German Cracking Service: Slamball

One of the earliest German cracker groups, based in Dortmund, the German Cracking Service was among the groups whose crack intros anticipated the demoscene, especially on the C64. Legendary members of the group included 1103/JEDI and Snoopy. Their earliest catalogued intro, carrying the iconic three stripes, dates to 1984. You can still view their 1984 cracktro in a similar style, now introducing the game Slamball. The group’s activity was disrupted in the mid-1980s, though releases under the GCS name continued into 1988. Talented programmers, many members went on to have successful careers in early video games and software. These are some of the earliest whispers of the Demonscene.