81-year-old game dev finally releases sequel to beloved 1987 game after 37 years

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After almost 40 years, a programmer has revisited a classic game, releasing a sequel to ‘Head Over Heels,’ which was originally launched in 1987.

Blacktooth: A Head Over Heels Adventure began development 37 years ago with programmer Colin Porch. It was intended as a sequel to the original puzzle-platform game, which first came out in 1987 on computers like the Atari ST and Commodore 64.

Porch initially stopped working on the sequel, but his previous employer eventually persuaded him to pick it up again after several years.

Head Over Heels sequel was delayed by IP issues

Porch explained that his former boss inquired about the sequel he’d been working on, and he admitted to having stopped working on it.

Porch explained that his previous employer kept urging him to complete the project, emphasizing the current popularity of retro games and saying, “You really need to finish it – there’s a lot of demand for these games now.”

Warren Porch, who is 81, explained to ITV News that a major difficulty was determining who legally owned the rights to the characters from the original game.

We weren’t able to determine who owned the rights to the game’s characters, so we couldn’t begin marketing it until we identified the owner and got their approval.

A follow-up game, now called Blacktooth: A Head Over Heels Adventure, has been published by Thalamus Digital for the Amiga and Atari ST computers.

The sequel is published by Thalamus Interactive for Amiga and Atari ST

The original Head Over Heels gained a dedicated following in the 1980s because of its challenging puzzles and unique visual style, which presented the game world from an angled, three-dimensional viewpoint.

Adrian Page-Mitchell of the Centre for Computing History explained to ITV that classic games are still popular with younger players, in part because their basic gameplay is similar to what you find in many mobile games today.

“There’s a lot of nostalgia from the people who used to play them back in the day,” he added.

Porch explained that finishing the sequel was a dream come true, a project he’d been working towards for decades.

He described the project as a passion project, explaining that his love for the game initially inspired him. He really enjoyed creating the many puzzles within it, and found the whole process rewarding.

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2026-05-27 17:48