Here’s a tale of things coming full circle. Japanese professional skateboarder and two-time Olympic skateboarding champion Yuto Horigome, who is a big fan of the Tony Hawk’s skateboarding video games, made his first appearance in the franchise with the recently released Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4. Reflecting on his love for the franchise, Horigome said that he used many of the moves from the previous games as inspiration for his skateboarding style.
In an interview with Docomo News, Horigome reveals that he was particularly impressed by the Tony Hawk’s video game characters’ unreal jumping and grinding techniques. As this was back when he first started skateboarding, Horigome remembers the excitement he felt while playing the interactive titles and the way Tony Hawk’s made him wish he could pull off the in-game stunts in real life.
Horigome recalls his friends half-jokingly daring him to copy some of the more outlandish tricks in the games. Though he understood that many of them were impossible or challenging, Horigome took it upon himself to find “hidden ideas” in these tricks and incorporate them into his own, combo-like, skateboarding style. “Playing the games gave me many opportunities to think about new moves and ways to be more creative,” he comments.
Apart from finding inspiration in the Tony Hawk’s games, Horigome just seems happy to be part of a franchise he has loved since he was a kid. When doing motion capture for Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4, he brought several clothes and shoes that would allow him to better translate his skating style. As much as he tried to keep things authentic, the developers at Iron Galaxy Studios wanted him to be more fluid and dynamic, leading to some difficulties for Horigome. Motion capture troubles aside, Horigome hopes that Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 will allow players to better appreciate skateboarding culture and the freedom that the sport provides.
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 is available on Nintendo Switch 1 and 2, PlayStation 4 and 5, Windows (Steam), Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
