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Inside DMA Design (AKA: Rockstar Games) In 1996

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From Lemmings to Larceny — DMA Design’s leap into gaming infamy started right here.

Ah, the 90s – that unmistakable era of questionable fashion choices, dial-up internet, and frosted tips! But one thing that wasn’t shocking? The creative brilliance bubbling away at DMA Design (yes, the very same studio behind Lemmings).

A recently resurfaced 1996 video shows the Dundee-based team hard at work on a brand-new project titled Grand Theft Auto. What began as a quirky top-down car game called Race’n’Chase would soon explode into one of the most iconic (and controversial) video game franchises of all time.

The footage offers a fascinating glimpse into gaming history – you can spot early builds of Liberty City, rough animations, and plenty of mid-’90s office vibes. It’s surreal seeing the team at DMA Design – later to be renamed Rockstar North, part of Rockstar Games, laying the groundwork for what would redefine open-world gaming forever.

So throw on your flannel shirt, fire up your CRT monitor, and take a nostalgic trip back to where it all began – before Grand Theft Auto became a global phenomenon, it was just a bunch of Scots tinkering with pixels and possibilities.

🎥 Watch the 1996 development video and witness gaming history in motion!


source: BBC Archive

Brilliant Ad Strategy for ‘GTA VI’

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By: D.C. Cutler, U.S.A.

Rockstar Games and Take-Two Interactive still haven’t announced a release date for their much anticipated “Grand Theft Auto VI.” I believe the game will be released by the end of this year, possibly before Christmas, but they haven’t released any new footage or a new trailer for the smash hit. And, in a clever way, it’s genius marketing.

“Grand Theft Auto VI” is making all the other game production studios nervous about when to release their games. It’s smart not to put out a release date for “GTA VI.” They know at Rockstar Games that they could wait a week before the release to drop an ad; the anticipation from fans of the “GTA” franchise is already at a summit.

I can’t remember a time when there was so much enthusiasm for a video game release. Maybe when “Halo 2” was released in 2004? If Rockstar Games and Take-Two Interactive want the launch to be swift and sudden, I don’t think they lose a single unit sell of “GTA VI.” I’m sure there will be fans camping out at Best Buy stores on the eve of its long-awaited release. The brand is iconic, and it doesn’t need much promotion to break sales records in a matter of hours. “GTA VI” could be the biggest selling video game in history, and I know the key people at Take-Two Interactive and Rockstar Games think that as well.


source: Rockstar Games

Big advertising opportunities are few and far between now to the end of summer. We just had the Final Four. If it’s a spring ’26 release, maybe an ad before the first NFL game of the 2025-26 season. The “GTA” franchise is so prevalent, I could see an ad in the theater before a Marvel film this summer.

It was recently announced that the biggest Nintendo Switch 2 games like “Mario Kart World” could cost $80 dollars. That means “GTA VI” could be priced at $100 dollars. And with all the buzz about how the sixth entry is “cinematic,” it could be priced even higher. “GTA VI” has been listed by a Swiss retailer for $112 dollars. With the demand so high, I expect the price point of the game to be expensive.

I wonder if “GTA VI” will last fifteen years plus before we get “GTA VII.”

 

 

The Epyx Collection Handheld Landing on XBox and PC

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Seven Classic Lynx Games Arrive on Xbox and PC April 9th in ‘The Epyx Collection: Handheld’

Retro gaming fans, rejoice! Pixel Games UK and Imagine Software are making history with their first-ever release on Xbox consoles. Set to launch on April 9th for both Xbox and PC, ‘The Epyx Collection Handheld’ brings seven legendary Atari Lynx games to a new generation of players.

Priced at £11.99 / US$14.99/ ~AU$23.99 / €14.49, this collection delivers a dose of late ‘80s and early ‘90s nostalgia with beloved classics, including:

  • California Games (1989): Experience extreme sports like skateboarding, BMX biking, surfing, and more in a vibrant, sun-soaked West Coast setting.
  • ElectroCop (1989): Step into the cybernetic boots of a futuristic police officer and battle crime in a dystopian cityscape.
  • Blue Lightning (1989): Engage in high-octane aerial combat and prove your piloting prowess in this arcade-style flight adventure.
  • Gates of Zendocon (1989): Navigate alien worlds, battle hostile creatures, and take down the sinister Zendocon in an intergalactic space odyssey.
  • Chip’s Challenge (1989): Solve over 140 mind-bending puzzles in this brain-twisting classic, now with additional Sega Mega Drive and SNES ports.
  • Todd’s Adventures in Slime World (1990): Explore a hazardous alien world filled with monstrous creatures and slimy traps.
  • Zarlor Mercenary (1990): Pilot a customisable spacecraft and defend the galaxy from waves of alien invaders in this action-packed shooter.


source: Imagine Software

Modern Enhancements for a Timeless Experience

Bringing these iconic titles to modern platforms isn’t just about nostalgia—it’s about elevating the experience. ‘The Epyx Collection Handheld’ includes:

  • Customisable Display Filters – Choose from a variety of filters, including an authentic 80s-style CRT mode.
  • Suspend Points – Save and restore up to four game states per title, ensuring you can pick up where you left off.
  • Live Rewind – Rewind up to five seconds of gameplay instantly to correct mistakes or retry difficult sections.

Additionally, the collection features an overhauled user interface, with interactive 3D-rendered box art and cartridges based on the original releases. Fans can also enjoy fully remastered instruction manuals, bringing even more historical detail to these retro gems.

