ISSUE #001 THE STATE OF FAKE SKATE
A DIVIDE IN CULTURE
No one learns how to put up with rejection, failure, restriction, and even being outcasted more than a skateboarder.
Are these things really nessecary for us to put up with time and time again? On the internet? In my early years this
was tried a true, from people making fun of me, to police officers holding my board while I shopped, to the numerous
falls including breaking my clavicle and obtaining a brain injury (that healed naturally over time, dont worry.) I never gave up
and I always learned something new. I reference real life because skateboarding in video games can give a very similar satisfactory feeling. The restrictions of a video game, no matter how linear, makes virtual skateboarding difficult just like it is in real life. Obviously in real life there is less limitations but that same concept and die hard stubborn-ness is rewarded in both situations.
I will always hold skateboarding close to me for that reason, be it real or digital. Freedom to express through trial and error is the ebodiment of everything we go through for that big pay off in our every day lives. When I think about skate culture and the internet I see the same things I dislike about it in real life however. The different styles dont mesh. Arcade players are outcased by Realistic players and Vice Versa. Not only are more people becoming familiar with skateboarding through games but it has become a hub for us all. In the easy and especially in the hard times we have somewhere to go and a game can help us express ourselves. With music, video editing and design like this magazine it can even give us a voice. People with no place to skate, people in no condition to skate, people who just like video games: We all escape here.
Are these things really nessecary for us to put up with time and time again? On the internet? In my early years this
was tried a true, from people making fun of me, to police officers holding my board while I shopped, to the numerous
falls including breaking my clavicle and obtaining a brain injury (that healed naturally over time, dont worry.) I never gave up
and I always learned something new. I reference real life because skateboarding in video games can give a very similar satisfactory feeling. The restrictions of a video game, no matter how linear, makes virtual skateboarding difficult just like it is in real life. Obviously in real life there is less limitations but that same concept and die hard stubborn-ness is rewarded in both situations.
I will always hold skateboarding close to me for that reason, be it real or digital. Freedom to express through trial and error is the ebodiment of everything we go through for that big pay off in our every day lives. When I think about skate culture and the internet I see the same things I dislike about it in real life however. The different styles dont mesh. Arcade players are outcased by Realistic players and Vice Versa. Not only are more people becoming familiar with skateboarding through games but it has become a hub for us all. In the easy and especially in the hard times we have somewhere to go and a game can help us express ourselves. With music, video editing and design like this magazine it can even give us a voice. People with no place to skate, people in no condition to skate, people who just like video games: We all escape here.
SESSION
So can I just say that some of the saltiness between the Skater XL and Session communities is bogus?
We have TWO skateboarding games focused on simulation coming all the way to console from PC and one is in Pre-Alpha.
They should not even be compared at the stages they are both in. To say a game needs work in pre-alpha is just stating the obvious. Now I'm not saying everyone has to drop Skater XL to hop on the Session train but I would like to provoke your thoughts. Supporting the crea-ture community is only going to benefit everyone in the long run. They need reasons to be excited just as much as we do. I've been apart of one of the last remaining EA Skate Realistic Communities for about 11 years. Crea-ture did a live interview with us on their game some odd years ago. It was a very interesting exchange and we expected a completely different game based on their description. Some of you might not know this but the game was not intended to be a freedom of choice skateboarding simulation title. The way they described it sounded similiar to the many mobile games tony hawk has seen through development. It was going to be line based, choose your line do your trick, choose a new line. Could you imagine? I still would have played it but worlds apart right? Those games are cool and all but nothing beats twin stick simulation. So not only did they take notice, scrap that and start over, but they knocked it out of the park and for a pre-alpha we can already see it's endless potential.
We have TWO skateboarding games focused on simulation coming all the way to console from PC and one is in Pre-Alpha.
They should not even be compared at the stages they are both in. To say a game needs work in pre-alpha is just stating the obvious. Now I'm not saying everyone has to drop Skater XL to hop on the Session train but I would like to provoke your thoughts. Supporting the crea-ture community is only going to benefit everyone in the long run. They need reasons to be excited just as much as we do. I've been apart of one of the last remaining EA Skate Realistic Communities for about 11 years. Crea-ture did a live interview with us on their game some odd years ago. It was a very interesting exchange and we expected a completely different game based on their description. Some of you might not know this but the game was not intended to be a freedom of choice skateboarding simulation title. The way they described it sounded similiar to the many mobile games tony hawk has seen through development. It was going to be line based, choose your line do your trick, choose a new line. Could you imagine? I still would have played it but worlds apart right? Those games are cool and all but nothing beats twin stick simulation. So not only did they take notice, scrap that and start over, but they knocked it out of the park and for a pre-alpha we can already see it's endless potential.
