play Syndicate.. im 43. Great interview, Bullfrog did lots of good stuff back in the day

@jean-claudelionbeat3325 7 күн бұрын

Can you please share how you play it? I have Mac OS gear.

@Bedlam83 24 күн бұрын

Finishing this game and the American Revolt expansion are still some of my proudest gaming moments as a kid. :D

@veritypickle8471 Ай бұрын

Loved Syndicate. Sorry for copying it lads.

@BryBry2ply Ай бұрын

Me too 😄

@SteveT3D Ай бұрын

I remember x-copying it several times for chums at school!

@Chobbito Ай бұрын

Damn x-copy, yeah I got it from an outdoor market as part of a 5 games for £1 at the age of 6 not knowing what it was. Put it in followed the instructions and a few mins later I had a duplicate. I thought great! Got my cousins games and copied them for me (including Syndicate) and he got copies of mine and so forth. I didn't know it was a bit of a dick move then but it did introduce me to this amazing game.

@veritypickle8471 Ай бұрын

@@SteveT3D Yup. That and the Stag demos.

@SteveT3D Ай бұрын

@@veritypickle8471 I just remember Amiga Syndicate being a bugger because it was multi-disk, everyone wanted a copy because it was awesome, but very few seemed to have 4 spare DS/DD disks which weren't totally worn out and difficult to copy to!

@themartywilson 7 күн бұрын

A truly incredible game. I finished it on the Amiga 500 back in the day. I used to love making an army of persuadeatron minions!

@PhillipJones16384 Ай бұрын

Absolutely fascinating to hear Alex talk about old times. My time spent working on Syndicate at Bullfrog with Sean, Alex, etc, was, by far, the best experience I ever had working in the games industry. Sadly I never really kept in touch with my colleagues from there, so it's great to hear Alex went on to do many good things elsewhere.

@ArcadeAttack Ай бұрын

Thanks Phillip. I'll pass on this message to Alex. You too are a legend. Thanks for checking out the interview. I have an interview work Sean coming out on KZfaq soon.

@PhillipJones16384 Ай бұрын

@@ArcadeAttack I look forward to checking that out then, too! :)

@PhillipJones16384 Ай бұрын

@@ArcadeAttack One of my favourite memories of Syndicate is when I added some logic to the Agents to give them a very low random chance of self destructing when they were very low on health. I didn't *tell* anyone I'd added that in... When Peter was playing it one time shortly after, there was a big explosion noise and Peter shouted "What the **** just happened?!" from across the room. Ah, I laughed...

@BulkPaint Ай бұрын

Wait, Mad Fil? Holy crap dude! You should totally tell them about that interview Amiga coverdisk we wrote...

@PhillipJones16384 Ай бұрын

@@BulkPaint Alex! My man I'd entirely forgotten about than nonsense until now! Great Maker, you've a better memory than me... Was that for Amiga Format?

@Griboslaw 17 күн бұрын

Bullfrog was best studios back in the days, for me personally. Loved their games, still playing them. Syndicate was amazing, I have to play again my English was close to nonexisting at that time. Golden era of games made by gamers, unlike sad times we see today.

@mobbingarage9522 Ай бұрын

Hey guys, somewhat related, my experience with Syndicate was the 2012 reboot, which I absolutely loved and still play. What drew me to the game originally was the fact that it was actually banned here in Australia due to, uh, "excessive violence" lol. Loved it and it helped me discover the original! Extremely cool. Thanks lads.

@pokiou 9 күн бұрын

why this game was never rebooted... is beyond me. This is possibly my most played game along with Jagged Alliance.

@super80sgamer 19 күн бұрын

Bullfrog was always my favourite studio of all time, Syndicate was mindblowing! I'm collecting Bullfrog games as of late and the memories make me soooo nostalgic, these guys are rockstars in my eyes. Thanks for the interview, really interesting!

@jean-claudelionbeat3325 7 күн бұрын

Populous

@zZiL341yRj736 Ай бұрын

Populous The Beginning was an amazing game. Love Bullfrog

@matthewdempler7868 Ай бұрын

Have it on 3DO and PC. I love Bullfrog games, DK1 and 2 were genius and such fun! Theme Park was another.

@erl7466 8 күн бұрын

dude i fricken loved that game. i’ve been looking for something like it ever since. how did they capture the fun and strategy so well but keep the amazing immersion.

@joelalain 16 күн бұрын

that intro, in 1993, felt epic and so high tech! i saw it so many times. this game was epic and such an era!

@manofaction1807 Ай бұрын

One of my top 5 favorite games of all time. Alex, get The Bullfrog back into action!!!!

