TITLE
How tech limitations actually made Silent Hill and Crash Bandicoot better games
AUTHOR
Juno Stump
PUBLICATION
Polygon
YEAR
2024
ARTICLE TYPE
Article
FROM THE ARTICLE
All video games are captive to the constraints of technology. But sometimes human ingenuity and art can creatively circumvent reality’s would-be limitations, resulting in something unexpected — except to those who worked tirelessly to make it possible.It’s difficult to imagine Silent Hill without its spooky, ominous fog, or Crash Bandicoot without crates to smash, but sometimes developers stumble into iconic aspects of games while simply looking for creative solutions to technical problems keeping them awake at night. In the 1990s, when those two games were in development, both teams had to contend with the limitations of the very first PlayStation console — no small feat, but audiences were ready to explore and play in 3D spaces.
GAMES MENTIONED
Crash Bandicoot
Silent Hill
PEOPLE MENTIONED
Andy Gavin
Jason Rubin