How One Crash Bandicoot Level Helped Build Naughty Dog | Art of the Level

There are hundreds of cinematic chase sequences in video games and they can all trace their roots back to an unlikely source. The colourful cartoon platformer that started it all: Crash Bandicoot.

The running-towards-camera chase sequence is as popular now as it’s ever been, raising the cinematic tension in blockbuster games for the last 30 years. But its beginnings were humble, and its widespread use is all thanks to the Crash developers at Naughty Dog trying to solve a single problem: How do we show our Crash Bandicoot’s face more?

From a quick-fix solution to a triple-A staple, this is how an early Crash Bandicoot level inspired decades of cinematic level design.