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'''Data Design Interactive''' was a British video game company. Founded in 1983 by Stewart Green as '''Data Design Systems''', the company started off creating budget software for the [[Wikipedia:ZX Spectrum|ZX Spectrum]].

== History ==
{{quote box |quote = I decided I wanted to break into the budget software market — I think the software industry could be killing itself with the £10 game. Budget software like Cascade's 50 Games compilation, has got to be value for money — if you only play each game on a 50 game compilation for ten minutes, then you’ve had over a day’s solid entertainment. |source = Stewart Green, ''CRASH''<ref name="Crash 28"/> |width  = 50%}}

Data Design Systems was founded in 1983 by Stewart Green.<ref name="Crash 28"/><ref name="DDI history"/><ref name="Animation World"/> Green had purchased a [[Wikipedia:ZX Spectrum|ZX Spectrum]] soon after its release the previous year, and had spent his free time learning how to program on it before leaving his engineering apprenticeship to pursue a career in software development. He attempted to sell two of his earliest games, ''Alien'' and ''Bomber'', for £2 each at [[wikipedia:computer show|computer shows]]. After selling only a small number of copies, he decided that a compilation of multiple games on one cassette tape would sell better than individual games, as well as allow him to charge a higher price for the tape and let shops take in a larger profit margin.<ref name="Crash 28"/>

Green applied for the UK government’s [[Wikipedia:Enterprise Allowance Scheme|Enterprise Allowance Scheme]], an initiative which gave an income of £40 per week for one year to anyone unemployed who wanted to set up their own business and had £1000 of their own funds to invest in the project.<ref name="Crash 28"/><ref name="Inc"/> Deciding to develop for the budget software market, he began work on ''Astrocade'', a collection of six games on one tape. At the same time, he was finding out how to package games properly and learning business practices from his three free interviews with the Business Advice Centre that the Enterprise Allowance Scheme allowed him. Green wanted the compilation to be sold in a large package; he initially planned to use the same cardboard boxes that [[Wikipedia:Beyond Software|Beyond Software]] games used, before he found out that the cardboard dies for that would cost at least £800 and decided to use video boxes instead. Not wanting to pay "hundreds of pounds for a simple piece of artwork," Green got an art student from a local school to create box art for free as portfolio work. Getting game screenshots took two weeks due to the photographer hired not knowing how to take photographs of a television screen.<ref name="Crash 28"/>

[[File:Crash Astrocade.jpg|thumb|220px|Stewart Green advertising ''The Astrocade Collection'']]
Development of ''The Astrocade Collection'' concluded in late 1985.<ref name="DDI history"/><ref name="Alien"/> It contained three previously-developed games, ''Alien'', ''Bomber'', and ''Luna-Rover'', as well as three original games, ''Caverns d'Or'', ''Simeon'', and ''Zombie Island''.<ref name="PCW 518"/><ref name="YS07"/> The collection's development ended up costing £3000. Green priced ''Astrocade'' at £4.50, but had difficulty distributing it; most distributors did not respond to him, and [[Wikipedia:WHSmith|Smith's]] wanted the the product to have a [[Wikipedia:Barcode|barcode]], which would cost him another £100. He initially sold copies of ''Astrocade'' by offering them on sale at local computer shops.<ref name="Crash 28"/> Lacking a budget for advertising, he sent copies of the collection packaged with a [[Wikipedia:Mars (chocolate bar)|Mars bar]] to computer magazines to encourage reviews.<ref name="Crash 27"/> An earlier version of ''Alien'' was also published as machine code in the February 1986 issue of [[Wikipedia:Your Sinclair|''Your Sinclair'']].<ref name="YS02"/> Graeme Kidd from the ZX Spectrum magazine [[wikipedia:Crash (magazine)|''CRASH'']] interviewed Stewart Green at Data Design, which at the time was operated out of the front room of his house in [[wikipedia:Halesowen|Halesowen]]. The interview was published in the May 1986 issue of ''CRASH''; by that point, Green had sold only around one hundred copies of ''Astrocade''.<ref name="Crash 28"/> Following this, Green advertised the collection through various computer magazines, giving an address for viewers to [[wikipedia:mail order|mail order]] the game from.<ref name="YS07"/> Green intended for Astrocade to supply him with funds while he developed a larger project. He announced the development of a [[Wikipedia:Play-by-mail game|play-by-mail game]] in his interview with ''CRASH''; Green believed that the previous summer had been the last chance for self-employed developers to start in the software market, and claimed that small software developers offered the best service for play-by-mail games.<ref name="Crash 28"/>

''The Astrocade Collection'' recieved mixed reviews from contemporary magazines. Reviewers criticised the quality and originality of the games in the collection, though were more positive about the collection's low price and the overall value per game, as well as the collection being Data Design's first major publication.<ref name="PCW 518"/><ref name="YS07"/><ref name="Crash 29"/><ref name="CG15"/> Stewart Green responded with appreciation for the reviews, though he disagreed that games lacking originality was an issue and criticised ''Popular Computing Weekly'''s claim that ''Luna-Rover'' had graphics resembling a [[Wikipedia:ZX81|ZX81]] game.<ref name="PCW 526"/> From July 1986 onward, Data Design lowered the cost of ''Astrocade'' to £1.99 (plus 40p for postage and packaging).<ref name="CG16"/><ref name="YS09"/>

== References ==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name="Alien">Green, Stewart (1 November 1985). ''Alien'' (''Astrocade'' version). Data Design Systems. Title screen. "© 1.11.85".</ref>