@ArcadeAttack Ай бұрын

Come on Alex!

@TheGreatSteve Ай бұрын

I still have my original copy on floppy disc. The explosions caused major slowdown back then. It was like being in a movie where they used slow motion during the action scenes.

@ArcadeAttack Ай бұрын

Great memories for sure.

@davephillips6733 Ай бұрын

I loved this game, although I wasn’t quite old enough to grasp it. Syndicate would be amazing in a Modern form.

@ArcadeAttack Ай бұрын

I fully agree! Bring on a full on remaster!

@ShishakliAus Ай бұрын

Satellite Reign is a spiritual successor

@ghost-rv9vy Ай бұрын

@@ShishakliAus but it's slow, not as violent and overall just kind of boring. I finished it with some friends and it was fun playing co-op but ultimately it's no Syndicate.

@dipshidian 20 күн бұрын

Excellent interview! Very fun to hear about Bullfrog’s work process. I’m simply dying to hear some more behind-the-scenes goodies from the making of other Bullfrog classics like Theme Park, Magic Carpet (1 and 2), Hi-Octane and Dungeon Keeper (etc.). It was such an interesting studio from what I have been able gather from reading and listening to ex-Bullfrog people.

@ArcadeAttack 20 күн бұрын

Thank you. Make sure you check out my Mark Webley interview also.

@FreelancerND Күн бұрын

Such an awesome game, I'm past 40 and Syndicate, together with Syndicate Wars hold a very special place in my memory.

@AFourEyedGeek 15 күн бұрын

Thanks for the interview guys, very enjoyable. I had Syndicate and Powermonger on the Mega Drive as a kid and I loved them and when I got a PC for Christmas 95, I got a whole bunch of Bullfrog games because of those two. I enjoyed so many of their games like many people, my favourite probably being Syndicate or Dungeon Keeper 2.

@ArcadeAttack 15 күн бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it!

@ryanfurness8943 10 күн бұрын

what an amazing interview ! In was only killing some time, thought I'd spend 5 mins on this but WOW ! I got totally sucked into this video / interview and couldn't stop watching / listening. This was a pleasure to listen to. The interviewee was incredibly interesting and engaging, With some fantastic insights and nuggets of information. (It helps that I'm a massive Bulfrog and Amiga fan) but even so, I was hooked. Thanks very much indeed

@peachesfruitella 9 күн бұрын

absolutely loved listening to this - cracking interview, and such brilliant insights, not just from the past, but from an OG living on in the realtime

@ArcadeAttack 9 күн бұрын

Thank you so much.

@fordprefect80 Ай бұрын

I loved Powermonger, probably my favourite on the Amiga. Had a few goes of Syndicate on the pc but once I discovered Doom, pretty much everything else got sidelined. Good interview, thanks.

@ArcadeAttack Ай бұрын

Doom did conquer all - I was the same!

@HansMilling 5 күн бұрын

I agree, the first Syndicate is the best one. The look and feel of the game is awesome. Like the first Baldurs Gate, Desperados etc where it’s real 2D graphics painted or rendered in details. Even modern games in 3D do not have this look and feel. Like the first two Diablo games compared to the latest. I wonder if anyone would make such old style graphics (but for 4K) today, that would be awesome.

@jomartin3850 4 күн бұрын

I got Syndicate Plus (includes American Revolt expansion) with a new PC my dad got. Absolutely fell in love, and kept going back to it year on year. Preferred the aesthetics and gameplay vs Sydnicate Wars, and yes the Gauss gun was amazing. 🤩 Thank you so much for so many fun childhood memories!

@tomahzo 22 күн бұрын

Brilliant interview! To this day one of the top-3 best games I've ever played. It's like, at that time I was completely sold on Dune 2 and Syndicate. Syndicate was my Blade Runner / future urban warfare fantasy and Dune 2 was the large-scale battlefield fantasy. It's an unbelievably good game. You could play it in so many different ways too. If you just wanted to screw around and "persuade" an entire city and cram every person into a tiny car and blow the car up wity flame throwers and watch like 100 people run around on fire, you could do that. It's like... there was no end to all the fun in that game ;D. I totally respected what Syndicate Wars was about and I wanted to play it but I simply didn't have the 3D accelerator hardware necessary to make it run well enough. Anyone could play Syndicate - it ran very well on an Amiga 500 from floppy, the PC version ran perfectly fine too. Syndicate Wars was slightly more demanding. But I appreciated what they did :).

