Introduction to Hacking the Sony PlayStation
Sony’s first PlayStation stores game data on CD-ROM and runs MIPS code alongside dedicated geometry, graphics, and sound hardware. That division of work makes a disc image, an executable, and a frame of 3D graphics three different starting points for reverse engineering. This hub connects them to development tools and game-specific research. The console could look modest beside the Nintendo 64 and Sega Saturn on paper, yet its best games could be just as visually striking.
Games
The game pages below show what survives beyond a retail disc: debug symbols, developer accounts, and reconstructed code.
PlayStation 1 Games with Debug Symbols
An excellent way to start reverse engineering is to find games where the developers accidentally left the Debug symbols in the retail release of the game. While this is not very common it has happened for a few games released for the PlayStation One and gives you access to all the original function and variables names that were used in the retail source code.
Crash Bandicoot
Crash Bandicoot was one of the first 3d platformers that managed to deliver quality gameplay while looking impressive for its time.
It was created by Andy Gavin and Jason Rubin for release on the original PlayStation console, and both developers have been kind enough to share ample amount of information on how the game was implemented.
Evolution of (Playstation) PS1 Games 1995-2018
GameForest presents a comprehensive visual timeline of the PlayStation platform’s library, showcasing the graphical and gameplay evolution from 1995 to 2018. The compilation chronicles major releases across the console generations, starting with early PS1 titles like Jumping Flash! and Arc the Lad, moving through the PS2 and PS3 eras with defining games such as Grand Theft Auto and Uncharted, and concluding with modern PS4 blockbusters like Horizon Zero Dawn and God of War.
PS1 Exclusives
The most valuable reverse engineering projects tend to be the platform exclusives that have never been re-released as these are the games that can benefit the most from enhancements on modern hardware.
Wikipedia maintains a list of PlayStation 1 exclusives - PlayStation (console)-only games - Wikipedia
Remastered PS1 Games
Some classic PS1 games have been remastered or remade for more modern consoles, if you are looking to reverse engineer one of these games it may help to look at the modern version to find additional information that may be relevant.
| Name | Platform | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Ape Escape | PSP | Source Code was ported to the PSP as Ape Escape: On the Loose |
| Crash Bandicoot 1-3 | PS4, Switch, PC, XboxOne | Remade in Alchemy engine but tried to be as faithful as possible to the originals |
| Crash Team Racing | PS4, Switch, XboxOne | Remade in Alchemy Engine with additional content from Crash Nitro Kart and Crash Tag Team Racing |
| Castlevania SOTN | Xbox360, PS4, iOS, Android | Re-Released in Castlevania Requiem compilation |
| Final Fantasy 7-9 | PS4, Switch | |
| Legend of Mana | PS4, Switch, iOS, Android | Original engine but with higher resolution assets? (confirmation required) |
| MediEvil | PS4 | Remade in the Unreal Engine |
| Mega Man X 4 | PS4, Switch, XboxOne | Source Code Port of X4 Released in Mega Man X Legacy Collection |
| Metal Gear Solid | Gamecube | Remade for Gamecube as Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes |
| PaRappa The Rapper | PSP, PS4 | The PS4 version is actually just a the PSP version emulated with higher resolution assets |
| Resident Evil 1-3 | PS3, PS4, XboxOne | Does this use original engine with higher resolution assets? |
| SaGa Frontier | PS4, Switch, iOS, Android, Windows | |
| Spyro 1-3 | PS4, Switch | Remade in Unreal Engine 4 but aims to be as faithful as possible to the originals |
| Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 | PS4/5, Switch, XboxOne | Remade in Unreal Engine 4 |
Wipeout Omega Collection is one game that did not make the list as its technically not a remaster of the PS1 original. This list also doesn’t include projects such as PS one Classics as they were just emulations of the original PS1 games running on a more modern console and not either a source port or a full remake.
Dino Crisis Modern Edition
Rotmill’s Dino Crisis Modern Edition is a fan mod that rebuilds the PS1 game from the user’s own disc image into a native Windows program. It adds an over-the-shoulder camera, updated controls and quality-of-life settings. The project’s setup translates game code to C using the psxrecomp framework and builds it locally; this is not a claim that a matching decompilation has been completed 1.
The repository and installer contain no original game files. See the project’s supported-disc list before attempting a build, and do not redistribute the generated game program 1.
Tool-Assisted-Speedruns (TAS) for PS1
In this video EZScape demonstrates a few speed runs for PS1 games that could never be possible by humans as they require changing the controller input every single frame. He shows techniques such as Zig-zagging in Crash Bandicoot, Pac-Man World and Spyro 3.
If you are interested in creating your own Tool-Assisted-Speedruns then you might want to check the latest version of BizHawk. If you are interested in improving some existing TAS then check out PS1 Tool-assisted movies - TASVideos
Homebrew
PSXSplash Documentation: Unity to PS1 Homebrew
The PSXSplash documentation provides a comprehensive guide for using SplashEdit, a Unity editor package designed for building PlayStation 1 games. This toolchain allows developers to design scenes in Unity, write game logic using Lua, and export the project directly to real PS1 hardware or emulators. The documentation covers essential technical topics such as VRAM packing, texture quantization, MIPS compiler integration, and Lua API references for handling entities, audio, and animations.
Hardware
Disc protection and modchips
Technology Connections explains the PlayStation’s disc copy protection and its limitations. It provides background for understanding how modchips interact with the authentication process.
