Plans were made to support up to eight players with the PlayStation Link Cable, but it was implemented with only up to two players. The team made the game's tracks small to 'keep the density of the cars on the track very high', which allowed for large-scale wrecks. Damage to vehicles is modelled in real-time, based on the speed and angle of the cars involved. However, a single wire-frame model, differentiated by texture maps, was used for every vehicle.

Destruction Derby's game engine supports up to twenty cars on screen simultaneously, which no console racing game, other than Daytona USA, had achieved until that time. Performance was also improved by optimising the game's graphics, and by reducing the level of detail of objects in the distance. Producer Tony Parks noted that the physics were simplified to improve performance and to compensate for the PlayStation's digital controller, and that the team sought a balance between 'realism and playability'. Director Martin Edmondson believed that the game would otherwise be 'completely unplayable', as with ' pool when the collisions are all off'. To make the results of car collisions easier to predict, Reflections implemented simulated physics into Destruction Derby. Īn early logo of the game as presented by Psygnosis at E3 1995

Writers for Edge and Next Generation commented that the game could 'trounce' Ridge Racer upon the PlayStation's release. The game debuted at the May 1995 Electronic Entertainment Expo, and its initial title was variously reported as Demolition Derby and Demolish 'em Derby. Kutaragi was 'very enthusiastic', though commented that it was a shame that debris from the cars didn't stay on the track. Edmondson demonstrated the game to SCE CEO Ken Kutaragi who flew over with a team of engineers.

It was published by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE)'s Psygnosis branch, which allowed Reflections to receive PlayStation development kits (SDKs) long before that console's release. The British development studio Reflections Interactive began had been working on Destruction Derby for the PlayStation starting around December 1994, having been concepted by its co-founder Martin Edmondson and by Michael Troughton - both fans of the real-life demolition derby sport.

Download destruction derby raw ps1