After developing Disruptor, Insomniac president, Ted Price, contacted Zembillas to design a playable dragon character for a video game.

Zembillas had previously designed Crash for Naughty Dog, whose offices were just across the hall from Insomniac's at Universal Interactive Studios.

[7][8] He was made younger to appeal to children, needing "to be cute, but at the same time, mischievous, bratty, unpredictable, and something of an upstart.

"[9] Spyro was given the ability to glide infinitely to give him "something he could do that no other platformer could", making the game's worlds significantly larger and providing more incentive for exploration.

According to programmer Peter Hastings, NASA rocket scientist Matt Whiting was hired to program Spyro's controls so that he could move as smoothly as possible.

Much as in The Legend of Spyro, he comes from a rare line of purple dragons in a faraway land few have ever traveled, and his adventures and heroics were chronicled by the "Portal Masters of Old".

Sparx follows Spyro and acts as his health indicator, and helps him collect treasure scattered throughout the game world.

In Ripto's Rage!, Spyro meets Elora the Faun, Hunter the Cheetah, and a mole known as the Professor, who assist him in various missions.

In Year of the Dragon, Spyro meets a rabbit sorceress named Bianca, whom he initially distrusts but later becomes his ally and Hunter's girlfriend.

Byrd the flying penguin, Bentley the Yeti, and Agent 9 the laser-wielding monkey, who appear as additional playable characters after Spyro frees them from captivity.

Spyro develops a strong bond with Cynder, a black female dragon who is at first his enemy but later becomes his love interest.

He also learns to climb up certain walls using his claws, and a maneuver called the "headbash", wherein Spyro dives straight downward with his horns.

In A Hero's Tail, Spyro rescues fairies that grant him the power to breathe lightning, water, and ice.

Additionally, he makes a playable guest appearance in Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled as post-launch downloadable content.

Spyro appears briefly in a commercial for Ty the Tasmanian Tiger alongside Crash and Sonic the Hedgehog.

"[23] The 2011 Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition lists Spyro as the 39th most popular video game character.

[24] In 2012, GamesRadar ranked Spyro, "one of the most relatable mythological creatures of all time", as the 92nd "most memorable, influential, and badass" protagonist in games.

[25] In the same year, he was ranked 9th in Complex's "The 25 Most Kickass Dragons in Video Games" list, with writer Obi Anyawu stating Spyro "is truly an original just from his size and color alone.