DMA Design (Rockstar North)
From Dundee Roots to Lemmings and the Grand Theft Auto Empire
DMA Design Ltd (subsequently rebranded as Rockstar North) is a legendary Scottish video game developer founded in Dundee in 1987 by David Jones. Renowned initially for the Amiga puzzle phenomenon Lemmings (1991), DMA created Grand Theft Auto in 1997, pioneering open-world urban crime simulations that reshaped 21st-century entertainment.
Dundee Kingsway College and Lemmings
David Jones formed DMA Design alongside Kingsway Technical College peers Mike Dailly, Russell Kay, and Steve Hammond. Experimenting with deluxe Amiga pixel-animation routines, Mike Dailly drew diminutive 8x8 pixel walking figures, inspiring Lemmings (1991), which sold over 15 million copies across dozens of computer platforms.
From Race'n'Chase to Grand Theft Auto
In 1995, DMA prototyped a top-down pursuit title called Race'n'Chase. A programming glitch in the vehicular collision AI caused police cars to ram the player aggressively. Realizing that fleeing aggressive police as an urban criminal was exhilarating, DMA reworked the concept into Grand Theft Auto (1997), laying the foundation for modern open-world gaming.