THE EA SKATE COMMUNITY
I love the EA Skate Community, they are die hard, but there are 100% two parties involved when I think about what the makeup is.
The Realistic Players make their own Teams, Communities, Magazines, and for the past 13 years they have put together their own
Skate Videos. Even if it's in the dark and no one catches it they still produce just simply because they love to do it. Now dont get me wrong, there are some realistic YouTube content creators but when it comes to the revivial of EA Skate we cannot deny The Trickline Movement. All this time later kids and even some adults are excited about highscoring X Games Big Air Runs. This caused an uproar in server activity for Skate 3 and as a result, the servers for an EA game that came out 10 years ago are still up and running. That is unheard of for EA Sports Titles! Running servers costs money, the player base drops and so do those servers typically. On top of that this movement blew up EA's social media until they gave way on a new skateboarding game. Their reveal at EA Play 2020
in June revealed that the team is back together and working on a new project. Incase you didn't know, Blackbox was disbanded when Skate 3 failed to meet the projected sales numbers needed to profit. Yet here we are excited about EA Skate all over again. So I ask you, why are we divided? We all clearly need this hybrid skateboarding game to continue. We should be celebrating with each other! I took a nice long break from the community when the divide slowly seemed more apparent. If you think back to the days of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater there was no divide. We just accepted it for what it was, We accepted each other too. People have preferences; they like what they like but it's no reason to exile one another! My creativity knows no bounds and I will use any and every medium to express myself. To always be true to myself is to push whats possible, to break those barriers, to fuse arcade and sim because at the end of the day; that is the only way brand new things will happen. In Real Life, In Fakeskate Life, Arcade and Simulation. I approach real life the same as the games. They are also intertwined, I get ideas from the games and put real things into my game videos as well.
I had a point and time where I wondered where I would be if I stuck to skateboarding in real life, really dedicated my all to it.
I probably wouldn't be delivering this magazine if that were the case haha. I have seen some very creative skaters in my time on the games though and it always seemed like those people in real life were just a step further than I was in progression. Chris Haslam said something that always stuck with me: "You can't claim an NBD, some dude in their garage has done it." I know this is true. I won't be on Haslam's level of progression in my life I don't think but I did have a long session one day learning no comply 180s. I stumbled into the realization that you can flip the board with your knee and jump back on it. This was so obscure and fun I just started going for that until I got it fairly clean. I kid you not, days later Haslam is doing the trick off of a parking block, 180, and several variations. Skaters are connected without even realizing it; That trick you tried, is probably being done. Nothing is unrealistic so nothing should be unfathomable, it is just a matter of time.
The Realistic Players make their own Teams, Communities, Magazines, and for the past 13 years they have put together their own
Skate Videos. Even if it's in the dark and no one catches it they still produce just simply because they love to do it. Now dont get me wrong, there are some realistic YouTube content creators but when it comes to the revivial of EA Skate we cannot deny The Trickline Movement. All this time later kids and even some adults are excited about highscoring X Games Big Air Runs. This caused an uproar in server activity for Skate 3 and as a result, the servers for an EA game that came out 10 years ago are still up and running. That is unheard of for EA Sports Titles! Running servers costs money, the player base drops and so do those servers typically. On top of that this movement blew up EA's social media until they gave way on a new skateboarding game. Their reveal at EA Play 2020
in June revealed that the team is back together and working on a new project. Incase you didn't know, Blackbox was disbanded when Skate 3 failed to meet the projected sales numbers needed to profit. Yet here we are excited about EA Skate all over again. So I ask you, why are we divided? We all clearly need this hybrid skateboarding game to continue. We should be celebrating with each other! I took a nice long break from the community when the divide slowly seemed more apparent. If you think back to the days of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater there was no divide. We just accepted it for what it was, We accepted each other too. People have preferences; they like what they like but it's no reason to exile one another! My creativity knows no bounds and I will use any and every medium to express myself. To always be true to myself is to push whats possible, to break those barriers, to fuse arcade and sim because at the end of the day; that is the only way brand new things will happen. In Real Life, In Fakeskate Life, Arcade and Simulation. I approach real life the same as the games. They are also intertwined, I get ideas from the games and put real things into my game videos as well.
I had a point and time where I wondered where I would be if I stuck to skateboarding in real life, really dedicated my all to it.
