Just this past Saturday during Activision's exclusive event in San Francisco, The Kartel had the opportunity to sit down with legendary skateboarder Tony Hawk to discuss his thoughts on his new videogame Tony Hawk: Ride.

One of the most interesting points made in our private discussion included the origins for the idea for the physical skateboarding peripheral:

"It was something that I've wanted to do for like five years at least. I used to play Top Skater, and although it was clunky, there was something interesting about playing a skateboarding game using your whole body. The success of Guitar Hero, and the Wii Balance Board, as well the introduction of wireless technology, showed how you can doing something physical in a game. This is when I talked about the concept with Activision. They got really excited, brought Robomodo to the table, and we started working on making a peripheral." said Hawk.

A bold new direction for the series

The Tony Hawk franchise in the past had experimented with some new gameplay directions, such as the DS version of Tony Hawk, as well as Downhill Jam for the Wii. One of Hawk's biggest concerns with this new game was to make sure the peripheral really captured the essence of skateboarding. "I liked that level of interactivity with the board. We made some good design choices. It took almost a year to get the basic board design down, but after that, everything started coming in place quickly."

With both gamers and real-life skaters in mind, the peripheral development was tweaked numerous times to be able to balance accessibility and realism. Hawk praised the game's ability to encourage those who have interest in the skating sport and culture.

Interestingly enough, similar in thought with some DJs who recently took part in a DJ Hero showdown, Tony is realistic about whether the game is going to turn you into a professional skateboarder. "Don't expect this to replace skateboarding," Hawk said. "though it's a great transition for those wanting to go skateboarding. People can finally get on a board and realize that it's not that intimidating, perhaps even inspiring people to try the real thing."

"Skating video games exposed and created a fanbase for the sport with non skaters. Anybody can enjoy watching skating and can appreciate the technical aspects of our games because they now understand what happens during a 360 flip."

What about all his skater buddies who try the game? Tony mention that "Skaters have a different approach to the game. They want to start doing tricks right away, flipping the board like the real thing. It's not conducive towards getting a high score. Once they started to think about the playing from a gamer perspective, they got into it."

The board is accurate enough to capture specific moves. Hawk mentioned that one of the features that he likes most about the peripheral is its ability to know when "you're rotating just enough to get on a handrail and turn a 5-0 into a blunt slide." For those who don't know the lingo, here's a video.

This new direction for the series is a big gamble for Activision. It was clear from the San Fran promo event held recently, that the game is geared towards a young teen market. Tony Hawk himself seems to be embracing the new direction. Even at home, he has started to play games more with his kids, especially games that involve physical interaction, such as Guitar Hero and DJ Hero. We asked him whether he enjoys games like Halo:ODST or Modern Warfare 2, to which he commented, "I don't want to be shooting my kids." 

For a follow up interview with Robomodo, the creators of the game, stop by here!