How Scott Miller Invented Shareware Gaming at Apogee
A $10,000 failure led Scott Miller to invent episodic shareware, sign id Software, and build Apogee into the model every free-to-play game copies.
Retro Gaming
Beneath a Steel Sky: Dave Gibbons’ DOS Adventure
How Watchmen artist Dave Gibbons helped design 1994’s Beneath a Steel Sky, and how it became a freeware classic preserved by ScummVM.
Epic Pinball (1993): James Schmalz’s DOS Classic
One programmer wrote Epic Pinball in assembly language in 10 months — then used its success to found the studio behind Unreal and Warframe.
Daggerfall (1996): Bethesda’s Buggy, Enormous Gamble
Daggerfall’s procedurally generated world dwarfs Great Britain in size — how it was built, why it broke so often, and how to play it (free) in 2026.
Civilization (1991): From Board Game to PC
How Sid Meier and Bruce Shelley turned Francis Tresham’s board game roots into the 1991 MicroProse classic — the real prototyping story.
Another World (1991): The Solo-Made DOS Classic
How Éric Chahi built Another World alone in ~2 years using rotoscoped polygon animation instead of sprites — plus DOSBox setup and tips.
Duke Nukem (1991): The 2D Platformer Before Duke 3D
Before the chain-gun and one-liners, Duke Nukem was a 1991 Apogee shareware platformer. Development history, DOSBox setup, and the Duke Nukum name story.
Mortal Kombat DOS: The Game That Built the ESRB
How Midway’s bloody fighter, a 1993 Senate hearing, and Acclaim’s uncensored DOS port combined to create the ESRB rating system.
Dune II (1992): The Game That Built the RTS Genre
Herzog Zwei got there first in 1989, but Dune II codified real-time strategy. Westwood’s Arrakis campaign and the RTS template it created.
Dangerous Dave (1990): The Game That Sparked id Software
John Romero’s 1990 Softdisk platformer led to a joke Mario demo that convinced its creators to found id Software. Here’s the real sequence of events.
Hocus Pocus (1994): Apogee’s Best-Looking DOS Platformer
Hocus Pocus paired VGA fantasy art with elemental magic bolts and a full freeware release — here’s how Moonlite Software’s platformer holds up.
Prince of Persia (1989): The Rotoscoped Sword-Fight Story
How Jordan Mechner filmed his brother and a swashbuckler film to animate Prince of Persia’s movement and combat — plus a 60-minute clock that never stops.