Midtown Madness - Development

Development

Midtown Madness was one of the first games that Angel Studios (now Rockstar San Diego) developed for the PC. Microsoft was following up on their previous Madness computer games, Motocross Madness and Monster Truck Madness. According to project director Clint Keith, the idea behind the game came to two Microsoft employees while they were "trying to cross a busy Paris street". They proposed their idea to Angel Studios, who were attempting to sell Microsoft a 3D vehicle simulator. Angel Studios were initially hesitant to accept Microsoft's offer, as it "seemed too large a challenge to pull off". After agreeing, Angel Studios chose Chicago for the setting because it is the site of several famous car chases, such as those in the film The Blues Brothers. To ensure that the city was recreated faithfully, Angel Studios had Chicago residents playtest the game. PC Gamer reported a consensus that the recreation was mostly accurate, though Angel Studios had relocated landmarks to enhance the gameplay.

Angel Studios and Microsoft included ordinary cars in addition to the "overpowered Italian sports cars" often seen in racing games. The developers had to obtain permission from manufacturers to use the likenesses of the vehicles; Microsoft thus received permission from Volkswagen for the New Beetle and from Ford for the Mustang and F-350. The decision to make only half the cars available at the outset was to promote a "spirit of competitiveness". Microsoft also told Angel Studios not to allow players to hit pedestrians. After deciding against rendering pedestrians in two dimensions, Angel Studios developed 3D pedestrian models that could run and jump out of the way. Angel Studios included an option to remove pedestrians, as they do not alter gameplay but may significantly affect system performance when in a group; consequently, the game does not require a 3D graphics card.

A demo version was released for download on May 1, 1999. It featured three vehicles (a Mustang, Panoz Roadster, and bus), and all driving modes except circuit. The demo also included features that would be scrapped in the full version, such as the ability to send billboards flying. In December 1999, Angel Studios reported that they were considering a race designer for players, but such customization never materialized. The finished game was released on May 27, 1999.

The game is distinctly different from other racing games—IGN noted the difference from the Need for Speed series—because of what Microsoft called "an unprecedented degree of freedom to drive around in a virtual city." Clinton Keith, the project director, said the idea behind an "open space" game was to make the gameplay more diverse, and to add an "element of discovery", such as the shortcuts players can take to reach the finish line first. Gary Whitta described the game as open racing: "you still have checkpoints to hit you don't have to follow the A-B-C-D standard to do it".