Making Crash Bandicoot (2011)
Recorded: Nov. 26, 2025, 1:03 a.m.
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Making Crash Bandicoot :: All Things Andy Gavin Writing Andy Gavin: Author Buy the Book Online Untimed Buy Untimed Online Scrivener – Writer’s Word Processor Books Book Review Index Buy the Book Online Untimed About the Book Naughty Dark Contest Games My Video Game Career Movies Movie Review Index Television TV Review Index Food Food Review Index Other All Posts, Magazine Style Gallery About me Contact Making Crash Bandicoot As one of the co-creators of Crash Bandicoot, I have been (slowly) writing a long series of posts on the making of everyone’s favorite orange marsupial. You can find them all below, so enjoy.
Making Crash Bandicoot – part 1 February 2, 2011 467 In the summer of 1994 Naughty Dog, Inc. was still a two-man company, myself and my longtime partner Jason Rubin. Over the preceding eight years, we had published six games as a lean and mean duo, but the time had come to expand. In… Making Crash Bandicoot – part 2 February 3, 2011 96 So what was it that Sega and Nintendo had in 1994, but Sony didn’t? Making Crash Bandicoot – part 3 February 4, 2011 123 While all this art design was going on, I, and then in January 1995, Dave, struggled to build an engine and tool pipeline that would make it possible to render these grandiose cartoon worlds we had envisioned on paper. Since during fall of 1994 Jason was also the only artist, he frantically generated all the source material and banged on my head to make sure it would look incredible. Making Crash Bandicoot – part 4 February 5, 2011 118 We were forging new gameplay ground, causing a lot of growing pains. The control of the main character is the single most important thing in a CAG. I did all the programming, but Mark helped whip me along. For example saying, “he doesn’t stop fast enough,” or “he needs to be able to jump for a frame or two AFTER he’s run off a cliff or it will be frustrating.” Criticism is essential, and as a programmer who wrote dozens of world class control schemes in the years between 1994 and 2004, I rewrote every one at least five or six times. Iteration is king. Making Crash Bandicoot – part 5 February 6, 2011 114 But once the core gameplay worked, these cool levels were missing something. We’d spent so many polygons on our detailed backgrounds and “realistic” cartoon characters that the enemies weren’t that dense, so everything felt a bit empty. Making Crash Bandicoot – part 6 February 7, 2011 391 Not only did we need to finish our E3 demo, but we needed a real name for the game — Willie the Wombat wasn’t going to cut it. Now, in the Naughty Dog office proper we knew he was a Bandicoot. In fact, we liked the idea of using an action name for him, like Crash, Dash, Smash, and Bash — fallout from the visceral reaction to smashing so many boxes. Crash Bandicoot as a Startup (part 7) February 10, 2011 51 Dave Baggett, Naughty Dog employee #1 (after Jason and I) throws his own thoughts on Crash Bandicoot into the ring. Crash Bandicoot – An Outsider’s Perspective (part 8) February 16, 2011 29 After Naughty Dog Jason and I joined forces with another game industry veteran, Jason Kay (collectively Jason R & K are known as “the Jasons”). He was at Activision at the time of the Crash launch and offers his outside perspective. Making Crash Bandicoot – GOOL – part 9 March 12, 2011 167 I’m always being asked for more information on the LISP based languages I designed for the Crash and Jak games. This post is about GOOL, the LISP language used in Crash 1, Crash 2, and Crash 3. GOOL was my second custom language. GOOL was mostly interpreted, although by Crash 2 basic expressions were compiled into machine code. Crash Bandicoot – Teaching an Old Dog New Bits – part 1 March 26, 2011 29 Below is another journal article I wrote on making Crash in 1999. This was co-written with Naughty Dog uber-programmer Stephen White, who was my co-lead on Crash 2, Crash 3, Jak & Daxter, and Jak 2. It’s long, so I’m breaking it into three parts. Crash Bandicoot – Teaching an Old Dog New Bits – part 2 March 27, 2011 9 Part 2 of a detailed journal article I wrote on making Crash in 1999. Crash Bandicoot – Teaching an Old Dog New Bits – part 3 March 28, 2011 181 Part 3 of a journal article I wrote on making Crash in 1999. Crash Memories September 9, 2011 184 In honor of Crash’s 15th Anniversary I wanted to make a post whose primary purpose is to serve as a repository for comments from you — the fans — about your first and favorite Crash Bandicoot impressions. Please make them… Crash Launch Commercials September 15, 2011 29 In honor of the recent 15th Anniversary of my baby Crash Bandicoot, I present collected together the original suite of American TV Ads which premiered in September of 1996. It’s the suit that helped make the Bandicoot what he was. Thanks to… Parlez vous Crash January 6, 2012 51 At Naughty