MattKC demonstrates making a PlayStation modchip from scratch. The project gives a hardware implementation example alongside the security explanations.
Modern Vintage Gamer explains how the PlayStation’s security was defeated. It supplies a broader account of the protection system alongside the modchip construction example.
Retail PlayStation hardware
The motherboard separates program execution, polygon drawing, CD access, and audio into distinct components. The main parts are:
- 32-bit MIPS CPU (33.96Mhz)
- GPU - Unlike more modern GPUs it Only handled 2D Polygons (360k per second) 2
- Geometry Transformation Engine (GTE) - 1.5M Vertices per second 2
- 24 Channel sound chip (SPU)
Main Board
The CPU
If you thought that the Nintendo 64 was the only console that partnered with SGI for this generation of consoles you would be mistaken, the CPU for the original PlayStation used technology licensed from SGI and build by LSI Logic Corp 4.
The CPU used for the PlayStation was not just a simple MIPS R3000A, it was partnered with additional co-processors to handle system resources and geometry processing. There was actually only 2 co-processors in the CPU named COP0 and COP2 as COP1 and COP3 were not present in the chip.
System Control Co-processor (COP0)
The System control co-processor was the part of the CPU that handled memory management, interrupts and hardware breakpoints. This allows the main processor to focus on game logic while the system co-processor handled all the lower-level details 5.
Geometry Transformation Engine (GTE)
The Geometry Transformation Engine (GTE) was what allowed the PlayStation to handle 3D graphics, it was specifically designed to do the sort of fast mathematical calculations used for Vertex/Geometry processing. Without it the PlayStation hardware would not have been able to pull of the excellent 3D graphics it was known for in its time.
The GTE is the second co-processor attached to the main processor of the PS1 and this it is also reffered to as Cop2.
It is ideal for the mathematics required to do calculations in 3D space, as it is much faster than the main cpu for these sort of calculations.
Some of the main uses for the GTE are:
- 3D Rotation/Translation/Projection calculations
- Fogging calculations
- Lighting calculations
- Colour calculations
The PSY-Q development environment exposes the gte functionality to programmers using a bunch of functions and assembly instructions that start with gte_, for example gte_ncdt().
One interesting limitation of the PS1 GPU is that it didn’t have a Z-buffer so polygons needed to be sorted by the PS1 CPU instead, so often the Painters algorithm was used 6.
Why PlayStation graphics wobble
Modern Vintage Gamer explains the warping and wobble associated with PlayStation graphics. The visual examples help connect the console’s rendering limitations with their appearance in games.
Development Kit Hardware
Development kits are released to game developers before the launch of the system to allow games to be developed for the system’s launch. These systems would evolve over the systems lifespan and contained useful features for debugging and optimizing games for the platform. These systems were not just limited to the official offerings by Sony as a few other publishers had their own versions of development hardware.
Official Development Kit
The official development kit for the PS1 was a partnership between Sony and SN Systems which allowed developers to use their PC to interact with the real PS1 hardware.
Official Consumer Development Kit (Net Yaroze)
The official development kit for the PS1 was only available for licensed game developers but there was a stripped-down version available for the general public known as Net Yaroze.
Unofficial Hardware Add-ons
Sony PlayStation VCD Player Add-On Card
The YouTuber Scarlet Sprites has a good overview of this rather rare unofficial Chinese PS1 add-on which allowed playing the rather obscure Video CD (VCD) format on retail PlayStation 1 consoles:
It plugged into the back of the console via the IO and AV ports without any need for additional power and has a switch on the top to switch between VCD mode and game mode. This suggests that the PlayStation first boots into the IO port before running the game disc.
Also note that there was an official PS1 model released in Japan that played Video CDs called the SCPH-5903 VideoCD which has additional hardware inside the console.
Software Development Kits
Official Software development kit
The Official Software development kit was developed by a partnership between SN Systems who are known for excellent 3rd party development kits and the Game Studio Psygnosis who are known for excellent quality games.
It was initially called PSY-Q and even although it was owned by Sony it was actually a cross-platform development kit which included support for the Sega Saturn!
Sony later rebranded the SDK to SDevTC at some point in 1998(?).
Official 3D Graphics Tools (DTL-S220A)
In August 1998 Sony provided a CD to developers with a bunch of 3D Graphics tools7 such as:
- Meditor - Material Editor
- BMP2TIM, PICT2TIM, RGB2TIM, TIMUTIL.EXE - Tools to convert image formats into the PS1 texture image format TIM
Also provided was the 3D Graphics Tools manual with tutorials on how to use the provided software.
PS1 File formats
PS1 Executable Format
How does a PlayStation disc name its boot program?
Sony’s PlayStation Developers Guide instructs publishers to place SYSTEM.CNF;1 at the root of the disc. Its BOOT line gives the path of the executable to load. For a disc with product code SLUS-12345, the prescribed filename is SLUS_123.45;1; the underscore and period are part of the filename convention 8.
BOOT = cdrom:\SLUS_123.45;1
TCB = 4
EVENT = 10
STACK = 801fff00
The boot file is a PS-X EXE, whose 0x800-byte header records its initial program counter, RAM destination, and code size. The PSX-SPX executable reference maps those fields. Check SYSTEM.CNF first when locating a game’s entry point; a disc can also contain other executables and data files 9.