<ref name="Animation World">Younghusband, Paul (February 2001). [https://www.awn.com/mag/issue5.11/5.11pages/younghusbandartworld.php3 "A One Stop Digital Shop: Data Design Interactive and Artworld UK"]. [[Wikipedia:Animation World|''Animation World Magazine'']]. Vol. 5, No. 11. AWN, Inc. [https://web.archive.org/web/20230118045641/https://www.awn.com/mag/issue5.11/5.11pages/younghusbandartworld.php3 Archived] from the original on 18 January 2023. Mirror available at [https://www.awn.com/animationworld/one-stop-digital-shop-data-design-interactive-and-artworld-uk Animation World Network].</ref>
<ref name="CG15">Hetherington, Tony (June 1986). [https://archive.org/details/Computer_Gamer_Issue_15_1986-06_Argus_Press_GB/page/n38/mode/1up?view=theater "Adventure Reviews"]. [[wikipedia:Computer Gamer|''Computer Gamer'']]. No. 15. [[Wikipedia:Newsfield|Newsfield Publications Ltd]]. p. 39.</ref>
<ref name="CG16">[https://archive.org/details/Computer_Gamer_Issue_16_1986-07_Argus_Press_GB/page/n28/mode/1up?view=theater ''Astrocade'' advertisement]. [[wikipedia:Computer Gamer|''Computer Gamer'']]. No. 16, July 1986. [[Wikipedia:Newsfield|Newsfield Publications Ltd]]. p. 29.</ref>
<ref name="Crash 27">Mangram, Lloyd (April 1986). [https://archive.org/details/Crash_No._27_1986-04_Newsfield_GB/page/n111/mode/1up?view=theater "Merely Mangram"]. [[wikipedia:Crash (magazine)|''CRASH'']]. No. 27. [[Wikipedia:Argus Specialist Publications|Argus Specialist Publications]]. p. 112.</ref>
<ref name="Crash 28">Kidd, Graeme (May 1986). [https://www.crashonline.org.uk/28/dds.htm "This Little Proggy Went To Market..."]. [[wikipedia:Crash (magazine)|''CRASH'']] - The Online Edition. No. 28. [[Wikipedia:Newsfield|Newsfield Publications Ltd]]. p. 76. [https://web.archive.org/web/20230625034910/https://www.crashonline.org.uk/28/dds.htm Archived] from the original on 25 June 2023.</ref>
<ref name="Crash 29">Kidd, Graeme (June 1986). [https://archive.org/details/crash-magazine-29/page/n97/mode/2up?view=theater "The Games Gatherings"]. [[wikipedia:Crash (magazine)|''CRASH'']]. No. 29. [[Wikipedia:Newsfield|Newsfield Publications Ltd]]. pp. 98–99.</ref>
<ref name="DDI history">[https://web.archive.org/web/20041216050634/http://www.datadesign.uk.com/history_page.htm History]. ''datadesign.uk.com''. Data Design Interactive. Archived from the original on 16 December 2004.</ref>
<ref name="Inc">Dellheim, Charles (1 July 1996). [https://www.inc.com/magazine/19960701/1725.html "Thatcher's Self Employment"]. [[Wikipedia:Inc. (magazine)|''Inc.'']] [https://web.archive.org/web/20030415171759/http://www.inc.com/magazine/19960701/1725.html Archived] from the original on 15 April 2003. Retrieved 25 June 2023.</ref>
<ref name="PCW 518">Taylor, Graham (1 May 1986). [https://archive.org/details/popular-computing-weekly-1986-05-01/page/n59/mode/2up?view=theater "New releases"]. [[Wikipedia:Popular Computing Weekly|''Popular Computing Weekly'']]. Vol. 5 No. 18. [[Wikipedia:Sunshine Publications|Sunshine Publications]]. pp. 44–45.</ref>
<ref name="PCW 526">Green, Stewart (26 June 1986). [https://archive.org/details/popular-computing-weekly-1986-06-26/page/n9/mode/1up?view=theater "Review reaction"]. [[Wikipedia:Popular Computing Weekly|''Popular Computing Weekly'']]. Vol. 5 No. 26. [[Wikipedia:Sunshine Publications|Sunshine Publications]]. p. 10.</ref>
<ref name="YS02">Cox, Kevin (ed.) (February 1986). [https://archive.org/details/Your_Sinclair_002/page/48/mode/1up?view=theater "Alien by Stewart Green"]. [[Wikipedia:Your Sinclair|''Your Sinclair'']]
Issue 2. [[Wikipedia:Dennis Publishing|Sportscene Specialist Press]]. pp. 48–52.</ref>
<ref name="YS07">Phillips, Max (July 1986). [https://archive.org/details/Your_Sinclair_007/page/61/mode/1up?view=theater "Screen Shots"]. [[Wikipedia:Your Sinclair|''Your Sinclair'']]
Issue 7. [[Wikipedia:Dennis Publishing|Sportscene Specialist Press]]. p. 61.</ref>
<ref name="YS09">South, Phil (September 1986). [https://archive.org/details/Your_Sinclair_009/page/n7/mode/1up?view=theater "Frontlines"]. [[Wikipedia:Your Sinclair|''Your Sinclair'']]
Issue 9. [[Wikipedia:Dennis Publishing|Sportscene Specialist Press]]. p. 5.</ref>
}}

[[Category:Video game companies]]