Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5 developer Robomodo decided to change the visual style of the game just weeks away from release in order to maintain technical standards, such as framerate and resolution, Robomodo CEO Josh Tsui told GameSpot.
"We've always been confident in the look we were going for, but it took a while to ensure we could maintain the framerate with this style," Tsui said. "It was essential that the game run at 60fps at 1080p, even with 20 people skating online in the same session. We've achieved that, so now fans are seeing a better-looking game."
Tsui went on to say that while fans had very much to say in regards to the new look of the game, it wasn’t their feedback that prompted the visual change.
"We pay attention to everything the fans are saying, but that isn't what drove the visual upgrade," he said.
Some have called the new style cel-shaded, but Tsui does not agree with that.
"I wouldn't describe the new style as cel-shaded, it's just more detailed and vibrant," he said. "Perhaps you can say it's more over-the-top–the lighting has been improved and we've pumped up the game's colors. Also, details like motion blur, depth of field, and outlining were tweaked, in the interest of improving the player's focus on the skater and nearby obstacles and terrain."
When asked why the new style is different from the old Pro Skater games, Tsui remarked that given how long ago a Pro Skater game was released, it was inevitable for a modern Pro Skater game to look different from its predecessors.
"Keep in mind [Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4] came out 13 years ago! No matter what, a new Pro Skater game on PS4 and Xbox One was going to look a lot different," Tsui said. "Ultimately we went with a style that's playful and inclusive but still harkens back to the classic titles. You look at the crazy stuff that went into the first Pro Skater games and it just made sense to give this a fun style. The power of new console hardware allowed us to do that."
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5 will be released on Sept. 29 for Xbox One and PlayStation 4. An Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 release will follow on Nov. 10. Players who pick up a copy on PS3 or PS4 will have exclusive access to three PlayStation-inspired characters: Sackboy from Little Big Planet, Sweet Tooth from Twisted Metal, and Ratchet from Ratchet & Clank.