The PS1-EXE page goes deeper into the file format:
PS1 Emulation
bleem! Commerical PS1 Emulator for Pentium 166+ PCs
Zophar has released an in-depth interview with veteran programmer Randy Linden, diving into his extensive career in reverse engineering and emulator development. The video covers the technical hurdles of creating the bleem! PlayStation emulator for the PC, including the implementation of a dynamic optimizing recompiler to achieve playable speeds on a Pentium 166. Additionally, it details his groundbreaking work reverse engineering hardware to port Doom to the Super Nintendo using the Super FX chip.
Game Asset Creation Tools
Ever wondered how your favourite game artists made assets for PlayStation 1? Although the exact software used for most games are still a secret, we have managed to piece together what we know so far about how 3D models and 2D Images were created.
What software was used to create 3D models for PS1 games?
To create 3D models for PlayStation 1 games the following tools are known to have been used:
- trueSpace for PlayStation - Directly reads the PS1 RSD format rather than going through the standard DXF 7
- 3D Studio - Exports to DXF format
- AutoCAD - Exports to DXF format but not really made for game development
What software was used to create 2D Textures and Sprites for PS1 games?
To create textures (and therefore sprites) the following tools are known to have been used:
- Adobe Photoshop - A plugin was available to directly edit PlayStation TIM files without requiring conversion 7.
Reverse Engineering PS1 Games
AI Assisted Matching Decompilation
Start with your own disc image in decompdecomp, let local tools collect free matches, then connect a coding agent. Our Chicken Run walkthrough explains PS1 compiler detection, overlays and how to read the function map.
Radare2
Start with the BOOT path in SYSTEM.CNF to locate the executable on the disc image. For example, a European release might name SLES_032.85.
Then open it with radare2 like so:
r2 ./SLES_032.85
Fix the PS1 Offset in r2
To Disassemble PS1 Binary files (MIPS little endian) you need to map a file at offset 0x80010000 like so:
o ./SLES_032.85 0x80010000 rwx
Replace SLES_032.85 with the location of your own PSX executable.
Now we want to analyze all the functions in the executable like so:
aaaa
All Posts
AI can help a reverse engineer turn a game executable into readable C, identify unknown functions, and search for source code that recreates the original machine instructions.
The last task is particularly interesting for retro games: an AI agent can...
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Start a PlayStation decompilation with Chicken Run in decompdecomp.
Import your disc, collect free matches, choose a compiler and connect coding agents.
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As the name suggests Batman Forever is originally an Arcade Game that got ported to MS-DOS, the Playstation 1 and Sega Saturn by Iguana Entertainment (Acclaim Published).
The original arcade release was for the ST-V (Sega Titan Video Game System)...
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On 1st November 2020 CAPCOM was targeted by known hacker group RagnarLeaks and some source code and private data was leaked to the dark web.
This post will only cover source code that was found in the leak, we only...
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Inside Chicken Run Chicken Run (2000) Developed by Blitz Games (formerly known as Interactive Studios Limited) in 2000 as a cross-platform action adventure based on the movie of the same name.
Eidos published it for Dreamcast, PlayStation, and Windows 1....
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Introduction to Crash Bandicoot Crash Bandicoot was one of the first 3D Platform games that managed to deliver both quality gameplay and impressive graphics for its time.
It was developed Naughty Dog for release on the original Playstation console with...
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PlayStation Underground List of known issues (CD-ROMs): PlayStation Underground Volume 1.1 - Making of the Twisted Metal 2 Commercial - Making of NFL Game Day 97 PlayStation Underground Volume 1.2 PlayStation Underground Volume 1.3 PlayStation Underground Volume 1.4 - Making... ...
Introduction to the Net Yaroze The Net Yaroze was a consumer development kit for the PlayStation 1, it consisted of a customised retail console with the ability to connect to a developer PC.
It cost about £550 in the UK...
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History for the PSY-Q SDK The History of the PSYQ PS1 Software development kit is fascinating, it starts with a collaboration between two UK companies, SN Systems and Cross Products, to find out more we need to go a litter... ...
PSY-Q Linker Files The PS1 linker files for the game chicken run by Blitz Games were made publicly available and are available for both the release and the demo version: crtest.lnk and crdemo.lnk respectively.
So what are these control (.lnk)...
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File Formats used to distribute PS1 Discs A Playstation One CD can either be directly put into your PC via the CD-ROM drive or mounting a .BIN/.ISO file.
All of these are just ways to be able to see the...
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I have never seen a PS1 executable bigger than 2mb, normally if they require more code they split it into multiple executables.
With memory being so precious it would be unlikely a developer would forget to strip the debug symbols...
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Note that the order of the externals defined in this list will not reflect the order in the final linked executable, as the order here is just the order that the PSYLIB.EXE tool exports in.
LIBAPI - PS1 OS Kernel...
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Matching an Existing Game’s Toolchain A working PSY-Q installation does not establish that it reproduces a retail game’s machine code.
Record the compiler and ASPSX versions, flags and library versions separately.
The compiler guide explains why assembler-generated instructions can affect...
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This post covers the hardware used to develop PlayStation One games by major studios back in the day, for the software side see the post on the PsyQ Software Development Kit.
{% include_cached link-to-other-post.html post=”/Official-PlayStation-1-Software-Development-Kit” description=”For the software side of...
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The PS-X EXE format is the PlayStation 1’s main “load this into RAM and jump to it” executable format.
It is used for both retail discs and homebrew.
Despite the name, it is not really similar to a windows .exe...
