The original PlayStation's Net Yaroze games were basically liminal spaces, with these PS1 homemade games being creepy in their own right.
In the 1980s, the hobbyist game development scene was absolutely thriving in the UK. Home computers like the ZX Spectrum, BBC Micro, and Commodore 64 all allowed their users to write custom code from scratch, in what was known as the Basic programming language.
As a result, each system had an incredibly dedicated audience of bedroom developers who were keen to hone their programming skills by creating computer games, copying them to cassette, and flogging their wares any which way they could.
It was a golden era of creativity and grassroots development that saw the rise of legendary software houses like Psygnosis and Ocean. Series like WipEout, Lemmings, and Colony Wars genuinely might never have seen the light of day were it not for this pioneering period.
Fast forward four decades to today, and independently-created video games are everywhere. With development tools like Unity being so easily accessible, and an almost limitless number of online storefronts, it’s never been easier to create and distribute vidja.
What a great history article hopefully Sony remembers these values. Remaster net yoroze maybe make something unique and new.
The Sony PlayStation took the world by storm in the mid-1990s. The console was the most successful CD-based system, bringing unrivaled graphics and sound to gamers. Some of these games came from developers like Squaresoft, Naughty Dog, Konami, and other big names. What you may not know though, is that Sony was pushing homebrew development on their console.
I remember hearing about this way back in the day on the PlayStation Underground CD magazine.
Over 15 years ago the original PlayStation ushered in a new generation of talent.
It's been a lot about Cerny lately. And he deserves it, don't get me wrong. But I'm so glad to read an article mentionning Shahid Ahmad. The guy is unknown to many people, and yet he has done so much to Sony, to the industry and to indie gaming. Awesome man, he deserves more recognition.
I remember Net Yaroze. It was a great incentive and unheard of, (at least by me) at the time, on a console level.
I had a game called Rocks and Gems which was basically a Boulderdash clone, but cos no one was making an actual Boulderdash game, and because it was on PSOne, not Commodore 64 it looked great.
Ahh memories. Before the internet, before the console wars, and when a troll was just an ugly guy that lived under a bridge.
Rocks n Gems was a fave of mine. A game called "pushy" (I think), haunted maze and terra incognita. Net Yaroze was awesome.
Terra Incognita! Awesome soundtrack, hilarious translations and pretty fun to play. Net Yaroze was awesome. I have a demo disc still to this day with many games on it. Used to be one of my fave parts of getting a demo disc with my magazines.
Wow, you've just reminded me about that disc :) Still have it sitting in the cupboard. Came with about 30 Yaroze games wasn't it? From OPM UK :)
Terra Incognita was a great game for something that was free :) I also enjoyed Between The Eyes, and pushy? I think it was called :)
Yes, it was with opmuk
Pushy was the little blob that moved blocks if I remember correctly. I enjoyed that. I also enjoyed the haunted maze. Had me on the edge of my seat as a kid. Good times, eh?
Yeah, pretty sure if I searched I could still find that disc since I never seen to throw anything away. Got a Sega Master system, SNES, Megadrive, N64, PSone,PS2, Xbox, Gamecube, X360 and PS3 sitting on no more than 50 feet away from me right now. I really need to clean up
I'm quite bad for keeping hold of my game related stuff. I don't even really take care of the stuff I don't use. It's just there lol. Always good to come across things because it brings a smile to my face. As long as I don't go full hoarder mode I will be fine. Good console choices btw.
Just moved house and I almost threw all that stuff away. I kept it but i thought about maybe keeping the consoles themselves in a display like in museum but ditching all the cords and controllers and cartridges. Its still all currently in my shed but.
No matter how many times I see it... the matte black Net Yaroze PS1 still looks badass.
