Skateboarding games were all the rage in the 2000s. Admittedly, the popularity died down extensively in the 2010s, but nonetheless, it seems the genre is making a huge comeback. EA has confirmed that it is working on a reboot of the legendary Skate series.
Slated to appease fans of the original series and bring in new players, the Skate reboot has some massive shoes to fill. Fans of the original series have some major expectations. If EA wants the reboot to succeed, they will have to implement many popular mechanics and factors from the originals.
10 “Flick It” Controls
This original feature made the Skate games truly stand out from other rival series. Extremely difficult to master and even understand, this great challenged presented a barrier for many players. However, for those that made it past the learning curve, the amount of freedom and opportunity for tricks and individualized skating was endless.
9 Option For Female Characters
The original series had a serious gender inclusivity problem. In the first game, players did not even have the option to play as a female. In the final installment, while players could choose to be female, their character was still addressed with male pronouns. More women than ever are gaming, and their representation in the medium has progressed significantly. It is only economically viable for EA to provide female gamers with an option to play as their gender.
8 Multiplayer
Online gaming has never been more popular. The original Skate series offered players excellent online options. The online play in the reboot should be just as engaging and immersive.
With modern capabilities for online play being much grander than they were a decade ago, EA has the opportunity to create some of the largest online skating matches ever seen.
7 Ability To Get Off The Board
While the main purpose and mechanic of any skating game is (obviously) skating, the ability to get off the board is a good quality-of-life improvement and major convenience. Creating more dynamic gameplay and allowing players to more effectively set up tricks, this feature can fundamentally change the entire game and how it’s played.
6 Realistic Physics
Realistic physics were another cornerstone of the original series. A decade later these mechanics can be reworked to be even more life like and immersive. The original mechanics had in-game physics mimic real world reactions in every anatomical joint of the skater. This certainly increases difficulty, however, the realism is priceless.
5 Easy Mode
Players of the original series understand that the games are quite simply not easy to learn. The realistic mechanics combined with the life like physics create a genuine challenge. While this generation of gamers seems to enjoy a challenge some players just want a relaxing experience. The inclusion of an easy mode for these kinds of players would give the game a wider audience.
4 Massive Open World
The Skate series is well known for providing players with large spaces to trick and stunt in. The reboot should take this principal and go big.
A large open world will engage players and provide them with as much content as possible. This would increase the reboot’s replayability and timelessness.
3 Pro Skater Appearances
What started as a marketing tactic in the skating genre has turned into one of its mainstream features. Any skating game hoping to take its self seriously needs cameos from established and well known pro skaters. Skate 3 was chock full of important appearances, including Danny Way, Pat Duffy, Chris Cole, and many more. The reboot will hopefully have even more.
2 Banging Soundtrack
Players want some straight bangers to skate to. The soundtrack, simply put, needs to slap. More specifically the music list needs to be diverse and have something for fans of every genre. From rap to alt rock to EDM, there should be a station for every taste. The songs should also be a mix of modern and relevant hits, with the addition of timeless classics, especially those that were popular in the skateboarding community.
1 Custom Skate Parks
The ability to create one’s own skate park is truly priceless. Securing that, the game never truly gets boring. After players have explored and skated in every location that the game offers, they can simply create their own unique proving ground, or test out other players. This is a major aspect that needs to be considered if EA intends to build a large online community around their new Skate reboot.
Player creation is a trend that has began to pop up in many games that aren’t even related to the genre. Fallout 4 being a prime example, players can partake and build their own settlements if they want, though there are no penalties for those that choose not to. Skate should follow this same principal. Whether the reboot will be a success or not is impossible to tell. However, fans are extremely stoked, and the expectations are very high.
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