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Magazine Interviews
The magazine index collects developer interviews tagged for this system across all indexed magazines.
| Magazine | Issue | Pages | Developer | Platforms | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retro Gamer | 6 | pp. 97-101 | Tony Warriner | PC, PlayStation | Warriner discusses Revolution Software and the development of its adventure games, including Broken Sword. |
| Retro Gamer | 8 | pp. 88-99 | Steve Turner | ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amiga, PlayStation, PC | Turner gives a first-person history of Graftgold, including its development methods and later games. |
| Retro Gamer | 28 | pp. 70-75 | Former Core Design staff | Amiga, Atari ST, PC, PlayStation | A company profile uses former staff recollections to cover Core Design and the creation of Tomb Raider. |
| Retro Gamer | 35 | pp. 78-81 | Lee Carus and Nick Burcombe | PlayStation | Lee Carus and Nick Burcombe discusses WipEout. |
| Retro Gamer | 36 | pp. 48-53 | Koji Igarashi | PlayStation | Koji Igarashi discusses Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. |
| Retro Gamer | 43 | pp. 62-65 | Gavin Raeburn, Brian Coller and Jamie Adamson | PlayStation | Interview about the making of Colin McRae Rally. |
| Retro Gamer | 49 | pp. 60-63 | Chris Sorrell and Jason Wilson | PlayStation | Interview about the making of MediEvil. |
| Retro Gamer | 50 | pp. 46-53 | Mike Dailly, Peter Farley and other DMA Design developers | PC, PlayStation | Interview about the history of Grand Theft Auto. |
| Retro Gamer | 51 | pp. 72-75 | Kazuma Kujo | PlayStation | Interview about the making of R-Type Delta. |
| Retro Gamer | 52 | pp. 82-87 | Fumihiro Tanaka and Yozo Sakagami | Arcade, PlayStation | Interview about the arcade and PlayStation versions of Ridge Racer. |
| Retro Gamer | 61 | pp. 50-55 | Shinji Mikami | PlayStation | Interview about the making of Resident Evil. |
| Retro Gamer | 69 | pp. 78-81 | Simon Pick and James Duncan | PlayStation, Sega Saturn, PC | Interviews about the making of Die Hard Trilogy. |
| Retro Gamer | 72 | pp. 66-71 | Tony Oakden | PlayStation | Interview about the making of Driver. |
| Retro Gamer | 76 | p. 16 | Masaya Matsuura | PlayStation | A Moment With Q&A about his rhythm games. |
| Retro Gamer | 76 | pp. 56-63 | Jon Burton | Amiga, PlayStation | Interview in the history of Traveller’s Tales. |
| Retro Gamer | 76 | pp. 64-67 | Masaya Matsuura | PlayStation | Interview about the making of Vib-Ribbon. |
| Retro Gamer | 78 | pp. 24-33 | Toby Gard and Jeremy Heath-Smith | PlayStation | Interviews in a feature about the creation of Lara Croft and Tomb Raider. |
| Retro Gamer | 81 | p. 16 | Lorne Lanning | PlayStation | A Moment With Q&A about the Oddworld series and game design. |
| Retro Gamer | 81 | pp. 66-67 | Robert Troughton | PlayStation | Q&A about the making of Destruction Derby. |
| Retro Gamer | 85 | pp. 86-91 | Tim Wright | Amiga, PlayStation | In the Chair interview about his game music career. |
| Retro Gamer | 89 | p. 14 | Chris Sorrell | Amiga, PlayStation | A Moment With Q&A about James Pond, MediEvil and his career. |
| Retro Gamer | 90 | pp. 54-57 | Andrew Gavin | PlayStation | Interview about the making of Crash Bandicoot. |
| Retro Gamer | 90 | pp. 86-91 | Ian Grieve | Amiga, PlayStation | Desert Island Disks interview about his work at Psygnosis. |
| Retro Gamer | 91 | pp. 88-93 | Michel Ancel | PC, PlayStation | In the Chair interview about Rayman, Beyond Good & Evil and his career. |
| Retro Gamer | 95 | pp. 38-41 | Matthew Nagy and Ben McGrath | PC, PlayStation, Sega Saturn | Interviews about the making of Alien Trilogy. |
| Retro Gamer | 96 | pp. 24-33 | Yoshinori Kitase and Yusuke Naora | PlayStation | Exclusive interviews about the making of Final Fantasy VII. |
| Retro Gamer | 98 | pp. 58-61 | Yasunaga Oyama | PlayStation | Interview about the making of Alundra. |
| Retro Gamer | 98 | pp. 78-79 | Lorne Lanning | PlayStation | Q&A about the making of Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee. |
| Retro Gamer | 100 | pp. 80-85 | Mike Dailly, Paul Farley, David Cowan and Dave Jones | PC, PlayStation | Developer interviews about the making of Grand Theft Auto. |
| Retro Gamer | 102 | pp. 64-69 | WipEout developers | PlayStation | Developers reflect on the design, music, and visual identity of the WipEout series. |
| Retro Gamer | 103 | pp. 68-69 | Jacob Habgood | PlayStation, PC | The lead programmer discusses the design and production of Hogs of War. |
| Retro Gamer | 104 | pp. 32-35 | Yutaka Kounoe | Arcade, PlayStation | The Namco developer recalls the production of Tekken. |
