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Elite’s Ian Bell: Designing a Groundbreaking 3D Space Game

October 16, 2025September 19, 2024 by admin

Hereward and Cal speak to Elite co-creator Ian Bell

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OH!CAST | Exploring Geek Culture, Fandom and Pop Culture

Brought to you from the wild, wonderful Outer Hebrides, OH!CAST is a geek culture podcast where the Atlantic winds meet the winds of change in fandom, gaming, and all things nerdy.Tune in for insights, laughs, and plenty of “oh!” moments.

In this episode of OH!CAST, the hosts welcome veteran game artist Simon Butler, whose career spans more than four decades and hundreds of games—from the earliest 8-bit era to modern indie development. (Content advisory: this episode contains strong language and frank discussion throughout.)

Simon shares the remarkable story of how he accidentally fell into the games industry in the early 1980s, back when the role of a “game artist” barely existed and developers were inventing the craft as they went along. From drawing sprites on graph paper to pushing pixels across multiple platforms, he recounts what it was really like working during the formative years of the industry.

The conversation explores Simon’s time with studios such as Ocean Software, the realities of developing movie tie-ins, and the chaotic creativity of early game development. He talks about working on titles connected to classic franchises, contributing graphics to Worms, and the infamous Highlander adaptation—while offering candid reflections on what worked, what didn’t, and why some games became legends for the wrong reasons.

Along the way, Simon shares stories about tight deadlines, overnight crunch sessions, and the culture of the 8-bit development scene—plus his unfiltered thoughts on retro nostalgia, the AAA industry, and why indie developers today are closer to the original spirit of game creation.

It’s a funny, honest, and occasionally brutal look behind the curtain at how classic games were really made—and how the myth of the “golden age” compares to the reality.