Xbox.com: How did the idea of a Disney-themed skating game first come about? Was there a particular film or scene from a film that inspired the game?
Activision: Activision has a standing partnership with Disney, and when we were thinking about developing the next game with them, we asked ourselves, “Why not take the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater® 4 gameplay engine, which is the best skateboarding engine in the world, and combine it with Disney and Pixar characters and environments?” As a result, the game is based in three different worlds: Disney/Pixar’s “Toy Story 2,” Disney’s “The Lion King,” and Disney’s “Tarzan.” You can certainly say that those films and their sequels helped inspire the game.
Xbox.com: Could you give us a rundown of some of the major skate-able characters and what special moves make each one unique?
Activision: Some of the skate-able characters include Buzz Lightyear from “Toy Story 2.” He skates on a hover board, so some of his moves involve actually taking the board, holding it over his head, hanging from it, or using it in other ways that a normal skateboard couldn’t do. There’s also Terk from “Tarzan” who, being a gorilla, has all of her own moves, which are quite acrobatic. Then, there’s Timon & Pumbaa from “The Lion King,” and to my knowledge, they are the first quadruped skaters (along with some of the other characters in the game), and they are also the first skateboarding duo. Their moves are really goofy and fun, and more than a few of them put Timon in some precarious positions.
Xbox.com: What worlds from which movies will players get to skate through in the game?
Activision: We have Andy’s Room and Pizza Planet from “Toy Story”; Zurg’s World from “Toy Story 2”; Pride Rock, the Elephant Graveyard, and Scar’s Canyon from “The Lion King”; and The Jungle Treehouse, The Human’s Camp, and Clayton’s Ship from “Tarzan.” In addition, we have a real-world level called Olliewood which acts as the hub level for the kid characters in the game.
Activision: There’s Adventure mode, where kids can complete goals to progress and unlock new levels and characters; Free Skate mode, where you can explore levels you’ve unlocked; and a two-player mode that has three games: HORSE, Score Challenge, and King of the Hill.
Xbox.com: How many levels and worlds can players expect to encounter in the single-player games?
Activision: There is a combination of nine levels, in three film-based worlds, plus the additional real-world hub level.
Xbox.com: Does the game have any Xbox-exclusive features?
Activision: It supports user-created soundtracks.
Xbox.com: How do elements of the game appeal to a variety of age groups? Has this been a concern in the design process?
Activision: We have found that skateboarding in general appeals to a wide age range, and we felt that, if we could make a game that was fun and looked great, skateboarding fans could enjoy it, while a younger audience could appreciate the gameplay with some of their favorite Disney and Disney/Pixar characters. During the design process, balancing the game for a wide age range was a major concern. With our audience being anywhere between 6 and 14 years old, we didn’t want to make a game that was too hard for a 6 –year old or too easy for a 12 –year old. I think we did a pretty good job of finding that balance. Furthermore, we simplified the controls for the younger audience and kept pro controls that are similar to the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4 control scheme for adults and older kids.
Xbox.com: Could you describe the process that went into putting real kids—the Disney Skate Crew—into the game?
Activision: We had a nationwide casting call in San Diego, Denver, and Philadelphia and selected 10 kids to be in the game from the hundreds who tried out. We based our decisions on personality more than skill.
Xbox.com: As I understand it, Disney’s Extreme Skate Adventure is built on the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4 engine. How has that engine been modified, expanded, or tweaked for the Disney game? What will Tony Hawk players instantly recognize, and what tricks are all-new?
Smith: As previously mentioned, we simplified the controls for the younger audience and kept pro controls that are similar to the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4 for more experience players. I think that Tony Hawk players will instantly recognize the feel of the game, which, for most gamers, is the most important thing. As far as tricks go, all of the Disney and Pixar characters have their own unique tricks, though you will notice traditional skateboarding moves when playing as a member of the Extreme Skate Crew or a Create-a-Skater creation.
Xbox.com: How do the game worlds, objectives, and mini-games reflect the worlds of the movies they’re based on? Are there “missions” pulled straight from the films? Is there any kind of overall story arc?
Activision: I think the locations in the game reflect the locales in the movies very well. Of course, we needed to make some modifications to turn them into fun skate parks by doing things such as turning a row of dominoes in Andy’s Room into a really cool grind line. I wouldn’t say that there are missions pulled straight from the films, but many missions certainly were influenced by things that occurred in the movies, such as freeing the gorillas from the cargo hold of Clayton’s Ship in Tarzan. With three different worlds, it was difficult to stick to any overall story arc. However, if you play as a kid character, you can effectively complete the game and play through every level with just that one character, whereas the Disney characters must remain in their respective worlds. Tarzan can’t skate in a “Lion King” level; he can only skate in “Tarzan" levels.
Xbox.com: Any Xbox Livefunctionality?
Activision: No, we decided that online play would be too menu-driven and potentially too confusing for our audience.
Xbox.com: How did the game’s soundtrack come together? Is it primarily movie scores, original music, or pop tunes? Is music keyed to various locations, or can it be shuffled around?
Activision: Activision and Disney found pop songs that we thought would appeal to a broad audience. We still wanted the game to feel like a skateboarding game and have a bit of an edge to the music, so we didn’t use any movie scores. The music is not keyed to locations, but the player can edit the soundtrack by turning certain songs off and can also decide to play songs in order or randomly.
Xbox.com: Are there any hidden unlockable characters, enchanted skateboards, or other secrets you can share?
Activision: The pop star Lil’ Romeo is an unlockable character, and most levels have secret areas and passages that you can find through exploration.
Xbox.com: Who’s your favorite character to play, assuming you can pick one?
Activision: Timon and Pumbaa. They are hilarious.
Xbox.com: What do you most want gamers to get out of Disney’s Extreme Skate Adventure? To put it another way, what were the primary objectives of the design team in building the game?
Activision: The primary objective we set out to achieve was to make a great-feeling game that looked amazing and was fun to play for all audiences—from 6 years old to 40. Toys for Bob created a very immersive game. The levels look incredible, and with each character having its own unique set of animations and skateboarding moves, there is a lot to see and experience. The game is just plain fun.
Xbox.com: Is it too early to ask about plans forDisney’s Extreme Skate 2: Snow White and the Shreddin’ Dwarfs?
Activision: I can’t comment on any sequels to this game or any other Disney games we may have in the works, but we’ll take your suggestion under advisement.
Xbox.com: Finally, please describe Disney’s Extreme Skate Adventure in 25 words or less.
Activision: Fun, amazing to look at and play, cool characters, great levels, great game engine … Did I say fun?