A New Era for Pixel Games UK on Xbox

This marks the first retro release on Xbox for Pixel Games UK and Imagine Software, but it’s only the beginning. “We’re excited to bring the first collection of classic games to Xbox and PC,” says Nick Tiseo, Director of Imagine Software. “It’s been a goal of ours for a long time.”

As the world of retro gaming continues to thrive, ‘The Epyx Collection Handheld’ is a must-have for both longtime fans and newcomers eager to discover these classic adventures. Don’t miss its worldwide release on April 9th via the Microsoft Store!

Unlicensed Free Slasher Fan-Made Video Games

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It may not be Halloween, but who cares when you can play some fan-made free slasher games on your PC and/or NES emulator!

Decades ago, Steve McCall was tinkering with a PC program called Klik & Play, to make slasher fan games where the player got to play as the actual antagonist. These late 90s games had a cult following, which thanks to Steve, he has now demade them for the NES, after teaching himself how to program on the 6502 8-bit chipset. The four games created by Steve McCall include:

  • Friday the 13th: Return to Camp Blood (1998)
  • Halloween: October 31st (1999)
  • A Nightmare on Elm Street: Son of a Hundred Maniacs (1999)
  • Candyman: Be My Victim (2006)

If you want to play these fan made NES games on your fave emulator, then check out Steve’s 8-bit demakes site at 8bitslasher.itch.io. If you want to experience the original PC versions of these games, then head on over to 5kids2feed.itch.io.

image source: Steve McCall



Chironex Studios’ GRIST Game Seeks To Recapture The PC Gaming Experience From The 1980s

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We are now even more hyped for PAX Aus 2023! If you are asking why, then let us tell you……

Growing up in the 80s, our first encounter with a desktop PC was a chunky beige box with a green monochrome CRT monitor. The keys were as loud as the disk-drive accessing the sectors on the 5.25″ floppy, and without any GUI, we had to explore this (what now seems archaic) machine through trial and error using commands that were quite foreign to us at the time. Like any kid back then, we found games to play on these old school computers, which got us hooked. Bathed in the green glow we explored different worlds, made tough decisions, and became different characters – it unleashed our imagination.

Well, an independent Australian game developer, Chironex Studios is seeking to recapture those early days of PC gaming with their new game, Grist!

GRIST is a digital boardgame-slash-rpg about surviving as a Starship Commander in a universe where the secrets of faster-than-light-travel have been lost to time and conflict. Voyage across the galaxy sending out your crew on missions, recovering artifacts of the pre-collapse civilisation, and pushing back the terrors that lurk in the dark between worlds. All the while deciding which parts of your humanity you will keep, and which will be traded for one more year of life among the stars.

GRIST combines vintage ascii terminal style graphics with a synthwave soundtrack for an iconic ascii-wave aesthetic. Gameplay features include a unique positioning based combat system, multiple-choice events with long-tail outcomes, strategic hand-optimization, and a variety of different scenarios to test your abilities.

Currently in development by Chironex Studios, GRIST is planned for an Early Access release in late 2023, so add it to your Steam wishlist right now! And if you are going to PAX Aus in a few weeks, then make sure you head to Booth 16 in the Indie area (Expo Hall) to speak to the developer and check out GRIST!

image source: Chironex Studios



It’s On Like Donkey Kong – The Amazing PC Case

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Sometimes there is a huge pay off being in Facebook creator / modder groups, like the PC Builders Community group, which as the name suggests, is where clever peeps share their creations and modifications.

On this occasion, group member, Dennis Riese shared his custom Donkey Kong PC case, which as you can see in the photos, is mind-blowingly amazing!

Impressed with the PC case? You should be! The intricate level of detail is so spot on, this would pass as a Nintendo first party PC case – it looks that good. So what’s powering this liquid-cooled beast under the hood? It’s just as impressive as the case:

  • Motherboard – ASUS ROG Maximus XII Hero
  • Processor – Intel i9 10900
  • Graphics Card – NVIDIA GeForce 3080Ti Founders Edition with Corsair Hydro X water block
  • RAM – 32GB Crucial Ballistix MAX
  • OS – Windows 11 Pro
  • Storage 1 – WD Black 500gig M.2 NVme
  • Storage 2 – Samsung 970 Evo+ 2TB M.2 NVme
  • Cooling – 2 Corsair Hydro X water loops

Dennis says that,

Fun build and completely overkill for me to play Minesweeper on it but I am big on future proofing.

This Donkey Kong PC case is just next level awesome!

image source: Dennis Riese via Facebook



Transforming a 90’s Hot Wheels PC into a Modern Gaming Beast

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We have always been impressed by Shank Mods’ creations, like transforming the Virtual Boy in the Real Boy handheld!

Hold onto your hats folks, cause Shank Mods’ has now transformed a 1999 Hot Wheels PC into a high performance gaming beast! The eye-watering specs are impressive as they are expensive.

Before Specs:

  • Intel Celeron 500MHz processor,
  • 10GB hard drive,
  • 64MB of memory,
  • 56k modem,
  • 40x CD ROM drive,
  • 15″ CRT monitor and ran Windows 98

After Specs:

  • AMD Ryzen 9 5950X processor,
  • Gigabyte X570 Aorus Mini-ITX motherboard,
  • ASUS X570-I ROG Strix Mini-ITX motherboard,
  • EVGA NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 XC graphics card,
  • G.Skill Trident Z Neo Series RGB 128GB (4 x 32GB) RAM,
  • Samsung 980 Pro 2TB SSD, and an
  • LG WH16NS40 16x Internal Blu-Ray Rewriter.

This is pretty darn awesome!


source: Shank Mods