a visionary studio
Immerse yourself in the fascinating history
of Psygnosis.
Pre-orders are open delivery in June 2025
Psygnosis
Games People Play - Tome One
Psygnosis, the story of a visionary studio
Psygnosis, a name that sounds like a legend in the history of video games, has left an indelible mark on the games industry. Founded in Liverpool in 1985, this British studio is responsible for some of the most innovative and influential productions of its time. A look back at the contributions that have enabled Psygnosis to shape the future of video games with iconic titles, groundbreaking graphics and a creative approach that has redefined industry standards.
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Before becoming one of the most iconic studios in video games, Psygnosis was rooted in a series of fascinating and sometimes chaotic events. It all began with Bug-Byte Software Ltd, a development company founded in Liverpool in the 1980s. It was in this creative breeding ground that several future key members of Psygnosis cut their teeth. One of the major turning points came with the birth of Imagine Software, an ambitious company which promised to revolutionise the industry with its Megagames. The slogan Imagine... The name of the game made a lasting impression. However, behind the glitz and flashy communication, internal management is catastrophic. The TV programme Commercial Breaks even documented, in real time, Imagine's downfall, swept away by its debts and overweening ambition. When Imagine Software went bankrupt, new hope was born with Finchspeed, the company set up to pick up the pieces. Out of this chaotic transition came Psygnosis, founded by former Imagine Software employees. The name itself, Psygnosis, both intrigued and amused: a strange and mysterious word, reflecting the studio's strong visual identity. This identity became even more recognisable thanks to Roger Dean, the famous album cover illustrator, who designed the emblematic logo: a stylised owl with piercing eyes, symbolising a new era in video games. |
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| The rise of Psygnosis: First games, partner studios and experiments After its foundation, Psygnosis took its first steps with Brataccas, an ambitious game born of the ashes of the Bandersnatch project, initially planned by Imagine Software. Although technically impressive, the game suffered from laborious gameplay. Despite this, it marked the very first official title from Psygnosis, laying the foundations for a complex, futuristic aesthetic. This was followed by landmark titles such as Barbarian and Terrorpods, in which the studio continued to experiment with rich graphics and singular worlds, reinforcing its brand image. Meanwhile, the Psygnosis R&D department was pushing the technical limits on 16-bit machines, laying the foundations for the studio's future success on the Amiga and Atari ST. It was also during this period that Psygnosis began collaborating with external studios that would become legends of the video game world: - DMA Design, future creators of GTA, delivered Blood Money, a visually brilliant shoot'em up. - Reflections Interactive, for its part, developed Shadow of the Beast, a revolutionary title for its time, both in terms of graphics and sound, which quickly became a symbol of the Amiga era. Psygnosis also explores other avenues with game compilations and launches numerous projects that never see the light of day, victims of technical constraints or abandoned creative directions. This culture of ambitious prototyping is an integral part of the studio's DNA. The company also collaborates with entities such as WJS Design, which is developing The Killing Game Show, a futuristic arcade-style action game. Raising Hell Software, meanwhile, is one of the many satellite studios gravitating around Psygnosis, often looking for their first chance. The story of Bizarre Creations also begins here, as a partner of Psygnosis. This studio would later become famous for Project Gotham Racing, but it was alongside Psygnosis that it got its start, confirming the publisher's role as an incubator of major talent in the industry. |