I probably wouldn't be delivering this magazine if that were the case haha. I have seen some very creative skaters in my time on the games though and it always seemed like those people in real life were just a step further than I was in progression. Chris Haslam said something that always stuck with me: "You can't claim an NBD, some dude in their garage has done it." I know this is true. I won't be on Haslam's level of progression in my life I don't think but I did have a long session one day learning no comply 180s. I stumbled into the realization that you can flip the board with your knee and jump back on it. This was so obscure and fun I just started going for that until I got it fairly clean. I kid you not, days later Haslam is doing the trick off of a parking block, 180, and several variations. Skaters are connected without even realizing it; That trick you tried, is probably being done. Nothing is unrealistic so nothing should be unfathomable, it is just a matter of time.
ANTWANTHEPAWN//COTHES//CRASHTONES
I've honestly needed a place to get this all out, I'm blessed to have these mediums and I've finally developed skill to pull it off.
Life keeps taking me through many ups and downs but that stubborn part of me, Like a skateboarder, Never gives up. After my accident I was inside my home alot more, I watched alot of skateboarding videos and I played alot of EA Skate. While many people would say "Wow that was cool, wish you could do that in SKATE" I would just sit there for hours until It actually did work. If it didnt work on a surface I'd try a new surface, new height, new speed, new angle, and to my surprise, every time, I accomplished some really really cool things in the games. No other game gives me so much joy, such a sense of accomplishment or a feeling of freedom quite like a skateboarding hybrid. So next time you think about tricks being impossible, in real or fake skate life, remember me. Airwalk plant, Dog Plant, Benihanna Plant, Revert Boneless Variations, Hippie Jump Kicks and so much more. 11 Videos in a solo series 5-10 minutes long, 100 Videos Strong, Never giving up.
B.P.S. was the title of my EA Skate Solo Series and the message I always left everyone with was "There's a Broad Perspective in all of us, Tap In." There's always something to be greatful for, always a reason to keep going. People aren't as talented as much as they are just willing to grind and sacrifice the time it takes to be the best that they can be. Success can include luck but it ALWAYS comes to those who put in the time. Look at the next challenge in your life like a skateboarder, with a new perspective, at a new angle and with a new light. That's all I would want to tell myself in my past struggles and why I am more than willing to put all of this out there. If you are blessed enough to fail at what you love, you are also blessed enough to succeed. It is the determination and love that will separate you from others. The more I came to terms with that being my reality, the old name faded and I left behind the concept of being a pawn in this world. It's all about how you look at things: Your Perspective!
Anthony "Crash Tones" David
is a 29 Year old Non-Profit Indie Game Artist, Published Author, Skateboarder, Director & Designer living in Ohio.
Life keeps taking me through many ups and downs but that stubborn part of me, Like a skateboarder, Never gives up. After my accident I was inside my home alot more, I watched alot of skateboarding videos and I played alot of EA Skate. While many people would say "Wow that was cool, wish you could do that in SKATE" I would just sit there for hours until It actually did work. If it didnt work on a surface I'd try a new surface, new height, new speed, new angle, and to my surprise, every time, I accomplished some really really cool things in the games. No other game gives me so much joy, such a sense of accomplishment or a feeling of freedom quite like a skateboarding hybrid. So next time you think about tricks being impossible, in real or fake skate life, remember me. Airwalk plant, Dog Plant, Benihanna Plant, Revert Boneless Variations, Hippie Jump Kicks and so much more. 11 Videos in a solo series 5-10 minutes long, 100 Videos Strong, Never giving up.
B.P.S. was the title of my EA Skate Solo Series and the message I always left everyone with was "There's a Broad Perspective in all of us, Tap In." There's always something to be greatful for, always a reason to keep going. People aren't as talented as much as they are just willing to grind and sacrifice the time it takes to be the best that they can be. Success can include luck but it ALWAYS comes to those who put in the time. Look at the next challenge in your life like a skateboarder, with a new perspective, at a new angle and with a new light. That's all I would want to tell myself in my past struggles and why I am more than willing to put all of this out there. If you are blessed enough to fail at what you love, you are also blessed enough to succeed. It is the determination and love that will separate you from others. The more I came to terms with that being my reality, the old name faded and I left behind the concept of being a pawn in this world. It's all about how you look at things: Your Perspective!
Anthony "Crash Tones" David
is a 29 Year old Non-Profit Indie Game Artist, Published Author, Skateboarder, Director & Designer living in Ohio.