BEYOND THE BORDERS – Atari ST vol.2

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THE STORY

1991–1993: The Atari ST and The Creative People – Vol. 2

The borders have been broken. Now the Atari ST scene is pushing towards the outer limits of the Motorola 68000.

Across Europe, programmers, pixel artists and musicians exchange ideas at breathtaking speed, developing new techniques and making Atari’s 16/32-bit machines perform feats that once seemed impossible. The demoscene is no longer simply an underground movement – it is becoming a gateway into the professional games industry.

From the demoscene into the games industry

With an afterword by Erik Simon, co-founder of Thalion.

The veteran game developer reflects on his collaboration with Wilfried Carmincke and the turbulent history of one of Germany’s most ambitious games companies. At the same time, previously untold stories shed new light on the early years of Eclipse Software.

Marc Rosocha, producer of the Iron Soldier games for the Atari Jaguar and later the Nuon, provides new insights into the company’s development, recalling his first dealings with Atari Corporation and the games Eclipse created for the Atari Falcon.

A market in transformation

Beyond the demoscene, the entire games industry is changing.

Japanese consoles are conquering the market, manga-inspired imagery is influencing a new generation of European artists, and increasingly powerful IBM PCs are emerging as serious competitors. CD-ROM promises an almost limitless future, while Commodore continues to challenge Atari.

Sunnyvale responds with the Mega STE and Falcon and prepares a return to the console business with the Jaguar, promoted as the world’s first 64-bit system. Yet while new hardware points towards the future, the traditional European home-computer market is beginning to lose its foundations.

When the ST world begins to fracture

Cracks are appearing at Thalion, while European publishers increasingly turn away from the ST. But the sceners refuse to disappear. Armed with years of hard-earned 68000 expertise, they move into the Amiga and PC markets, searching for new creative territory.

As the commercial foundations of the ST world begin to collapse, one controversial question remains: were crackers and software piracy really responsible for falling sales?

Beyond the borders

BEYOND THE BORDERS captures this decisive turning point in Atari history.

Through hundreds of unforgettable Atari ST and STE demos, remarkable eleventh-hour technical achievements and previously untold stories from the digital underground, Volume 2 documents the decline of the traditional home-computer industry from a distinctly Atari perspective.

It is both a chronicle of the final creative years of the ST scene and a portrait of the programmers, artists and musicians who carried their skills into the next generation of digital entertainment – a tour de force of technical ingenuity, creative rebellion and enduring microcomputer passion.

PEOPLE & FEATURES

Atari ST groups

Unlimited Matricks (ULM), SYNC, Electronic Images (EI), Torment, Legacy, NeXT, Oxygène, Hemoroids, ST Connexion, Diamond Design, Overlanders, Dune, MJJ Prod, Aggression, Chronicle, Hotline, Replicants, Medway Boys, Delta Force, ACF Design Team, Animal Mine, Stax, Newline, New Power Generation (NPG), Black Monolith Team (BMT), Disk Busters Association (DBA), the Maggie Team …

Creative people

Alexander de Vries (Bonus), Chris Holland (CiH), Richard Spowart (Felice), Sietse Postma (Slimer), Angelo Bod (Lowlife), Arnaud Carré (Leonard), Bengt Sjölén (Redhead), Benjamin Gerard (Ben), Bleick Bleicken (McFly), Christophe Balestra (Oxbab), Fabrice Odero (Fury), Felix Brandt (Flix), Georges Kesseler (Gunstick), Guillaume Le Pennec (Dogue de Mauve), Gunnar Gaubatz (Big Alec), Jan Achrenius (Xenit), Jean-Sébastien Gerard (Jess), Jens Rudberg (Abel), Jesper Rudberg (Kasper), Jurie Horneman (Relayer, Thalion), Kiia Kallio (Lancelot), Klaus Berg (Vantage), Marc Rosocha (Eclipse), Michel Savariradjalou (Mic), Mickaël Pointier (Dbug), Sébastien Molines (Bigfoot), Stefan Guath (Icaruz), Sven Bauer (Jora), Tilmann Bubeck (Chaos Inc.), Vesa Pellinen (Crawdaddy), Wolf Groß (Jacky), Laurent Fargues (Jace), Nic Alderton (Count Zero), Markus Velten (M.C.) and David Newman (Rhino) …

Demo classics

Anomaly Megademo, Dark Side of the Spoon, Decade Demo, Eat My Bollocks, Flip-O-Demo, Froggies Over the Fence, O-Demo, Ooh Crikey Wot a Scorcher, Phaelon GigaDemo, Punish Your Machine and many more…

Game classics

Lethal Xcess, Monster Business, Stone Age, Trex Warrior, No Second Prize, Amberstar, Lionheart, Ambermoon, Airbus A320 and many more…