81-year-old developer finalises his game from the 80s
"Return to Blacktooth" is the successor to the 80s game "Head over Heels" from 1987. Thanks to the retro boom, the now 80-year-old programmer was persuaded to complete it. It is probably the game with the longest development time.
Colin Porch is 81 years old and has long since retired. In 1986, he was employed on the classic game «Head over Heels» and began developing a successor some time later. However, the game company Ocean Software, for which Porch worked, cancelled the project.
Many years later, he resumed work on the game. At the suggestion of his boss at the time, who made him realise that retro games were in high demand. Porch delivered. 37 years after work began, the sequel «Return to Blacktooth» has been available since the beginning of May 2026 for 12.99 US dollars for the Amiga or for the Atari ST. It is therefore probably the game that has been in development the longest - albeit without any problems in the style of GTA 6.
Source: Thalamus Digital Publishing
One of the biggest hurdles was securing the rights to the game after such a long time - Ocean Software no longer exists. With Thalamus Digital Publishing, a company specialising in retro games, the publication became possible.
In the 1980s, it was not uncommon for games to be programmed or even fully developed by a single person. Even «Return to Blacktooth» is essentially the sole work of Colin Porch. Only the music and a few small details such as the loading screen were contributed by others.
And so we see Porch playing his own game, in proper style in front of an Atari ST with a tube screen and joystick, which he holds in the air like a modern controller. You just have to give some things a bit of time.
My interest in IT and writing landed me in tech journalism early on (2000). I want to know how we can use technology without being used. Outside of the office, I’m a keen musician who makes up for lacking talent with excessive enthusiasm.
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