Tony Hawk's Pro Skater

, has collected all the letters of the word "SKATE". This screenshot is taken from the Dreamcast version. ''Tony Hawk's Pro Skater'' puts the player in control of a skateboarder and takes place in a third-person view with a fixed camera. The goal of the game is to perform tricks and combinations thereof in an effort to increase the player's score. Movement can be altered using the d-pad or analog stick, and ollies, grabs, flips and grinds are each assigned to individual buttons. Each skateboarder has eight grabs, eight grinds and eight flips. The number of points earned from a successful trick sequence is dependent on the amount of time spent in the air, the degree of rotation, and the number and variety of tricks performed; the more a single trick is performed in a sequence, the fewer points it will earn. When the player succeeds in performing tricks, a special gauge increases. When this gauge is full and flashing, the player is capable of performing a special trick that is worth many more points than ordinary tricks. If the player bails (falls off their skateboard), any points that may have been earned from the current combo are lost, and the special gauge is emptied. In the game's "Career Mode", the player must complete five objectives (represented by VHS tapes) in each level within a period of two minutes. The player is not obligated to complete all the objectives within a single run; any completed objective is committed to the game's memory, which allows other objectives to be completed within multiple playthroughs of a level. Two common objectives in each level are achieved by accumulating two defined scores, which gradually increases in difficulty throughout the game; while one other common objective is to collect letters of the word "SKATE". Another common objective is to destroy five of a certain object within each level. The fifth objective involves collecting a VHS tape hidden in the level. Completing objectives unlocks additional levels and equipment for use. Three of the mode's levels take place in a competition setting in which the player performs for judges and accumulates the highest score within three one-minute rounds. The player receives a bronze, silver or gold medal depending on the final score they are given. Other single-player modes include the "Single Session", in which the player can freely accumulate a high score within two minutes using any previously obtained levels and characters, and the "Free Skate", in which there is no time limit imposed. The multiplayer mode is played by two players in a split screen view and offers three games: "Graffiti", "Trick Attack", and "HORSE". In "Graffiti", players must accumulate the highest score by changing level elements into their own color via the use of tricks. If a player performs a higher-scoring trick on an element that has already been marked, the element will change to that player's color. "Trick Attack" is a mode in which players must accumulate the highest score by chaining tricks together. "HORSE" is a game that is played intermittently between two players, who must compete in rounds lasting either eight seconds or until a trick has been made. The player with the lower score on any given turn receives a letter in the word "HORSE" or whatever word the players have generated prior to the game's start. The first player to accumulate the entire word loses. ==Development==

Following the releases of arcade game Top Skater (1997) by Sega and PlayStation game Street Sk8er (1998) by Electronic Arts, During development, the Neversoft team would spend their lunch breaks at a bowling alley near the studio, where they would play and subsequently study from Sega's Top Skater in the arcade. The game's design served as a strong basic influence, along with observances of real skaters performing in the X Games, which were taking place during the game's development. Although the team decided early on that Top Skaters linearity lacked the sense of fun they aimed for, the "racetrack" element was retained in two of the game's final levels. Contrary to subsequent games in the series, Neversoft did not primarily focus on using pre-existing locations as reference for the game's level design, but simply envisioned potential skating areas such as a school or a city and incorporated elements such as ramps and rails to benefit the gameplay. The team consciously prioritized fun over realism in the approach to the game's level design and physics. Once the prototype reached a functional and demonstrable state, the Neversoft team realized that they would require a professional skateboarder to aid in the remainder of production. At the time, Tony Hawk had been a popular figure within skateboarding for quite some time. By January 1999, Activision publicly announced their agreement with Hawk to include him in the game. Activision senior vice president Mitch Lasky, in an interview with GameSpot, stated that the character was "meant to reflect Tony's signature style – an intense mix of acrobatics and hard-core technical skating". Hawk remarked that "[he had] always wanted to help create a video game that represented the reality and excitement of professional skateboarding". Hawk would spend the development time periodically playing through the game's beta builds and providing feedback, using a specially modified PlayStation console that can play games burned on CD-Rs. Hawk even went so far as to purposely send advance copies of the game to a trusted group of people who also owned modchipped PlayStations: "I had a modified PlayStation so I could use burned discs, and they'd send me new developments and we'd go back and forth. I'd let people play it, people that I trust. At one point, I felt it was getting so far along that I started to sneak out copies for those same people - these people had modded PlayStations. As subversive as that was, it started to create a buzz in the industry, because they were key players in the skating industry and they were also hardcore gamers". Hawk would also personally select a group of other professional skaters to include as playable characters based on their skills, personalities and diversity; each skater received a cut of the royalties and got to select their own attire and special tricks for the game. A playable demo with only two available skaters was integrated into the Jampack Summer '99 compilation CD released by PlayStation Underground. The game was made available for pre-order two weeks prior to the game's release; those who pre-ordered the game at Electronics Boutique or FuncoLand respectively received a miniature replica of Tony Hawk's Birdhouse skateboard, a sticker sheet featuring the game's ten professional skaters and a game tip on the back of each sticker. A second playable demo was included on a promotional compilation disc released by Pizza Hut on November 14. While Neversoft would begin development of the game's sequel, ''Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2'', shortly before the release of the first game, Activision would entrust the game's Nintendo 64 port to Edge of Reality, which had recently ported Monster Truck Madness 2 to the same system. The Nintendo 64 and Game Boy Color versions received a multi-million dollar advertising campaign on several major youth-targeted channels in the United States beginning in April 2000. Customers who purchased the Game Boy Color version at Toys "R" Us or FuncoLand received a special-edition miniature skateboard. As a result of the disappointing sales of Blue Stinger, Activision was discouraged from publishing further games for the Dreamcast and relinquished the distribution of ''Tony Hawk's Pro Skater'' on the console to Crave Entertainment. After online speculation and teasing comments from company insiders, a port for the Dreamcast was revealed to be developed by Treyarch. Later in 2003, the N-Gage version was in development. The game came bundled with the N-Gage QD that was released in 2004. ==Ports==

