Also known as Popstar in its demo shareware version, Rockstar was a text-based music business simulator, one that made it seem easy to go from pockmarked nobody to top-of-the-charts megastar. In the game, you could record singles and albums (and even name them), then watch as they flew or failed on the charts.

You dealt with shady characters like Dodgy Sam and Godfrey Cream as you played gigs, dabbled in drugs (which caused a pleasingly crazy DOS screen freakout), had sex with groupies and cleaned yourself out in rehab when your health got too low.

There was nothing more pleasing than watching a song you gave a horrible name to (”Pimple Pumpernickel,” anyone?) shoot to #1 on the charts, even if it was the U.K. music charts.

The game developers supposedly had big plans for a graphical, multiplayer update of the game, but that never came to fruition, sadly. Now, if we want to see a British performer go through the motions of drug addiction, sleazy behavior and “DEATH — The Ultimate Trip,” we can only load up our old DOS version of Rockstar or sit back and watch Amy Winehouse’s career.

(Image courtesy Moby Games.)