Gamasutra: In March 1997, Sony launched the Net Yaroze project, which put the power of the original PlayStation in the hands of amateur developers. For well under $1000, hobbyists could get a special PlayStation unit which hooked to PCs and allowed them to develop their own games. This look back at the system includes interviews with developers who got their start on the system, as well as academics who used it in some of the earliest hands-on game development programs in the world.
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 original PlayStation's Net Yaroze games were basically liminal spaces, with these PS1 homemade games being creepy in their own right.
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.
Ahh, I still own a copy of OPM UK Demo Disc 42. So brilliant gems on that.
When did this happen? I would've bought one if I knew it existed.