| Retro Gamer | 108 | pp. 22-29 | Psygnosis and Studio Liverpool developers | Amiga, PlayStation | Former developers and collaborators remember Psygnosis and Studio Liverpool. |
| Retro Gamer | 108 | pp. 56-65 | Square Enix developers | Nintendo, PlayStation | Square developers discuss making entries in the Final Fantasy series for its 25th anniversary. |
| Retro Gamer | 114 | pp. 46-51 | Bizarre Creations staff | PlayStation, Xbox 360 | Former developers recall Wiz N Liz, Project Gotham Racing, and the studio’s other work. |
| Retro Gamer | 116 | pp. 90-95 | Martin Edmondson | Amiga, PlayStation | The Reflections founder discusses Shadow of the Beast and the Driver series. |
| Retro Gamer | 117 | pp. 66-71 | Andy Gavin | PlayStation, PlayStation 2 | The Naughty Dog co-founder recounts the studio’s early games and development. |
| Retro Gamer | 120 | p. 27 | Burke Trieschmann | PC, PlayStation | The composer discusses two decades of game music, including Pandemonium and The Horde. |
| Retro Gamer | 120 | pp. 66-71 | Lorne Lanning | PlayStation, Xbox | Lanning discusses Abe’s Oddysee, the Oddworld series, and its return. |
| Retro Gamer | 125 | pp. 50-53 | Fan translation developers | PlayStation, Home consoles | Fan translators describe bringing Japanese games into English. |
| Retro Gamer | 128 | pp. 54-61 | Katsuhiro Harada | Arcade, PlayStation | Harada discusses the origins and growth of Tekken. |
| Retro Gamer | 129 | pp. 70-77 | Martin Edmondson | PlayStation, PlayStation 2 | Edmondson discusses the development of the Driver series. |
| Retro Gamer | 131 | pp. 82-87 | Neversoft developers | PlayStation | Former staff recall designing the original Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. |
| Retro Gamer | 132 | pp. 70-75 | Oddworld Inhabitants staff | PlayStation, PC | Lorne Lanning and colleagues recount creating the early Oddworld games. |
| Retro Gamer | 133 | p. 18 | Nick Burcombe | PlayStation, PlayStation Vita | The former WipEout developer discusses Table Top Racing. |
| Retro Gamer | 134 | pp. 86-89 | Medal of Honor developers | PlayStation | Developers discuss creating the original Medal of Honor. |
| Retro Gamer | 134 | pp. 92-97 | Andrew Hutchings | Acorn Archimedes, PlayStation | Hutchings recounts his game development career in Desert Island Disks. |
| Retro Gamer | 137 | pp. 22-35 | PlayStation developers and producers | PlayStation | Developers and Sony staff look back at the original PlayStation and its games. |
| Retro Gamer | 142 | pp. 80-87 | David Jaffe and Michael Riccio | PlayStation, PlayStation 2 | The developers discuss the making and evolution of Twisted Metal. |
| Retro Gamer | 146 | pp. 68-75 | Charles Cecil | PC, PlayStation | Cecil looks back at the creation and evolution of Broken Sword. |
| Retro Gamer | 147 | pp. 82-87 | Tomb Raider developers | Saturn, PlayStation, PC | Core Design developers describe the original Tomb Raider and Lara Croft’s design. |
| Retro Gamer | 148 | pp. 92-97 | Charles Cecil | Amiga, PC, PlayStation | Cecil discusses Revolution Software and the Broken Sword games. |
| Retro Gamer | 149 | pp. 44-51 | Greg Fischbach and Acclaim staff | NES, PlayStation, Nintendo 64 | Former staff discuss Acclaim’s publishing and development history. |
| Retro Gamer | 150 | p. 45 | Koji Igarashi | PlayStation | Igarashi discusses the RPG elements, protagonist, and music of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. |
| Retro Gamer | 152 | pp. 20-27 | Andy Satterthwaite and Nicky Place | PlayStation | The producer and lead artist recount how Psygnosis developed WipEout 2097. |
| Retro Gamer | 152 | pp. 92-97 | Mike Dailly | Amiga, PC, PlayStation | Dailly discusses his career from Lemmings and Uni Rally to Grand Theft Auto. |
| Retro Gamer | 154 | pp. 78-85 | Yohei Shimbori | Arcade, Sony PlayStation, Xbox | The Team Ninja developer discusses the design and evolution of Dead Or Alive. |
| Retro Gamer | 154 | pp. 88-91 | Jez San, Nic Cusworth and Argonaut developers | PlayStation, Saturn | The team recalls the creation of Croc: Legend Of The Gobbos. |
| Retro Gamer | 154 | p. 90 | Justin Scharvona | PlayStation, Saturn | The composer discusses writing music for Croc: Legend Of The Gobbos. |
| Retro Gamer | 158 | pp. 60-65 | Delphine Software developers | Amiga, PC, PlayStation | Former staff discuss Delphine Software’s cinematic games. |
| Retro Gamer | 158 | pp. 92-97 | Gregg Tavares | PC, PlayStation, GameCube | Tavares discusses his game development career. |
| Retro Gamer | 159 | pp. 72-79 | David Darling and Codemasters staff | ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, PlayStation | The team recounts Codemasters’ development and publishing history. |
| Retro Gamer | 159 | pp. 82-89 | David Siller and Joe McGinn | PlayStation | The developers discuss the creation and evolution of Crash Bandicoot. |