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From CD mastery to the Sony era (1991-1993) Titles like Agony emerged: a magnificent shoot ‘em up on the Amiga, recognisable by its sumptuous graphics and dreamlike universe, enhanced by a memorable soundtrack. Psygnosis confirms its status as a studio with a unique aesthetic, where image and sound are as important as gameplay. While Lemmings explodes the charts, Psygnosis is not resting on its laurels. The studio continued to push innovation and explore the growing capabilities of the CD-ROM, which was becoming a veritable technological playground. The Pre-PlayStation period: a laboratory of ideas During this period, Psygnosis positioned itself as a visionary publisher, developing and publishing games for a multitude of platforms, often ahead of their time. Titles such as Hired Guns - a tactical first-person shooter - offered a four-player split-screen experience, foreshadowing modern cooperative FPSs. With Microcosm, the studio is embarking on another major technological adventure: Full Motion Video (FMV) gaming. Designed for the FM Towns, a top-of-the-range Japanese machine, then ported to CD-ROM PC and 3DO, the game illustrates Psygnosis' desire to use the medium as an interactive cinema, combining pre-calculated video and gameplay. It was a bold gamble, but one that was limited by the technology available at the time. In the same spirit, games such as Walker (developed by DMA Design) show a growing mastery of animation, sound design and staging, with a massive combat walker travelling through different eras. The game was acclaimed on the Amiga and reinforced the reputation of DMA and Psygnosis as an avant-garde videogame duo. |
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| Towards the takeover - The meeting with Sony
This creative effervescence, this ability to juggle media (FM Towns, CD32, Mega-CD, PC CD-ROM), soon attracted the attention of a much bigger player: Sony. The Japanese firm was looking to enter the world of video games and needed a strong Western partner to support the launch of what would become PlayStation. |
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Celebrate the demoscene and retro computers with exceptional book series
Part of the retro computing history
ISO 14001
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ISO 9001
Finish
Hardcover edition, offset printing, sewn binding, Soft touch front, UV coating.
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Deliveries available in Europe, United States, Australia and all over the world.
Popular Books
[toko_wc_products numbers=”4″ columns=”4″ show=”bestselling”]-
So much work for good memories!
The book is heavy with a lot of screenshots and interviews.
A must have for all Amiga fans!
The translation is really better than the previous volume 🙂
Demoscene the AGA yearsUz
8 July 2022 Great book with loads of nostalgia. Loved reading about some of the demos and thoughts from coders and graphicians. Also great to see some of my art in the book in full colour. 
Demoscene the Amiga yearsAlan Rogers
22 August 2024 Beautiful book, well made, high quality, up to the standard I have grown used to from Editions64. Long live the retro scene! 
Demoscene the logo artRichard Karsmakers
17 January 2024 - Amazing art book and a must have for all demoscene lovers. My son gifted me one for Christmas and he was blown away to see that it included a logo made by Cupid for our little comeback demo that he had seen me working on the code for days 😉
Thanks for the quality print and for preserving and spreading the demoscene spirit !
Grab your copy now, that’s a neat piece of history !Demoscene the logo artPapapower@Babygang
28 December 2024 Beautiful quality, a nice homage to the demoscene and the Amiga Demoscene the AGA yearsAlfred
12 November 2024 Beautiful quality, a nice homage to the demoscene and the Amiga Demoscene the Amiga years
12 November 2024 - The quality and feel of this book is spot on. Breathtaking fotos and interesting text to it. Supercool with the QR codes. I’m looking forward to vol 3 👍🏼 Demoscene the AGA years
Lars Rabech
18 August 2022 - Excellent second book in this series. A fantastic time capsule and trip down to memory lane. So great to have some background info about those fantastic demos i enjoyed on my Amigas during the 80s/90s! A book/series about the 8-bit demoscene would be awesome also 😉 Thank you for this splendid piece of work. Demoscene the AGA years
Ricardo/Suspiria72
9 July 2022 These are gorgeous, high quality books! No issues during ordering and shipping. Would buy again. 
Demoscene the Amiga renaissanceNelson S.
21 May 2025 - I hesitated to buy these books for a long time, but in the end I didn't regret it. I grew up with the Amiga and the demo scene was an important part of my youth (I'm almost 50 now). Reading the book and watching the corresponding demos on YouTube at the same time gave me a lot of great dejavu. The background information on the respective programmers, graphic designers and musicians is also very interesting, although there could have been a little more of it. I bought the first two parts together and am looking forward to the third part being released. Demoscene the Amiga years
Peter W.
5 February 2024 Thanks for this amazing demoscene books. High quality pictures and logos, many great stories, interviews, demoscene facts and comments in two awesome books. A lot of work here, I love it! Thanks again and I recommend it very much. Demoscene the AGA yearsNorby
10 July 2022
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