The Nintendo 64 port of ''Tony Hawk's Pro Skater'' was developed by Edge of Reality and released on March 15, 2000. The Dreamcast version was developed by Treyarch, published by Crave Entertainment and released on May 24, 2000. The graphics and animations in the Dreamcast version are improved from those in the PlayStation version. The Game Boy Color version was developed by the Japanese company Natsume and released on March 30, 2000. The Game Boy Color version is an adaptation rather than a true port of the PlayStation version due to the limited capacity of the platform. The game offers two different gameplay styles: an overhead view with vertical scrolling, and a side-scrolling view in which there is a ramp on each side. There are four gameplay modes in which the player can only perform a few tricks. In "Half Pipe Mode", the player must attempt to achieve the highest score possible. "Tournament Mode" is a five-level vertically scrolling game in which the player must race against three computer-controlled skaters and achieve the highest rank. Jumps are made automatically when the player maneuvers onto ramps, and tricks are displayed as a brief static image. "Versus Mode" and "Rival Mode" are identical to "Tournament Mode", except the player plays in a single level against a single opponent; the opponent in "Rival Mode" is computer-controlled, while the opponent in "Versus Mode" is human, which necessitates the use of a Game Link Cable. The N-Gage version was developed by Ideaworks3D and released on October 13, 2003, a week following the launch of the N-Gage. The game is a faithful port of the PlayStation version and retains most of the characters, levels, control scheme and original music while adding levels from ''Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2'' and two multiplayer games. The N-Gage version was named "Best-Mobile Game" by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts in 2004. A remake of both the first game and ''Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, titled Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2'', was developed by Vicarious Visions and released on September 4, 2020, for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One, followed up a year later on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch. The remake includes all of the original levels and skaters from the original games, but also includes improved skater creation and park creation modes, online multiplayer, and other new features, and featuring most of the original soundtracks, with a few exceptions due to licensing issues. ==Reception==

''Tony Hawk's Pro Skater was met with critical acclaim. Doug Perry of IGN'' praised the game's "imaginative, deep, and amazingly addictive" gameplay, "steady and consistent" learning curve, "intuitive and natural" controls, large and complex levels, "jaw-dropping" physics and "perfect" soundtrack. Perry concluded that the game had "captured the pure grit and radical feel of skateboarding, delivering it in near perfect form onto the PlayStation with a mastery and sense of programming finesse beyond anyone's imagination", and described the game as "that rare gem of a game that defies what other developers say can't be done". the latter sentiment was mirrored by Dr. Moo of Game Revolution. ''Tony Hawk's Pro Skater was ranked #36 in Game Informers "Top 100 Games of All Time" in its 100th issue in August 2001. The game was nominated for "Console Game of the Year" and "Console Sports Game of the Year" during the 3rd Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, but lost to Soulcalibur and Knockout Kings 2000, respectively. The game was included on Polygon'''s 2017 list of The 500 Best Games of All Time. Sales ''Tony Hawk's Pro Skater was the third highest-selling PlayStation game of November 1999 in the United States. From its release date to late-December 1999, the game shipped in excess of 350,000 units and was available in over 10,000 retailers nationwide. The PlayStation version of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater received a "Platinum" sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA), indicating sales of at least 300,000 copies in the United Kingdom. The Verband der Unterhaltungssoftware Deutschland gave the PlayStation version a Gold Award for 100,000 sold copies in Germany by February 2000. The PlayStation versions of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater'' and its successor were respectively the third and second highest-selling console games of 2000. The Nintendo 64 version was the sixth highest-selling Nintendo 64 game in the United States during the week of November 19–26, 2000. As of 2001, it has sold 3.5 million units. ==Sequels==

The game resulted in a successful franchise, receiving eight annualized sequels developed by Neversoft from Pro Skater 2 (2000) to Proving Ground (2007), and a 2020 remake along with the sequel, ''Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2''. ==Cultural impact==

''Tony Hawk's Pro Skater'' is credited with introducing skateboarding to a more mainstream global audience. In a 2023 essay for The New York Times Magazine, Irish writer Jack Sheehan reflected on the game's impact, writing: "Released at a moment when skateboarding was beginning to go mainstream, T.H.P.S. became popular because it invited skaters and nonskaters alike to feel the thrill of getting air, doing a kick flip or landing a trick by the thinnest margin." In 2023, the book Right, Down + Circle: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater by Cole Nowicki was released, tackling and analyzing ''Tony Hawk's Pro Skater''s meaning and impact. Reflecting on both the game's development history and his personal experience as a skateboarder and player, Nowicki called the game an "unprecedented success" and a "Trojan horse, entering the homes of millions worldwide, exposing kids, teenagers, their parents, and more to this gamified version of skateboarding." In 2020, a documentary film ''Pretending I'm Superman: The Tony Hawk Video Game Story'' from Swedish director Ludvig Gür was released, chronicling the development and impact of the game. Throughout the 2010s and 2020s, the game's soundtrack was acknowledged as having been a major cultural influence in music, particularly in spreading punk and metal to millennials. ==Notes==