| Retro Gamer | 161 | pp. 46-49 | Kiyoshi Sakai | SNES, PlayStation | Sakai explains the design of Umihara Kawase. |
| Retro Gamer | 162 | pp. 86-89 | Paul Reiche III | PlayStation, Sega Saturn | Reiche recalls Toys for Bob’s Pandemonium!. |
| Retro Gamer | 163 | pp. 16-29 | Stuart Atkinson, Will Kerslake, Meagan Marie, Nathan McCree and Ian Livingstone | PlayStation, PC | Core Design, Crystal Dynamics and Eidos contributors discuss 20 years of Tomb Raider. |
| Retro Gamer | 163 | p. 18 | Shelly Blond | PlayStation, PC | Blond recalls voicing Lara Croft in the first Tomb Raider. |
| Retro Gamer | 163 | p. 24 | Toby Gard | PlayStation, PC | Gard reflects on designing Lara Croft and the original Tomb Raider. |
| Retro Gamer | 163 | pp. 70-75 | Philip Oliver | ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, PlayStation | Oliver recounts the rise and closure of Blitz Games Studios. |
| Retro Gamer | 163 | pp. 76-79 | Martin Edmondson | PlayStation | Edmondson discusses developing Destruction Derby 2. |
| Retro Gamer | 164 | pp. 18-27 | Cory Davis, Sam Barlow and horror game developers | PlayStation, PC | Developers discuss the legacy and influence of Resident Evil. |
| Retro Gamer | 164 | p. 20 | Cory Davis | PlayStation, PC | The Here They Lie codirector answers questions about Resident Evil’s influence. |
| Retro Gamer | 164 | pp. 82-89 | Gregg Barnett and Chris Bateman | PC, PlayStation, Sega Saturn | The developers discuss adapting Terry Pratchett’s Discworld into adventure games. |
| Retro Gamer | 164 | pp. 92-97 | Goichi Suda | PlayStation, GameCube, Wii | Suda51 discusses his career and Grasshopper Manufacture’s games. |
| Retro Gamer | 165 | pp. 54-57 | Richard Ham and Eidetic developers | PlayStation | The team recalls the troubled making of Bubsy 3D. |
| Retro Gamer | 165 | pp. 76-81 | Marc Rosocha and Eclipse developers | Atari Jaguar, PlayStation | The team discusses the Iron Soldier series. |
| Retro Gamer | 166 | pp. 80-83 | Henk Nieborg and Erwin Kloibhofer | PlayStation | The developers discuss the making of The Adventures of Lomax. |
| Retro Gamer | 167 | pp. 80-87 | Lyle Hall and Crystal Dynamics developers | 3DO, PlayStation, Sega Saturn | The team recalls creating Gex and its sequels. |
| Retro Gamer | 168 | pp. 92-97 | Mark Cerny | Arcade, PlayStation, PlayStation 4 | Cerny discusses his game development career. |
| Retro Gamer | 169 | pp. 94-99 | Nobuo Uematsu | NES, SNES, PlayStation | Uematsu discusses his videogame music career and Final Fantasy. |
| Retro Gamer | 170 | pp. 28-33 | Shinji Hashimoto | NES, SNES, PlayStation | The Square Enix brand manager reflects on 30 years of Final Fantasy. |
| Retro Gamer | 172 | pp. 76-83 | Chris Cross | PlayStation, PlayStation 2 | The lead designer discusses the making and legacy of the Medal of Honor series. |
| Retro Gamer | 172 | pp. 94-99 | Adrian Longland | ZX Spectrum, 3DO, PlayStation | Longland discusses his game programming career. |
| Retro Gamer | 175 | pp. 90-93 | Dan Arey | PlayStation | Arey recalls developing Crash Team Racing at Naughty Dog. |
| Retro Gamer | 176 | pp. 94-99 | Jason Kingsley | Atari Jaguar, PC, PlayStation | The Rebellion cofounder discusses 25 years of the studio. |
| Retro Gamer | 177 | p. 53 | Mike Dailly and Paul Hughes | PlayStation | The programmers discuss PlayStation game development. |
| Retro Gamer | 180 | pp. 80-85 | Akitoshi Kawazu | Game Boy, SNES, PlayStation | Kawazu discusses the history and design of Square’s SaGa RPG series. |
| Retro Gamer | 181 | pp. 94-99 | Andy Beale | ZX Spectrum, Mega Drive, PlayStation, Xbox | Beale discusses his game development career. |
| Retro Gamer | 184 | pp. 72-75 | Mark Glossop and Loaded developers | PlayStation, Saturn | The Gremlin team revisits the production of Loaded. |
| Retro Gamer | 185 | pp. 78-83 | Richard Ham | PlayStation, PlayStation 2, PSP | The designer recalls the development and growth of the Syphon Filter series. |
| Retro Gamer | 186 | pp. 90-95 | David Mullich | PC, PlayStation | Mullich discusses his long game design and production career. |
| Retro Gamer | 187 | pp. 68-71 | Jason Falcus and Darren Falcus | PlayStation, PlayStation 2, PC | The brothers discuss founding Atomic Planet and developing its games. |
| Retro Gamer | 187 | pp. 90-95 | Darren Melbourne | Commodore 64, PlayStation | Melbourne discusses his game development, licensing and publishing career. |
| Retro Gamer | 188 | pp. 20-29 | Lorne Lanning, Mark Cerny, Mike Dailly, Chris Roberts and PlayStation developers | PlayStation | Developers discuss Sony’s original PlayStation hardware and its games. |
