the player could upgrade their equipment as
they progressed. “That wasn’t in the original
design,” Dave adds, “and we started looking
at different elements to add. We had been working
with Gary Gygax [creator of Dungeons & Dragons]
in the past on Dangerous Dimensions games, so
some of those RPG elements came in. We could
have some upgrades that you could earn.” The
team found itself asking what the point of winning
a race was and, if the player won, what rewards
would they get? “That naturally evolved to the fact
that if they’re wearing different gear, how does it
protect them or what abilities does it give him?”
Despite taking the foundation for the game
from Road Rash, the resultant game was quite a
bit different to it and many other similar racing
games of the time. Releasing in 1994 exclusively
for Mega Drive, Skitchin’ inadvertently created atime capsule of sorts by epitomising the Nineties
with its punk rock visuals and Nirvana-inspired
soundtrack. “To be honest, we never really
thought about what is going to date us,” admits
Dave. “We thought about what’s popular right
now, what’s interesting, what’s unique to this
game that would make it appealing right now? It’s
only looking back that we kind of go, ‘Oh wow,
that Seattle grunge sound!’ or get a little shocked
by the colourful stylings of graffiti.”
Sadly, however, the relevance that it might
have had at the time didn’t carry over to
wider commercial success. Dave blames the
marketing for this – “They were a little scared
of this product,” he says, alluding the illegal and
dangerous nature of the sport – but the team felt
that it was onto something special. “Our hopes
were very high because it was something different
than the traditional racing game,” recalls Dave,
“but I think from a marketing and sales standpoint
it was very hard for them to figure out what it
might do because it didn’t have that comparable.
The hopes were high, we thought it would have an
appeal to the rebellious youth, if you want to call it
that, at that time period.”
Skitchin’ remains a novelty, an enjoyable game
with a twist that was overlooked. “Maybe it didn’t
sell as well as we would have hoped,” says Dave,
“but the people that did play it enjoyed it, and
here we are 20 years later, you’re asking me
about it. It still has that nostalgia attached
to it for the people that played it. I had a
ton of fun building it and playing it against
people after we had released it.”» [Mega Drive] Though the developers didn’t intend it to be,
Skitchin’ acts as a per fect time capsule for the mid-Nineties.» [Mega Drive] The changing
landscape was largely a palet te
swap, your skater ’s clothes also
change with the location.DEVELOPER
HIGHLIGHTS
NEED FOR SPEED: HIGH
STAKES PICTURED
SYSTEM: PS1, PC
YEAR: 1999
SSX TRICKY
SYSTEM: GAMECUBE,
PS2, XBOX
YEAR: 2001
DEF JAM VENDETTA
SYSTEM: GAMECUBE, PS2
YEAR: 2003
TO BE HONEST, WE NEVER THOUGHT
ABOUT WHAT IS GOING TO DATE US
Dave WarfieldRETRO GAMER | 73THE MAKING OF: SKITCHIN’
it didn t
ys Dave,
and
metat d
with
in th
som
hav
team