2026-05-20

Devlog 01 — What PS1 Looks Like

Vertex jitter, affine texture mapping, fog. Three effects that turn a modern Unity scene into something that looks like 1996.

The PlayStation 1 was defined by its limits. Three of them shaped its look more than anything else. In CLEARANCE we recreate them on purpose.

1. Vertex jitter

PS1 calculated vertex positions in integer arithmetic. When the camera moved, vertices “snapped” between pixels. We mimic this in the shader by rounding the clip-space position to a grid:

float4 snapped = floor(clip * gridSize) / gridSize;

Result: everything vibrates. Especially close-up models.

2. Affine texture mapping

PS1 had no perspective correction for texture coordinates. Textures on slanted polygons “wobbled”. In a modern shader we force this with noperspective interpolation.

3. Fog

The draw-distance limit wasn’t an aesthetic choice — it was a necessity. We use it as a narrative tool: inside Facility Š-7, you rarely see more than 8 meters ahead.

What’s next

Next devlog: audio. How we record magnetic tapes and why we bought a 30-year-old Tesla B-115.