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Tony Hawk's American Wasteland Q&A Feature

Chris Leyton

11/08/2005

Tony returns to the streets of skate culture as TVG chats to the lead producer...

Total freedom in the vast wasteland of skate culture (otherwise known as Los Angeles), as you either skate or bike is on offer in the latest Tony Hawkâs title as Jennifer Oneal, Activisionâs Producer for American Wasteland, explained to Derek dela Fuente.

What is the basic premise of the game and what inventive ideas have you come up with to continue interest in the Tony Hawkâs series?

In American Wasteland players skate, bike and explore one massive city without having to deal with load times and itâs going to totally change the way the game is played. Gamers can now create some amazing combos that will span the entire city. The story is set in the present day, but weâve added some nostalgic flavour with new tricks inspired by the moves of 70s skaters, the presence of Z-boy Tony Alva, and the lore of a legendary skate park from way back.

Please can you tell our readers about the game modes on offer (especially co-op Classic Mode)?

We heard our fans really liked Classic Mode that was introduced in THUG2. Itâs a mode that allows players to experience the Pro skater way of playing Tony Hawk. In classic mode you have a two-minute timer with ten goals per level. In American Wasteland weâve expanded on Classic Mode by introducing a Co-op Mode, which allows two players to play Classic Mode with a split screen and knock out the goals together.

Online play is back in PS2 with some new game modes and weâre going LIVE on Xbox and Xbox 360 for the first time ever. We also have game customisation modes like the Park Editor, Create-A-Trick, and Create-A-Graphic.

What major technological improvements are evident in American Wasteland; has the physics engine been enhanced, is the environment a persistent one with civilians acting independently and why is Xbox Live play featured so late in the day?

Being able to play continuously in a massive streaming environment is a huge leap for the franchise. This naturally required us to revamp the engine, which was a bit of work but an awesome payoff. The city is a vibrant persistent living world with a variety of pedestrians, including some who will give money for performing random objectives. The cash can be used to purchase haircuts, new clothes, tattoos and equipment from the diverse stores spread throughout.

As for Xbox LIVE, weâve managed to build up an extensive online feature set. Weâve always wanted to go LIVE with these features and wanted to make sure that we did it right. We think that we are now in the best position to go LIVE and have the talent and know-how to do it.

American Wasteland offers an expansive open-ended Los Angeles to explore with no load times, however some would argue that this design moves away from the tight focus of previous Tony Hawkâs titles; how hard is it to design such an environment and ensure a sufficient number of lines for players to find while ensuring thereâs no sense of aimlessly wandering around within the game?

It been challenging and weâve made sure there are endless amounts of lines to skate that link up the entire city. Given the fact that there is so much to do, we thought it would be a good idea to give players the tools to help them find their way around. Weâve implemented a compass at the top of the screen and a pause map to help gamers navigate around the city. Both navigation tools help locate missions, cash goals, local stores, bikes, the city bus and more.

For many the Tony Hawkâs series has never surpassed the introduction of the âManualâ as a new technique; will American Wasteland offer any significant new manoeuvres to the series that will have such a profound impact?

Weâve added a lot of new tricks this year that weâre really excited about. New this year is the Bert slide, which is a trick that stems from the old surf style of skating. Itâs a stylish looking new move that is a cool way to link up tricks. Weâve also added bank drops which are like acid drops on banks, extensions off of the XXXnatasXXX spin like the hand stand, the rail stall which allows players to stall on rails instead off grinding, and many other cool new tricks. Personally I canât say which new manoeuvre will be the ânew manualâ. I love the bert slide, but lately Iâve been rail stalling like mad. I just love hearing the âclinkâ of my trucks on a rail.

The decision to include BMX must mean a lot of extra work for the team; could you describe what BMXâs bring to the game, the difference in physics and the control method on offer â“ will they be as enjoyable as the skateboard has been time and time again?

Itâs true that we have spent a considerable amount of time ensuring that the BMX will be fun to play. The team could have easily put the skate controls onto the BMX, but they opted to create its own rich control scheme based on the analog sticks. The left analog controls steering and leaning and the right analog manipulate tricks. The physics and controls feel very organic allowing for a depth of gameplay that new and old fans will enjoy.

Once again the game features a story mode for players to unravel; could you elaborate on this a little and whether or not you feel this detracts from the core reason why people loved Tony Hawkâs in the first place?

In Story Mode, you are a kid from the middle of ânowhereâ USA and you come out to the big city of Los Angeles to get away from your troubles at home (your girlfriend left you and your parents are down on you skating all the time instead of doing your homework). Once in L.A. you have a tough time fitting in, but eventually make friends and you set out to rebuild the ultimate skate park. The heart of the game and the story is about skating and now with a huge city players can pull off unbelievable skate lines.

What affect does the player have on the environment; can the player demolish certain areas to create new lines, etcâ¦ ?

Absolutely! One of our awesome new features is part of the storyline. As I mentioned before, the main goal of the game is to rebuild the ultimate skate park with more than 40 pieces that players acquire throughout the city by accomplishing various missions. Example missions include grinding down a control tower in Hollywood and rail stalling a freeway sign to knock it down. Players can acquire the pieces in whatever order they feel so there is an infinite amount of lines that can be create in this park and the city.

How difficult is it to continue innovating the series and ensuring the brand doesnât become a victim of its own success; do you feel recent titles such as the Underground series have alienated the older TH purists in any way?

We are fortunate to have a very talented team that works collaboratively in coming up with new and innovative ideas. Every member contributes to the design of the game and usually when they are finishing up on one game theyâve already come up with great ideas for the next. We also listen intently to our fans comments and suggestions.

Tony Hawkâs American Wasteland is being co-developed on the current generation along with the Xbox 360; what are the challenges associated with this and how are you ensuring the game maximizes its potential on both generations?

One of the biggest challenges has been getting all the resources needed to create such an enormous game. I think fans will notice how great looking the game is on the current gen systems with fluid motion capture animations plus art and character models that look better than ever. On the Xbox 360 the graphics will be stunning in high resolution. Weâre also incorporating a technique called normal mapping, which makes all the models look super high poly showing lifelike wrinkles in the clothing and skin, as well as hair textures like theyâve never seen in a game before.

TVG would like to thank Jennifer Oneal for taking the time to answer our questions; Tony Hawkâs American Wasteland is scheduled for release during the Autumn, weâll have further coverage soonâ¦

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