video game: Windows 95 MDK

Developed by Shiny Entertainment, this run-and-gun third-person shooter game places the gamer in the role of a janitor who must defend Earth from a race of alien invaders called the Streamriders. Co-designer Nick Bruty noted that the game's gritty, sci-fi theme came from his desire to move away from the previous, family-friendly games he'd previously designed, including adaptations of Aladdin and The Jungle Book for the Sega Genesis. Despite the popularity of first-person shooters in the mid-1990, such as DOOM and Quake, Bruty believed players were more invested in the world and its story when they could see their own character, thus his decision to use the third-person perspective. One sequel, MDK 2, followed in 2000.