STACK #191 Sep 2020

GAMING FEATURE

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It’s a double dose of legendary skateboarding games this month with the arrival of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2. STACK had a chat with Leo Zuniga, the game’s lead designer at Vicarious Visions, to learn more of what’s in store. Words Amy Flower

I t’s fair to say that many fans have high expectations for these updated versions of two of the most revered skateboarding games of all time. Rather than feeling pressured, Leo Zuniga believes that the weight of expectation inspired the developers to go that extra mile. “We feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to bring Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 to the fans and a new generation of players," he tells STACK . "Many of us have a long history with the franchise and grew up with the game. Knowing that players around the world love the first two games, those expectations have driven

us to create what we think is a really fun and faithful remastered experience. Getting the chance to bring back two iconic games has been an epic journey for our team, many of whom worked on the original titles back in the day!” Working on these games has been a personal homecoming of sorts for Zuniga. “My career in games started with the original game, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater . 21 years ago, I worked at Activision as a game tester. I then joined Vicarious Visions to help out on the Game Boy Advance games. This game means a lot to me, and to our studio – we’re all fans of

the franchise.” Remakes and remasters have become big business, with many gamers craving updated versions of games that they grew up with. There can be a big difference in what we receive, though – some are simple graphical updates, while others are rebuilt from the ground up. This one lands in the latter camp. “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 is a faithful remaster of the first two games in the series and includes all the original levels, modes, pro skaters, tricks, and many songs from the original soundtrack,” says Zuniga. The keyword there is “faithful” – gamers demand that classic formulas aren’t messed with. Capturing everything that made the original games as popular as they are was a key aim for Vicarious Visions. “’It feels like coming home’, that’s what we wanted our fans to feel when they play the game,” declares Zuniga. “It’s a saying we kept in mind as we made development decisions. We set out to capture the look and feel of the originals, and can’t wait for fans to get their hands on it and experience it all over again, or land some insane tricks for the very first time.” So, we’re promised the best of both worlds – they’ll invoke memories of the classic games that we played in the day, but with current generation sensibilities, in particular in the graphics department.

’It feels like coming home’, that’s what we wanted our fans to feel when they play the game

12 SEPTEMBER 2020

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