@iambranding 14 күн бұрын

What a fascinating guest. A pleasure to listen. Keep up with the interviews, they're awesome 👍

@ArcadeAttack 14 күн бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks

@AAron-gr3jk Күн бұрын

Iconic formative game of my youth from Bullfrog. Any game by that company was special. Loved High Octane

@unbearifiedbear1885 Ай бұрын

Syndicate Wars on PlayStation was my introduction to these games, absolutely loved them.. some of the most nostalgic sound effects in gaming! ❤ The lore is great, I always pictured this being the Earth in the "Alien" universe; backstabbing, warring corporations, carrying out their own agendas, above and beyond the law and in spite of the dull prison'ed masses! Beautifully grimdark.. the pinnacle of cyberpunk dystopia Many thanks for the video and the insights ❤

@ArcadeAttack Ай бұрын

Amazing feedback and great analysis. Love this.

@unbearifiedbear1885 Ай бұрын

@@ArcadeAttack 🙏🍻

@James_and_KateSC 4 сағат бұрын

Brilliant and fascinating interview, loved hearing about the old Bullfrog days. Thanks guys!.

@ArcadeAttack 2 сағат бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it

@patrickmo4429 4 күн бұрын

Thx to Alex working on all this greet Games!! Still one of the best Games i´ve ever played!!

@dbznappa 5 күн бұрын

Syndicate is one of the greatest games ever made. I recently finished a playthrough for the first time in like 10 years.

@seebarry4068 Ай бұрын

Just bought on gog. Looking forward to seeing it again. I need a crt.

@ArcadeAttack Ай бұрын

Hope you enjoy it!

@stefanrenz3584 4 күн бұрын

I remember how I couldnt wait to return from vacation to play this game again. And how I spent hours of no-game time to plan in advance how I would spend my credits and which gear to buy. Amazing, might be the most impressive game I ever played.

@flashtu 8 күн бұрын

I played it from dusk till dawn back these days and i dont know why but it flew throgh my head from time to time.

@StealthBoyElite Күн бұрын

I remember getting the demo for this game (A500) on a cover disk, same magazine issue that had Pro Tracker on the other disk (I think it was Amiga Format). Such a classic cover disk issue. And I instantly knew I had to get the full game, which I did. Still one of my favourite games on the Amiga and well ahead of its time for many of the features it introduced.

@Lackooo84 4 күн бұрын

This was one of my favourite mega drive games. Played with my classmate alot back in 94 when I was 10.

@blockboygames5956 2 күн бұрын

Thank you for a great interview. Fascinating

@ArcadeAttack 2 күн бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it

@WestOzCards 6 күн бұрын

Syndicate was my favorite for many years!!! Syn2 I didn't like because of how it looked visually regardless of the exciting 3D and moving inside buildings, I agree it just didn't feel the same. HUGE Thanks to everyone that made this game. It was awesome to hear all the fun you had making it and refining it!

@IainShepherd1 27 күн бұрын

Love this. Really gives a flavour of those times. Thanks!

@ArcadeAttack 27 күн бұрын

Thanks for listening

@Garycarlyle 2 күн бұрын

My fav game ever. Changed my life. Opened my eyes to a lot of things.

@tunnfisk 6 күн бұрын

Man, Bullfrog did some absolute bangers back in the day. Populace, Powermonger, Syndicate, Magic Carpet, Theme Park and Dungeon Keeper. That's a whole childhood of memories. All this back when each and every game being released was totally new and totally different from the previous one. The golden age of video games.

@gabrieldufour1945 4 күн бұрын

If there's any chance you could rander the message, tell Alex Towers a random Syndicate fan says hi and thank you. When most of my entourage was into either console games or Doom, my mind got blown by this game. This is the first video game that built the concept of fan-fiction in my head. I would write Syndicate's story as homework for school and some teachers were fine with that. It sparked my imagination like no other game at the time and I only played a demo with one assassination mission at this point. So thank you for this! And I played Syndicate by Starbreeze Studio; actually own on copy right now; and...well... Though I think a FPS but with the base Syndicate formula, doing random mission with a planing phase and all that, would have been amazing. Great show and great interview, btw!

@alexc8209 22 күн бұрын

I only played Syndicate II on playstation (i think) and it was AMAZING. The gameplay, the ambience, the way it was challenging but not frustratiing, simple but not boring. To me this was the perfect game and I dont think ive found much better all these years since.

@ArcadeAttack 22 күн бұрын

It's a true classic. I agree.

@angus3963 10 күн бұрын

So many hours of my childhood were spent playing Bullfrog and Westwood titles, Syndicate was at the top of the list of games, Alex was a true craftsman and I loved all the titles he worked on.

