Skate
A skateboarding game with grounded, tricky controls.
Where Skate comes up3 episodes and tests
Gcreator of Game Maker's Toolkit testThe 100 Games That Taught Me Game Design
Gcreator of Game Maker's Toolkit testWho Gets to be Awesome in Games?
Gcreator of Game Maker's Toolkit testControllers Control EverythingSkate took the opposite route from Tony Hawk's: grounded, hard-to-control skating built on right-stick flicks and wiggles instead of face buttons, so advanced tricks demand real skill. It framed players as amateurs chasing page 37 of a magazine, matching the steep learning curve. Lesson: if players must earn the fantasy, let inputs mimic the physical action and set expectations in the story and marketing.
- Lowly amateur chasing page 37
- Fantasy must be earned
- Fits its hard learning curve
- Sells a demon-slaying bad-ass
- Player falls to basic demons
Framing matches the difficulty players actually face
From Game Maker's Toolkit, Mark Brown
What was said about Skate
Skate swapped face buttons for right-stick flicks to ground its tricks. Ollies and flick tricks are done by wiggling and flicking the right analogue stick instead of pressing buttons. This makes the game grounded and tricky to control, and advanced tricks need real skill.
Game Maker's Toolkit sets this against Tony Hawk's, which takes the opposite design approach. It also cites Skate as an example of breaking control conventions so that finger motion echoes the character's motion. The quote: "Skate, for example, says goodbye to buttons and instead makes you wiggle the right analogue stick to perform ollies and flick tricks."
Skate casts you as an amateur to match its steep learning curve. The game frames the player as a lowly amateur chasing page 37 of a magazine. That sets the expectation that the skating fantasy has to be earned, which fits its hard learning curve.
Mark Brown contrasts this with DOOM Eternal, which sells a demon-slaying bad-ass who then falls to basic demons. His rule: "if a game wants to make us earn the fantasy, it needs to explain that up front."
The 100 Games That Taught Me Game Design
It is grounded and hard to control, the opposite design approach to Tony Hawk's.
Skate swapped face buttons for right-stick flicks to ground its tricks. Ollies and flick tricks are done by wiggling and flicking the right analogue stick instead of pressing buttons. This makes the game grounded and tricky to control, and advanced tricks need real skill.
Game Maker's Toolkit sets this against Tony Hawk's, which takes the opposite design approach. It also cites Skate as an example of breaking control conventions so that finger motion echoes the character's motion. The quote: "Skate, for example, says goodbye to buttons and instead makes you wiggle the right analogue stick to perform ollies and flick tricks."
Who Gets to be Awesome in Games?
Frames you as an amateur chasing page 37 of a magazine, which matches its steep learning curve and sets expectations for earning the fantasy.
Skate casts you as an amateur to match its steep learning curve. The game frames the player as a lowly amateur chasing page 37 of a magazine. That sets the expectation that the skating fantasy has to be earned, which fits its hard learning curve.
Mark Brown contrasts this with DOOM Eternal, which sells a demon-slaying bad-ass who then falls to basic demons. His rule: "if a game wants to make us earn the fantasy, it needs to explain that up front."
Controllers Control Everything
Replaces face buttons with right-stick wiggles and flicks for ollies and tricks, which grounds the game and means advanced tricks need real skill.
Skate swapped face buttons for right-stick flicks to ground its tricks. Ollies and flick tricks are done by wiggling and flicking the right analogue stick instead of pressing buttons. This makes the game grounded and tricky to control, and advanced tricks need real skill.
Game Maker's Toolkit sets this against Tony Hawk's, which takes the opposite design approach. It also cites Skate as an example of breaking control conventions so that finger motion echoes the character's motion. The quote: "Skate, for example, says goodbye to buttons and instead makes you wiggle the right analogue stick to perform ollies and flick tricks."
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