The Retro Hour (Retro Gaming Podcast) 493: “Flash Games Should Never Have Died” – Alex Johansson, Experimental Game Maker - The Retro Hour EP493
Aug 14, 2025
01:33:52
This week we are joined by award-winning experimental designer, educator and game maker Alex Johansson of ALYO Games. He is the mind behind wild alt-controller creations like Muppet Boxing, syringe-powered co-op games and his new Morse code-based strategy title Morse. We dive into the wonderfully strange world of odd inputs, discuss why Flash games should have been preserved, explore how gaming can reach older and underserved communities, and hear how Alex’s love for tactile play has taken him from cardboard-box cockpits to the heart of the ham radio scene.
Alex's website: https://alexvscoding.itch.io/
Contents:
00:00 - The Week's Retro News Stories
43:13 - Alex Johansson Interview
Please visit our amazing sponsors and help to support the show:
Crawley Gaming Market: https://www.crawleygamingmarket.com/
Bitmap Books - https://www.bitmapbooks.com
Take your business to the next level today and enjoy 3 months of Shopify for £1/month: https://shopify.co.uk/retrohour
We need your help to ensure the future of the podcast, if you'd like to help us with running costs, equipment and hosting, please consider supporting us on Patreon:
https://theretrohour.com/support/
https://www.patreon.com/retrohour
Get your Retro Hour merchandise: https://bit.ly/33OWBKd
Join our Discord channel: https://discord.gg/GQw8qp8
Website: http://theretrohour.com
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Show notes
Heretic and Hexen remasters: https://tinyurl.com/k6ueyunb
PS1 clone will also play Sega CD and Sega Saturn: https://tinyurl.com/fvd37ypa
Monty Mole games: https://tinyurl.com/mtskfsxh
AOL is turning off its dial-up after 34 years: https://tinyurl.com/4f95wrf6
40 years of the Amiga as an album tribute by Allister Brimble: https://tinyurl.com/2d4a5c85
Alex's website: https://alexvscoding.itch.io/
Contents:
00:00 - The Week's Retro News Stories
43:13 - Alex Johansson Interview
Please visit our amazing sponsors and help to support the show:
Crawley Gaming Market: https://www.crawleygamingmarket.com/
Bitmap Books - https://www.bitmapbooks.com
Take your business to the next level today and enjoy 3 months of Shopify for £1/month: https://shopify.co.uk/retrohour
We need your help to ensure the future of the podcast, if you'd like to help us with running costs, equipment and hosting, please consider supporting us on Patreon:
https://theretrohour.com/support/
https://www.patreon.com/retrohour
Get your Retro Hour merchandise: https://bit.ly/33OWBKd
Join our Discord channel: https://discord.gg/GQw8qp8
Website: http://theretrohour.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theretrohour/
X: https://twitter.com/retrohouruk
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/retrohouruk/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/theretrohour.com
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/theretrohour
Show notes
Heretic and Hexen remasters: https://tinyurl.com/k6ueyunb
PS1 clone will also play Sega CD and Sega Saturn: https://tinyurl.com/fvd37ypa
Monty Mole games: https://tinyurl.com/mtskfsxh
AOL is turning off its dial-up after 34 years: https://tinyurl.com/4f95wrf6
40 years of the Amiga as an album tribute by Allister Brimble: https://tinyurl.com/2d4a5c85