| Retro Gamer | 189 | pp. 58-65 | Chris Bateman, Dave Gilbert, Maksym Riznyk and David Leary | PC, PlayStation | Game designers discuss the enduring appeal and mechanics of detective games. |
| Retro Gamer | 189 | pp. 88-93 | Peter McConnell | PC, PlayStation | McConnell discusses his videogame music career at LucasArts and beyond. |
| Retro Gamer | 190 | pp. 18-27 | Yoshiaki Hirabayashi | PlayStation, Nintendo 64, Dreamcast | The Capcom developer revisits the original Resident Evil 2 and its release on multiple platforms. |
| Retro Gamer | 192 | pp. 84-87 | Takuma Endo and Tenchu developers | PlayStation | Acquire staff revisit the creation of Tenchu: Stealth Assassins. |
| Retro Gamer | 193 | pp. 18-27 | Ed Boon | Arcade, PlayStation | Boon recounts the development and evolution of the Mortal Kombat series. |
| Retro Gamer | 193 | pp. 74-81 | Dan Marshall, Ryan Payton and stealth game developers | PC, PlayStation | Developers discuss the design principles and history of stealth games. |
| Retro Gamer | 194 | pp. 58-65 | Daisuke Ishiwatari | PlayStation | Ishiwatari reflects on designing the original Guilty Gear. |
| Retro Gamer | 194 | pp. 68-71 | Keith Bullen and Trip Hawkins | PC, PlayStation | The designer and 3DO founder discuss the creation of the Army Men series. |
| Retro Gamer | 196 | pp. 84-87 | Simon Prytherch | PlayStation | The producer discusses developing the console football simulation LMA Manager. |
| Retro Gamer | 196 | pp. 90-95 | Vincent Baillet | Amiga, Atari ST, PlayStation | Baillet reflects on his programming and studio management career. |
| Retro Gamer | 199 | pp. 18-31 | Tom Hall, John Romero and Doom developers | PC, Atari Jaguar, PlayStation | Developers revisit the creation and ports of Doom. |
| Retro Gamer | 200 | pp. 64-65 | Graeme Devine, Nick Burcombe and CD-ROM game developers | PC, Mega-CD, PlayStation | Developers discuss how CD-ROM storage changed game design in the Nineties. |
| Retro Gamer | 200 | pp. 66-69 | Michael Troughton and PlayStation developers | PlayStation | Developers discuss the original PlayStation and the technical changes it brought to game making. |
| Retro Gamer | 201 | pp. 76-81 | Toshihiro Kondo | PC, PlayStation | Falcom’s president discusses the studio and its Ys and Trails RPGs. |
| Retro Gamer | 202 | pp. 46-51 | Minoru Kidooka, Toshimichi Mori and Daisuke Ishiwatari | NES, PlayStation, Arcade | Arc System Works staff trace the studio’s path from conversions to fighting games. |
| Retro Gamer | 202 | pp. 60-67 | Konstantinos Dimopoulos and Jakub Szamałek | PC, PlayStation | Creators discuss how believable cities are designed and written for videogames. |
| Retro Gamer | 203 | pp. 54-61 | John Manley and Mike Posehn | Mega Drive, SNES, PlayStation | The developers revisit the creation and evolution of EA’s Strike helicopter games. |
| Retro Gamer | 207 | p. 13 | Aubrey Hodges | PC, PlayStation, Nintendo 64 | Hodges discusses his game soundtracks, including music for Doom and Quake. |
| Retro Gamer | 207 | pp. 64-69 | Guy Miller, Simon Phipps and Paul Taylor | Nintendo 64, PlayStation, Dreamcast, PC | The developers revisit Acclaim’s dark action game Shadow Man. |
| Retro Gamer | 207 | p. 68 | Paul Taylor | Nintendo 64, PlayStation | Taylor explains how Shadow Man was altered after concern over its violent content. |
| Retro Gamer | 208 | pp. 72-77 | Martin Edmondson and Mike Troughton | PlayStation | The Reflections developers discuss the origins and evolution of Destruction Derby. |
| Retro Gamer | 210 | pp. 18-27 | Mick West, Joel Jewett, Alan Flores and Barry Morales | PlayStation, PlayStation 2 | Neversoft staff revisit the design and production of the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater games. |
| Retro Gamer | 211 | pp. 48-51 | Matthew Stibbe | PC, PlayStation | Stibbe recalls founding Intelligent Games and developing games for major publishers. |
| Retro Gamer | 213 | pp. 80-83 | Masaya Matsuura and Rodney Greenblat | PlayStation | The musician and artist revisit the development of PaRappa the Rapper. |
| Retro Gamer | 213 | pp. 84-87 | Yoshiro Kimura | PlayStation | Kimura discusses the design of Love-de-Lic’s unconventional role-playing game Moon. |
| Retro Gamer | 215 | pp. 92-97 | Jon Dean | Atari 8-bit, ZX Spectrum, PlayStation | Dean reflects on game publishing and production at Atari and other companies. |
| Retro Gamer | 216 | pp. 72-75 | Ted Price and Insomniac Games developers | PlayStation | The team reflects on the design of Spyro: Year of the Dragon. |
| Retro Gamer | 218 | pp. 66-71 | Hifumi Kono | SNES, PlayStation | Kono discusses designing the original Clock Tower and its horror legacy. |
| Retro Gamer | 219 | pp. 18-29 | Masato Maegawa | Mega Drive, SNES, PlayStation | Treasure’s president reflects on the studio’s games and development history. |