@endlessstrata6988 23 күн бұрын

I still remember that damn Ocean Rig mission. Took my 15 year old self A LOT of time to figure out how to game the push from the miniguns. Good times.

@BrettDel 10 күн бұрын

Just the music was amazing it immediately puts you in that world. Hours an hours spent in a dark room playing this game. The mini guns the GAUSS GUNS!!! COLORADO!!!

@slakjawnotsayin5451 26 күн бұрын

I loved this game back in the day! Was actually going to look it up a couple of weeks ago but forgot.

@Novastar.SaberCombat 23 күн бұрын

I really enjoyed this game back in the day. 🙂 It was really immersive, bizarre, whimsical, unnerving, and the design elements were TRULY legendary for the time. I couldn't believe how awesome every aspect of the game was--not merely the gameplay, but the sound design, UI, music, mapping system, items, economy, etc. Was there ever a Syndicate 2? 🤔 I don't think I ever heard if it existed.

@ArcadeAttack 23 күн бұрын

Couldn't agree more!

@SebaztienHawke-ci5hm 8 күн бұрын

If that artist banished to his own office drew the female cyborg with the wild hips, he’s ok by me. Bitmap Bros made Speedball 2… and that is legendary IMO. The themesong for it hit so hard!

@chrishexx3360 10 күн бұрын

Bullfrog are most deeply missed gaming studio. I totally lost myself in so many of their titles and can remember enjoy them so vividly till this day. I keep waiting for some kind of remaster or remake of Syndicate.

@azynkron 9 күн бұрын

Fond memories of this one. The scifi and cyberpunk setting and vibe is truly excellent.

@RootiferasRetroGameplay 20 күн бұрын

I love Bullfrog games, just yesterday I was playing Theme Hospital on my DOS PC, probably I'll continue play today. I've never played Syndicate but I have Syndicate Wars, it's on my list of games to play.

@ArcadeAttack 20 күн бұрын

All amazing games! Love Bullfrog too!!!

@geminijinxies7258 Ай бұрын

Awesome interview with this talented and nice guy! It's just too bad they never got to release the Stunt Car Racer sequel. The first game was so different and fun and I always wanted another one.

@ArcadeAttack Ай бұрын

Couldn't agree more! Alex is a legend and Stunt Car Racer 2 would have insane.

@CoderQuest-mn8sh 9 күн бұрын

MY GOSH THANKS I love Syndicate, thank you so much for this!

@jeremiahblum7833 20 күн бұрын

I remember how Syndicate blew all our minds when it came out. We were instantly obsessed. Great memories 😃

@drewlovelyhell4892 9 күн бұрын

One of my top favourite Amiga games. I enjoyed the atmosphere and the gameplay, but it was the graphics that got me. The cool isometric buildings, fences, lamp-posts.. I just loved the style.

@jdraven0890 Күн бұрын

What a great game, I still remember building up to that last mission

@oakwoodgroup294 Ай бұрын

Great interview, really good interesting listen 👍

@ArcadeAttack Ай бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it

@EdwardLewisIV 24 күн бұрын

Man, it's been years since I even thought about this game. So good.

@thehappywanderer1 8 күн бұрын

Oh my God, I loved this game. I played this for a long time

@CorTec 11 күн бұрын

wow incredible interview, I really appreciate it.

@ArcadeAttack 11 күн бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it!

@trashcan9001 Ай бұрын

thank you very much for this, i love Syndicate!

@ArcadeAttack Ай бұрын

Glad you enjoy it!

@gabrielgrube Ай бұрын

thank you for this game! :)

@ArcadeAttack Ай бұрын

Glad you enjoy it! Alex was a top guest.

@paulaburrows8660 Ай бұрын

The hours I put into this on my good old Amiga 1200.

@dukedelkool 6 күн бұрын

Wow, nice games from Bullfrog!! I played both, the first syndicate, the one shown in the video, and the next one in 1998 or so... syndicate wars.

@XManBG33 11 күн бұрын

It is an awesome interview and great memories! However, it is not about Syndicate only, but a lot of other Bullfrog games. Thus, one note about the game played in the background - you could add some gameplay from the other mentioned games too!

@ArcadeAttack 11 күн бұрын

Fair enough! Good shout.

@rolytnz 7 күн бұрын

That game was revolutionary. Many a late hour playing this into the night on my *486* - and so many games made by Bullfrog were equally revolutionary: Populous, Dungeon Keeper, Black and White, to name a few.