Dog, we pioneered the idea of simultaneous international release. It took a little while to perfect, but by Crash 2 and Crash 3 the same exact code ran all the worldwide versions. Both the games themselves and the marketing was highly localized and targeted. This attention after finishing the game to really polishing it up for the world really paid off in international sales. Crash goes to Japan – part 1 January 11, 2012 142 It’s probably hard for younger gamers to recognize the position in gaming that Japan occupied from the mid eighties to the late 90s. First of all, after video games rose like a phoenix from the “great crash of ’82” (in which the classic… War Stories: Crash Bandicoot February 27, 2020 1 Ars Technica — the awesome technical website — put together an equally awesome video interview with me about the making of Crash Bandicoot as part of their War Stories series…
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Okay, here’s a detailed summary of the provided text, crafted to meet your specifications. The text represents a sprawling, ongoing chronicle of the creation and evolution of Crash Bandicoot, primarily authored by Andy Gavin, co-creator of the iconic orange marsupial. The collection of posts, spanning from 2011 to 2025, offers a uniquely intimate perspective on the game’s development, focusing on the often-challenging technical and creative processes behind its creation, as well as personal reflections from Gavin himself. The posts aren’t a traditional narrative; instead, they feel more like a series of interconnected journal entries, design notes, and thought experiments, revealing the iterative nature of game development and the deep passion Gavin held for the project. At its core, the document details the circumstances surrounding Naughty Dog’s inception in 1994, highlighting the collaborative efforts of Gavin and Jason Rubin, initially producing six games—all relatively indie titles—before taking on the ambitious task of creating a mascot to compete with Sega’s Sonic and Nintendo’s Mario. Gavin emphasizes the somewhat serendipitous nature of this endeavor, noting his surprise that their creation, Crash, managed to secure a foothold in the market. The posts highlight Gavin’s frustration with perceived control problems within the team, particularly relating to Crash’s movement and jumping mechanics—he relentlessly iterated, driven by his insistence that precise, responsive control was paramount. His frequently revisited words of caution – “he needs to be able to jump for a frame or two AFTER he’s run off a cliff or it will be frustrating” – demonstrate his unrelenting commitment to player experience. Beyond the immediate challenges of bringing Crash to life, Gavin delves into the technical complexities of the game’s development. A significant portion of the content focuses on the creation of the “GOOL” language, a customized LISP-based programming environment designed specifically for Crash and Jak & Daxter. The Gool language was developed to provide a tailored toolset for efficient rapid prototyping and iteration, reflecting Gavin's methodical approach to programming and system design. The text meticulously outlines various stages of language evolution— from its initial, largely interpreted form to incorporating compiled code for performance optimization— showcasing Gavin's deep understanding of programming paradigms. The posts also incorporate valuable insights from other key individuals involved in the Crash project, including Dave Baggett and Stephen White. Baggett’s contributions highlight the difficulty of achieving a visually rich, detailed cartoon world while maintaining a cohesive gameplay experience, while White’s journal entries provide a focus on the constraints and optimizations required to create a robust and scalable 3D game engine. Furthermore, the collection reveals an intense focus on localization and international release. Gavin’s observations about simultaneous worldwide releases and the targeted, localized marketing strategies demonstrate a remarkable understanding of global markets and the importance of tailoring the player experience to distinct cultural contexts. He specifically notes the meticulous attention paid to managing technical inconsistencies between various regional versions, showcasing a pragmatic commitment to the overall success of the game on a worldwide scale. Finally, the accumulated posts represent not just a technical documentation, but a personal chronicle of Gavin’s creative journey—a testament to his dedication, meticulousness, and enduring passion for creating memorable gaming experiences. The ongoing nature of the content suggests a continual reflection on the game's legacy, inviting continued engagement and exploration of the rich history behind Crash Bandicoot. It’s a snapshot of a creative mind wrestling with design challenges, striving for perfection and celebrating a beloved icon. |