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The Wrap Up: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 & 2 interview - the old is new again
We chat with one of the design leads for the revitalisation of the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series with the reimagining of both of the series' first two games!
Nostalgia is a powerful tool in a world not only rife with generational transition, but one with forced reset -- what you loved is old, kitsch, ‘fuddy-duddy’... and the world has moved on. But, guess what, it was created and crafted in an era that still aligns itself with the ‘now’. Maybe because its muse is still alive, or its namesake is still relevant. Either way, that “cyclical nature of fashion” exists and means both Tyra Banks and RuPaul were, and are, right, all at once. And so deserve worship, respectively and collectively. And at the biggest stretch of all time, so does Tony Hawk.
The Pro Skater that is. As in, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater.
Whodat?
© Activision
Not to suggest the actual real-life bipedal hawk made up of Tonys shouldn’t also remain revered, it’s just that his ‘old’ news is now ‘new’ news again...
Not to suggest the actual real-life bipedal hawk made up of Tonys shouldn’t also remain revered, it’s just that his ‘old’ news is now ‘new’ news again with Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 and 2 set to launch as a hybrid celebrational ‘remake’, ‘remaster’ and ’re-release’. And we decided to vicariously enjoy this fact, by speaking with one of the game’s leads from the studio behind the three Rs, Vicarious Visions, whose 4K Life is Modern War approach means The Birdman will be gaming relevant again. Again.
“On the original game, really, it all about staying authentic,” enthuses THPS 1&2 Remaster design lead, Leonel Zuniga “And I think Neversoft did a really great job of that [and at] Vicarious Visions -- we looked at Neversoft and our goal was: ‘how can we make them proud?’.
Night Lights, City Limits... oh, wrong tune
© Activision
Leo’s warm glow when he rhetorically poses that question is telling. But this guy did work on the original handheld version of the game which, even today, ought to be held up as trophies for innovation and working within limitation to still realise a vision. I know I personally played the shit out of the first outing on the GBA, and that was mostly because that outing was also really challenging in a fun way. So when Leo speaks highly of his and his team’s triumphs, but still knows their roots and where the series came from, that’s when you sit up and listen.
“[And now] coming back to remastering the franchise -- bringing the original content of the first two games and [going back] to the roots, right,” Leo continues. “And at the same time, looking at the full franchise; (re)introducing what would make sense, you know. So the moveset: we have the revert, for example -- everything you remember from the first two games, it’s there for everyone to experience -- smashing boxes in Warehouse, going through School for the first time… you’ll remember that.”
We prod Leo for more on changes, but find ourselves more openly happy that the new game(s) are more facelift-heavy than retooled experiences. Despite the addition of newer movesets in an older template, the core experience has been left largely unchanged in an effort to (re)capture the experience of the first games.
OG and clunky, but nostalgic to a (S), (K), (A), T, (E)
© Activision
“We are getting the chance to bring it back,” he says emphatically. “We do have the original layouts; school is just like you remember it but now the possibilities of your combos are a whole lot different. You can acid drop into any vert, and that just changes everything.”
That being said we do touch on Easter eggs, collectibles, unlockables and skater culture representation in general. Actually, in many ways the original games could be held accountable for the explosion of cosmetic additions to games beyond in-game representation, embracing real-world representation in a fourth-wall breaking kind of way. In fact, while we’re happy with Leo’s carefully worded “by skaters, for skaters” line we’d rather change it to “by skaters, for skaters, by gamer skaters”.
So the larger byline here is, you need to go into this with an expectation of nostalgia and visual trimmings with some extra audio love thrown in amongst the original soundtrack rabble. With more to be revealed, we assume. The game is still a little ways off, but what we gained from this chat and what we can clearly see with the game’s modern spin is that a new audience awaits a classic, while the classic of us have an old (but new) game on its way; win, win. And we finally finish off asking if Leo and co see this as a tipping point with the likes of Skater XL, a new skate, Steep and more out in the wild (or on the way), and with skating being trialled as an Olympic event at the delayed Tokyo Olympics -- has the skating world finally broken the Mega Ramp glass ceiling? And, more importantly, will they happily hold themselves as important in that re-establishment?
Ponderous AF... what to hit first?
© Activision
“[THPS is] a game that has had a cultural impact on… well, really, the world -- Tony Hawk is everywhere,” Leo concludes.
And truer words haven’t been spoken. Even old mate Bill [Gates] openly suggested the “next Xbox” (at the time Xbox 360) needed Tony Hawk as a franchise on it. We’ve been skating through a rough patch where this series in particular is concerned, but in veteran hands and with passionate, OG peeps helping those new to it, it might finally be about to revert its way back into the annals of transcendent gaming franchises -- Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater: All the Rs.
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