Shaun White Gets Snowed
11/10/2009 9:02 AM | 7 Comments | Page 2 of 2
Crispy Gamer: Do you have any advice for people starting out?
White: If you're told to push your limits, do it with what feels right for you. Don't let somebody else convince you to do something. Also, I've always worn a helmet, not only because I've hit my head many times by falling. I've also been hit by other snowboarders. I swear I wouldn't be here if I didn't have my helmet on. Mainly, just have fun at it. Whenever I go to the mountain, I force myself to train and do these tricks; it doesn't work. I have to wait until I'm in the right mood.
Crispy Gamer: Can you be more specific?
White: I was up on Oregon, trying to do these new tricks I'm working on. And I'm sitting there beating myself over the head with this trick that I couldn't do. Then my friend made a joke and dropped in the half-pipe in front of me and totally distracted me. I started laughing finally, and that next ride, I nailed it because I stopped thinking about it so hard.
Crispy Gamer: What's the new trick?
White: It was a frontside 1260. But there's some other big stuff I'm trying to work on. But I can't really talk about it. I don't want to like say it and then not do it.
[Laughs]
Crispy Gamer: Last year's
Road Trip videogame ended up being pretty cool. It ended up being the 20th-most-popular game of the year. What did you like most about that?
White: It was definitely a feat for me and my brother to work on. We didn't know exactly what we were going to do. I'm like, "I don't know what I'm doing here." But we slowly learned what was possible and not possible. You'd assume, "OK, it's game world. We can do whatever we want." And they're like, "If you really want it to snow in the game, it's gonna take like six months of programming to get it right."
Crispy Gamer: There were some problems with the first game, right?
White: I'm so excited about the new game, because all of those issues that were in the first game have now been worked out. The game's really flawless. It's really nice. I don't know. I'm pickier than anyone. No one would play the game and see what I would pick out, or even care.
White and his bro thought long and hard as they created the Times Square level.
So what exactly did you pick out?
White: There weren't as many characters as I wanted; and I wanted more levels, more competitions and more events to get things that you win. Just from being a game player, I kept thinking, "I want this, and I want that and I want more to do." We definitely have the spirit of the Olympics in this one. It's called the World Stage. You get to go from country to country to compete. And it's a game where I can have fun. I don't want it to be so realistic that you can only pull off the tricks that I can do in real life. I want you to be able to pull off more tricks to do your turns, your hopping, your airs.
Crispy Gamer: Technology-wise, what do you like about the game?
White: The first time I got on the [Balance] Board, I naturally leaned forward to go faster. You get a blur effect. It's a really exciting thing that makes it feel more real. And the
Wii MotionPlus amplifies every motion that you do. So what we did is build the game so you can make your own tricks, invent your own moves. We're always thinking, "What's the greatest way for you to feel part of the game?"
Crispy Gamer: How to you make your own tricks?
White: So you go into this special level that you unlock. You take this first jump and you spin the Remote on the table or flick it, and every single movement that you do will happen on the screen. Then you do your second jump and you add grabs or something else to stylize your trick. And then you save it, and it's really cool because you can save up to eight different tricks. The super-funny thing is watching people try to pull of tricks in real life, spinning around, waving the Remote, looking goofy.
Crispy Gamer: Can you customize your characters this time as well?
White: There's a bit of customization. I know that you win certain prizes and boards. I'm still working with them on trying to get more customization involved.
Crispy Gamer: Are you going to work on another 360 or PS3 console version, which weren't as well-reviewed as the Wii version last year?
White: We've been taking our time to perfect the Wii game. Even if you have a friend that doesn't know snowboarding, he can come over and pick it up right away.
Crispy Gamer: But you're definitely thinking of working on a 360 or PS3 version with more exciting stuff in it than the first
Shaun White Snowboarding?
White: For sure. That's what's been nice. The same thing we've been doing to get the Wii version right, we'll be going in and doing to the 360 and PS3. We're compiling the things that I want to do with that game right now.
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