Rockstar North began as a Dundee startup behind Lemmings before it made the Grand Theft Auto games

pop & funWikipedia1988 · Dundee, Scotland

Rockstar North began as a Dundee startup behind Lemmings before it made the Grand Theft Auto games

the gist

Rockstar North is a British video game studio based in Edinburgh, known for the Lemmings and Grand Theft Auto series. It began in 1988 as DMA Design in Dundee, founded by David Jones, and its first big hit was Lemmings in 1991. The studio was sold to Take-Two Interactive in 1999 after a run of struggling projects, and it became part of Rockstar Games. Grand Theft Auto III in 2001 was fully three-dimensional, and it defined a genre that many clones then copied. Rockstar North went on to make Grand Theft Auto V, one of the best-selling games of all time.

so what

The studio's history shows how a small Scottish team survived publisher changes and near-collapse to create one of the most commercially successful entertainment products ever made. Its move to 3D open-world design reshaped the action genre.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · text CC BY-SA 4.0

Image: Wikimedia Commons

source: Wikipedia ↗

historyWikipediaclassic1336–1565 · Karnataka, India

Hampi was once one of the world's largest cities, until its Vijayanagara capital was destroyed in 1565

the gist

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.

how it works

The city was built around a fortified core with temples, markets and water structures along the river, supplied by an extensive network of roads and waterworks. When the empire fell, the city was not rebuilt, so its stone monuments were left standing.

so what

Hampi shows how quickly a great city can vanish after a military defeat, and how a ruined capital can remain sacred. Its ruins give historians a view of medieval South Asia that few other sites can match.

fun fact

The name Hampi comes from Pampa, an old name for the Tungabhadra River.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · text CC BY-SA 4.0

Image: Wikimedia Commons

source: Wikipedia ↗

2 min

politicsshortCNA2:01

False allegations about Singapore’s hand in Indonesia’s markets and a made-up meeting

from CNA

CNA Verify has found close to 400 posts pushing falsehoods tying Singapore to Indonesia’s stock market rout and to a secret meeting that never took place. Together, they drew nearly 12 million views, and some were circulated by accounts that appeared to be working in concert, across multiple social media platforms.

Here’s how the disinformation campaign targeting Singapore was uncovered.

on YouTube: CNA ↗