@chaosfruitbat5970 4 күн бұрын

I loved seeing the Bullfrog logo on the side of an office ias I drove into Guildford, it was a cool thing. Later in life, I became friends with some Lionhead guys, who had the same sort of mindset as Alex :)

@frogmastiff8198 Ай бұрын

one of my favourite games of all time hands down

@TheRetroArchive Ай бұрын

Great insights from Alex. Not surprised Richard Longhurst came down from Future towers to play network Syndicate. Playing any sort of network game during that era was rare unless you had friends that could strip required Ethernet cables and knew what a Tee Connector was and where to buy them pre internet hence all of those fly by night network game shops with Quake posters in the Windows in the nineties.... I was lucky enough to play through Syndicate on the Amiga and the CD PC version with the American revolt expansion which had some multiplayer maps. While it absolutely stormed the Amiga scene - it felt like the PC gaming scene was a little early, like before you had even managed to get your LAN party setup there was yet another new Shareware game from ID, West Wood or Apogee offering yet another iteration on the multiplayer experience. So some absolute Amiga staples like Syndicate and Frontier were somewhat 'also-rans' on the PC market, despite good conversions, which was emerging quickly. Another fascinating story to come out of Bullfrog is Demis Hassabis - possibly the only BF Alumni to have his own episode of Desert Island Discs, if you haven't seen the documentary film AlphaGo it's on KZfaq and well worth a watch.

@ArcadeAttack Ай бұрын

Alex was an amazing guest. Thank you. Love your PC memories. Appreciate it.

@SAT0R1. Ай бұрын

never seen this channel before but swear i was just thinking of this game about 3 days ago !!!! drove past a weird modern church and reminded me of the church of the new epoch style and set me off thinking back on the game from years ago..vids 3 days old

@ArcadeAttack Ай бұрын

That's uncanny. Great minds think alike!

@mateusztokarski9143 3 күн бұрын

One of the best games ever- that dark climate! Love it

@user-ni8kr8nx7e Ай бұрын

Ooooooh. Loved this game, played a hacked version. Favorite moment was a mission where you were too snipe a politican in a square with spectators or something. Instead of sniper, i used the rocket launcher. The target and the whole crowd running around burning. Brings a smile too an old soul too this day. Also the Bullfrog and Psygnosis logo is the coolest

@ArcadeAttack Ай бұрын

Good Times.

@Acriax 13 күн бұрын

Bullfrog and their games are a large part of why I feel that 95-2000 was the golden era for games and basically their games are what sparked my love for games as a kid and wanting to become a game developer. Magic Carpet 1 and 2, Dungeon Keeper 1 and 2, Syndicate and Syndicate Wars, Populous 3, Gene Wars, Theme Park and Theme Hospital were all amazing in their own ways. The art, sounds and music was so iconic, the ideas were always so wild and interesting, and the gameplay always felt so smooth with some amazing tech for the time, like terrain deformation, water reflections and so on. Kinda wish for an alternate timeline where EA never bought Bullfrog, and they'd keep making such awesome games until today.

@ArcadeAttack 13 күн бұрын

Fully agreed. I miss Bullfrog too.

@kaineskeptic6484 8 күн бұрын

Wow I forgot all about this game. What a nostalgia hit.

@deceiver444 13 күн бұрын

I vividly remember playing this one till completion on my brand new Amiga 1200 during summer 1993

@cubeflinger Ай бұрын

Own it on PC and mega drive. Still love it to this day.

@bluebear57 17 күн бұрын

This was one of my favorite games! The graphics were amazing.

@ArcadeAttack 17 күн бұрын

Couldn't agree more!

@bp3d106 27 күн бұрын

I loved Bullfrog games. Syndicate was one of my favorites. I paid full price too unlike these other guys. Well, my mom did. :D

@Griboslaw 17 күн бұрын

Ex Soviet countries had no chance to go into the shop and buy it as there were no such shops but I am glad you were able to contribute :) such an amazing game.

@gootballe583 10 күн бұрын

What a great interviewer. Knew he had an interesting guest and let him flow

@ArcadeAttack 10 күн бұрын

Thank you.

@jmoz 8 күн бұрын

I was IN LOVE with this game.

@sbmoonbeam 12 күн бұрын

I used to play this on my amiga in the 90s as a kid. Finally finding out why the gauss gun was a rocket launcher when the name makes it sound like it's got something to do with magnetism/EMP stuff (I was a nerdy science kid).

@seebarry4068 Ай бұрын

I would love to have an hd remastered syndicate.

@ArcadeAttack Ай бұрын

Me too my friend. All day long!

@ErrrorWayz 9 күн бұрын

Ah Bullfrog, I still remember Magic Carpet making my PC melt. Edit - great video btw, live just down road from Guildford. Shame Molyneux went utterly bonkers.