| Retro Gamer | 219 | pp. 70-73 | Barry Lawless, Lasse Louhento and Phil Plunkett | PlayStation | The Funcom Dublin developers discuss creating the kart racer Speed Freaks. |
| Retro Gamer | 220 | pp. 18-27 | Kazuma Kujo | Arcade, PC Engine, PlayStation | Kujo traces the R-Type series and discusses its forthcoming sequel. |
| Retro Gamer | 220 | pp. 72-75 | Dominic Wheatley and Ian Livingstone | ZX Spectrum, PC, PlayStation | The founders discuss Domark’s growth into Eidos and its game publishing work. |
| Retro Gamer | 223 | pp. 76-79 | Steve Leney and Jeff Gamon | PC, PlayStation | The developers explain the making of Warhammer: Shadow of the Horned Rat. |
| Retro Gamer | 224 | pp. 72-77 | Ed Annunziata, Chris Sutherland and Jenna Fearon | PlayStation, Nintendo 64, Saturn | Developers explain how they moved game design from 2D to 3D. |
| Retro Gamer | 225 | pp. 54-59 | Demis Hassabis | PC, Amiga, PlayStation | Hassabis explains the simulation and AI ideas behind Theme Park. |
| Retro Gamer | 225 | pp. 82-89 | Greg LoPiccolo, Marc Flury, Simon Flesser and Ryan Clark | PlayStation, PlayStation 2, PC | Developers trace the creation and evolution of rhythm-action games. |
| Retro Gamer | 226 | pp. 72-75 | Chris Crowell and Steve Nix | PlayStation, PC | The developers recall the tactical action game Future Cop: LAPD. |
| Retro Gamer | 226 | pp. 84-85 | Mat Sneap and Craig Allen | PlayStation, Saturn | The Eurocom and Disney Interactive developers recall the cancelled sequel Maui Mallard 2. |
| Retro Gamer | 228 | pp. 20-29 | Colin Nicholls, Joel Beardshaw, Mark Neesam, Paul Perrott, Steve Holley and Toby Eglesfield | NES, Mega Drive, PlayStation, PC | Developers trace the design and evolution of the Micro Machines games. |
| Retro Gamer | 230 | pp. 62-65 | Gary Sheinwald and Jez San | PlayStation | The developers discuss Alien Resurrection and its PlayStation game engine. |
| Retro Gamer | 233 | pp. 18-29 | Nicky Place, Rob Francis, David Jefferies, Karl Jones and Nick Roberts | PlayStation, PlayStation 2, PSP, PlayStation Vita | Developers and artists trace the evolution of the WipEout series. |
| Retro Gamer | 234 | pp. 64-71 | Martin Edmondson | PlayStation, PlayStation 2 | Edmondson traces the design and technical development of the Driver series. |
| Retro Gamer | 234 | pp. 78-83 | Darren Wood, Rich Albon and Philip Oliver | Nintendo 64, PlayStation, PC | The Interactive Studios team explains the design of Glover. |
| Retro Gamer | 237 | pp. 70-75 | Andrew Ayre and Mike Mika | Macintosh, PlayStation, Game Boy Advance | Digital Eclipse leaders discuss emulation, ports and the studio’s history. |
| Retro Gamer | 238 | pp. 72-75 | Hideo Yoshizawa | Arcade, PlayStation | Yoshizawa discusses the ideas behind Namco’s puzzle game Mr Driller. |
| Retro Gamer | 240 | pp. 66-73 | Jason Epps, Scott Krotz, Sam Barlow and Robert Atkins | PlayStation, PlayStation 2, PC | Former developers trace the design and troubled production of the Legacy Of Kain games. |
| Retro Gamer | 245 | pp. 20-27 | Jeremy Heath-Smith | Amiga, PlayStation | Core Design’s cofounder recalls the studio’s history, from Rick Dangerous to Tomb Raider. |
| Retro Gamer | 245 | pp. 30-37 | Gavin Rummery | PlayStation, PC | The lead programmer recounts developing Tomb Raider II at Core Design. |
| Retro Gamer | 245 | pp. 78-83 | Jason McGann, Emma Killilea and Chris White | PC, PlayStation | Hookstone and Psygnosis staff revisit developing Sentinel Returns. |
| Retro Gamer | 248 | pp. 68-75 | Martyn Chudley | Amiga, PlayStation, Xbox 360 | Bizarre Creations’ founder reviews the studio’s history and games. |
| Retro Gamer | 249 | pp. 68-73 | Nicolas Gaume, Frédéric Motte, Eric Thommerot and Fabrice Carré | PC, PlayStation, Dreamcast | Former Kalisto staff discuss the French studio’s games, technology and business history. |
| Retro Gamer | 251 | pp. 74-79 | Andrew Fox and Owen Mason-Burns | PlayStation, PC | Original and remaster developers discuss Hogs Of War and its planned remake. |
| Retro Gamer | 252 | p. 21 | Craig Stitt | Mega Drive, PlayStation | The Sonic 2 and Spyro artist discusses Mario’s character design and influence on platform games. |
References
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Rotmill, Dino Crisis Modern Edition README, features, build process and disc requirements, consulted 24 October 2026. ↩ ↩2
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20 Years of PlayStation®. Console development past and future - Unite Europe 2015 - YouTube ↩ ↩2
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Edge Magazine issue 20 (May 1995) ↩
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Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, PlayStation Developers Guide, section 5.5.1b. ↩