White Out

Will Shaun White Snowboarding be as good as SSX or will it, well, SSUX?
6/13/2008 12:00 AM | 0 Comments | Page 2 of 2

Though we're also not saying you'll never be able to play as Shaun.

Crispy Gamer: So you might be able to unlock him at some point?

Lamarche: Yes, you might. Though you won't be able to play as him in multiplayer because then you'd just be able to dominate everyone. It wouldn't be fair.

Crispy Gamer: Now this kind of poses some existential issues, but what about the idea of an all-Shaun multiplayer mode?

Lamarche: You suggested that the last time we spoke, and we're actually thinking about it.

Crispy Gamer: Speaking of multiplayer, how many people can compete at the same time?

Lamarche: It depends on the event. Some will be four, others will be 16. But if, for example, there are only two of us, and we enter a four-person event, the artificial intelligence will take over the other two characters.

Crispy Gamer: So besides posing for the cover photo, and taking home a paycheck, how else has Shaun been involved in the game's development?

Lamarche: From the beginning, the lifestyle experience really comes from Shaun. Like he said to us, "People know me for competing in the half-pipe and slope style, but that's not what snowboarding is. Snowboarding is going to Alaska, the open mountains, with your friends, doing what you want." So that led us to have the huge, open mountains we have in the game.

Crispy Gamer: Did you guys motion-capture him at all for the game?

Lamarche: It's funny, because the technology available for outside mo-capping is just off, and cleaning up the data would've been really hard, so instead we just filmed Shaun for two days from every single angle.

Crispy Gamer: Was there anything he suggested for the game that just wouldn't have worked?

Lamarche: Oh yeah, that happened multiple times. And I could give you examples, but they'd have to be off-the-record.

Crispy Gamer: Finally, Shaun's nickname is "The Flying Tomato." Will the game include a cheat code that will change his character into a giant tomato?

Lamarche: Ha! I love it. Right now, no. He actually hates that nickname, though, so he'd probably kill us.