No Man's Sky engine programmer Martin Griffiths has just shown off an incredible historical curiosity: a 3D world demo that he co-created for Atari ST he co-created at 18 years old. He calls this demo "a foundational step" toward his eventual work on the massive space game.
"At 18 years old, around about 1990/91 and just a few years into learning 3D graphics I worked with a friend, the late Jose Commins to create our first 3D world on the Atari ST," Griffiths explains on Twitter. "It might seem primitive and crude, but this was a foundational step for me from there to No Man's Sky."
Attached to that tweet is a video of a primitive 3D world full of abstract shapes, which come together to create the impression of futuristic vessels flying through city streets. The Atari ST was hardly a 3D powerhouse, though a handful of retail games like Starglider 2 and Stunt Car Racer proved it was possible. Seeing it come from a pair of hobbyist developers is all the more impressive.
At 18 years old, around about 1990/91 and just a few years into learning 3D graphics I worked with a friend, the late Jose Commins to create our first 3D world on the Atari ST. It might seem primitive and crude, but this was a foundational step for me from there to #NoMansSky pic.twitter.com/WMUaLIBopTMarch 15, 2025
The Atari ST and other home computers of the '80s and '90s had massive community of hobbyist programmers building short videos like this, pushing the platforms to their technological limit, as part of what's known as the demoscene. From a modern perspective on retro hardware, you might think of demoscene creations as a combination of tech demo and chiptune music video. These creations turned into a sort of computer art scene complete with parties and festivals for enthusiasts to show each other their creations.
Griffiths says he first showed off the demo at a "demo-party in Sweden" called Megaleif. It was eventually made part of a demo called Hallucinations in 2003, which – with work from programmers besides Griffiths and Commins – includes a variety of other 3D effects, and some cheeky unlicensed cameos from '90s cartoon favorites like Dexter's Lab and the titular stars of 2 Stupid Dogs.
You can still download Hallucinations over on the demoscene archive at Demozoo to load up on your Atari ST or emulator of choice. Or, more realistically, you can just watch the whole thing on YouTube.
