Shaun White Snowboarding - UbiDays '08 Preview

Shaun White certainly deserves his own videogame series. The prodigal son of snowboarding was only 15 when he won his first Winter X Games medal in 2002, he won an Olympic gold medal in 2006, and of the 14 Winter X Games medals that he's won in total, seven of them are gold. Oh yeah, and he's only 21 years old. As if that wasn't enough, the double threat extreme sportsman even has an X Games gold medal in skateboarding for the 2007 Vert event. (Note to Ubisoft: perhaps you can even squeeze a skateboarding game out of the Shaun White licence).

Regardless of his successes in events though, it's the snowboarder's unique style that he's famed for. Sketchy just doesn't seem to be a term that White understands and his laid back style is as smooth as the ice beneath his feet. His skills have always been most visible when he's riding vast slopes on some of the world's most renowned peaks, rather than the halfpipes or hemmed in courses of competitions. Fittingly, Ubisoft Montreal is focusing on creating an open world of slopes for Shaun White Snowboarding, which are based on four distinct mountains.

Quad Peaks

Each location will offer an "Open mountain lifestyle experience" according to SWS's Producer, Louis Lamarche. As SWS was only being presented as a first look demo at UbiDays with no hands on, we didn't get much of a chance to see this open world in action. Nevertheless, we were able to find out that the four mountains in the game will be based on real world locations in Park City Utah (Shaun White's home base), a mountain in the Alps, one in Japan, and finally Alaska. The final course was chosen to display the "True danger of an untouched mountain" according to Lamarche.

Lamarche also went into some detail regarding what these open worlds will offer in terms of gameplay:

"We didn't want it to be specifically based on racing and tricking. We wanted it to be based on doing what you want, when you want, with who you want. It's basically what you'd be doing if you were experiencing snowboarding in real life."

"We've designed our mountains to be three tiered mountains," continued Lamarche, "meaning that you start at the top of a rocky peak where it's dangerous, avalanche prone; there are crevasses and cliffs - you can die, basically, if you're not careful. If you keep riding down you'll eventually reach the tree line and you're free to go where you want - you'll hit the tree line, navigate trees and, if you keep going, you'll eventually enter the resort where there are other people, chairlifts, jumps, and you can hit the chalet. And all of this in a seamless, open mountain. You're not forced to follow a path - you define your path."

So there you have it. Let's hope that Ubisoft Montreal can deliver on that particular promise. What we did get a chance to see firsthand, however, is the basic control setup for SWS on the next-gens and PC. Ubisoft Montreal has seemingly taken a leaf out of Skate's book by opting for a simple control setup that doesn't appear to compromise on depth, but should offer a more intuitive feel than previous snowboarding games.

Both movement and tricks are dictated by what you do with the thumbsticks. While the left stick controls movement, the right thumbstick is then used for style to perform 540s or (we presume) the odd Rodeo back flip should the mood take you. To top off this control setup, tweak and grab moves have been grafted onto the shoulder buttons. You can then multiply your score while performing these tricks by successfully stringing them together without stacking it. These features of the game certainly sound simplistic, but it's also a style that has been ushered in with the success of EA's Skate; the main aim being to create the illusion that gamers have more freedom to express various tricks with a more open control setup.

During our demo we were also told about what the various camera options will offer in SWS. As well as the standard third person camera angle, there will also be contextual cameras which warn of impending doom. For example, if there is a gaping crevasse ahead of your descent then the contextual camera will offer an angle that makes the hazard visible, which is handy seeing as crevasses have a nasty habit of being hard to spot (and being very deep). A first person camera will also be on offer, which will bring you that bit closer to action.

One of the main aims of this first person camera, however, is that gamers will be able to film their buddies snowboarding from it. Gamers will be able to make films as long as 30-60 seconds and then upload them online, while editing facilities in the game have also been promised for these short films. In a final note on various camera options, Ubisoft Montreal also informs us that they are considering new ideas all the time and one possibility at the moment is a helmet cam. It doesn't sound that much different from first person cam, but perhaps a tinted filter will be added and a little bit of sneaky product placement with your goggle's brand being shown in the top right of the screen.

Of course, the now traditional 'create a boarder and take them to the top' style career offerings (made popular in the Tony Hawk's games) will also be present. The one piece of info we did salvage on this was that "Reputation" will form the economy in the game (i.e. what you use to up your skills and equipment etc.). Granted, the whole 'Rep' thing sounds a bit clichéd from various other 'urban' sports games, but there is a unique twist to its use in SWS. You'll apparently be able to gamble your Reputation in the online multiplayer and it'll certainly be interesting to see how Ubisoft Montreal integrates this into various game modes.

Speaking of the multiplayer, the development team appears to be opting for a similar format to Criterion's Burnout Paradise. Louis Lamarcher explains that, "We're really trying to eliminate the notion of single-player and multiplayer. There's no such thing in our game in a sense - you're either connected, or you're not." According to the game's Producer, up to 16 players (and the dev team is hoping to support more) will be able to cruise the game's open world peaks seamlessly. Whether it's simply freestyling down a slope, or perhaps riding halfpipe, players will be able to go where they want, when they want in the same format as the single-player game.

On the next-gen build that we saw, SWS' graphics don't seem to be anything to write home about at this stage in development. The game uses Ubisoft's proprietary Assassin's Creed engine, which was certainly the basis for some impressive visuals last November. However, a solid engine doesn't immediately equate to stunning graphics. There was just something about the snowy peaks of our game demo that were a bit drab and the wider environments failed to make us gawp as much as you'd hope. That said, there was nothing specifically wrong with the visuals either - they were sufficiently next-gen at the very least.

To The Wiixtreme

As well as a first look demo with the next-gen build, we also got to see (but not touch) what the Wii version had to offer. SWS on Wii has functionality with Nintendo's Wii Fit Balance Board, which is certainly welcome as it sounds like the perfect use for the peripheral. The demo showed Shaun himself plowing down a course with various jump and grind opportunities - it was certainly more in the SSX vein rather than open world slopes.

The Balance Board integration was very much what you might expect. Transferring your weight to the left or right of the board performed spins, while transferring weight to the front or back resulted in front or back flips. Additionally, it was also possible to perform special 'Gesture' moves by distributing your weight through all four panels of the balance board while pulling a phat air. You will have to use the Wii Remote as well though, as the grab controls use various buttons on the console's mainstay controller.

For those of you who don't have a Balance Board, don't worry, because you'll still be able to get involved with SWS on Wii. The controls of the Balance Board are translated fairly unchanged onto the Remote. Swaying the Remote to the left or right will perform spins, while pointing the Remote down or up will do flips. On a final visual note, SWS on Wii has some appealingly stylised visuals, with Shaun White appearing as a caricatured version of himself. We always welcome visuals like these on the Wii as they tend to make a game look less previous-gen, and SWS' style is no exception.