When Skate launches in early access on September 16, it’s going to feel fresh yet familiar. Set in a clean, open world, it presents a free-to-play model that aims to draw in both new players and longtime fans. What makes it stand out is its signature control system, Flick-It, which focuses on intuitive joystick movements.
Unlike traditional games where combos and button mashing rule, Flick-It lets you perform tricks with a flick of the joystick. This simplicity is what caught the attention of senior creative director Deran Chung. In an interview, he acknowledged the challenges of reviving this system, stating, “The old skate engine was insane. It was Frankensteined out of all this crazy stuff.”
Flick-It isn’t just about nostalgia. It was originally designed to enhance that free-flowing feel of skateboarding. For Chung and his team, it was about creating something organic, rather than a rigid system of button combinations. “We were just skateboarders, creating what felt right,” he mentioned.
The challenges were significant, though, especially when it came to motion capture. The team had to invent new tricks that left even pro skaters puzzled. Chung recalled asking experienced skaters about unconventional tricks, to their bewilderment. “Dude, what the heck are you talking about?” was a common response.
Creating a new game meant moving from the original engine to EA’s Frostbite, which posed its own sets of challenges. As both Chung and tech lead Jon Lawler explored this transition, they noticed that skateboarding was experiencing a surge in popularity, partly thanks to social media and its inclusion in the 2020 Summer Olympics. This meant that reviving Skate became both a technical possibility and a smart business decision for EA.
But simply replicating the past wasn’t enough. They wanted to elevate the experience. This led to the introduction of variable speed flips, which enrich the gameplay even more. Chung described the capabilities like late flips and held tricks, all of which enhance the improvisational aspect of skating.
Moreover, the new game shifts away from blending animations. This allows for more authentic, nuanced trick movements, making each performance feel more real. The physics engine also received a major upgrade, improving trick prediction and execution, which means you can now interact with the environment in a more realistic way.
In a recent survey, nearly 70% of current gamers expressed excitement about Skate‘s return, highlighting the game’s unique controls as a primary attraction. The team’s goal is to maintain that intuitive gameplay while adding features, like new tricks, through seasonal updates.
Fans may not notice the technical improvements directly, but what will matter most is how it feels. After all, at its core, skateboarding is about flow and freedom, and that’s what Skate aims to deliver.
