writingongames

New Video! Why Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 Was (and Still is) Important (Patreon)

Published:

2017-05-14 15:53:38

Imported:

2026-06

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Hey everyone!

So my first video in almost a month is now available! In this video, I take a look back at Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3, which I think might actually be one of the best games ever made.

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So I've been able to revisit Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 and it's remarkable how well that game holds up. It's legitimately almost flawless. It's also incredibly distant from actual skateboarding, however, especially when examined in a post-Skate world. So why was the Tony Hawk series ever considered an accurate representation of the sport?

In this video, I want to argue that it's precisely because Tony Hawk 3 is so video game-y in its approach. Through the purity of its mechanics and systems, Tony Hawk 3 presents a more distilled vision of what it means to skate than any of the later games in the series.

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I hope you enjoy it! This one took a loooot of work to get right, so it feels good to finally get it out there. New video will be sooner rather than later, as well as the patron Q&A!

Thank you all so much for your continued support. You are the ones that allow me to spend the time needed to make these pieces as good as they can possibly be. For that, I cannot thank you enough.

Any questions, please don't hesitate to ask!

Thanks again,

Hamish

Writing on Games

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Why Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 Was (and Still is) Important

Support the show on Patreon (it means a lot) - https://www.patreon.com/writingongames Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes - https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/writing-on-gamescast/id1124674245 Follow me on Twitter - http://twitter.com/hamboblack Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/writingongames/ --- So I've been able to revisit Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 and it's remarkable how well that game holds up. It's legitimately almost flawless. It's also incredibly distant from actual skateboarding, however, especially when examined in a post-Skate world. So why was the Tony Hawk series ever considered an accurate representation of the sport? In this video, I want to argue that it's precisely because Tony Hawk 3 is so video game-y in its approach. Through the purity of its mechanics and systems, Tony Hawk 3 presents a more distilled vision of what it means to skate than any of the later games in the series. --- THPS4, THUG and THAW footage from Free Emulator: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXLuP-QMmNk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dj4TxSxjV0Q https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgNH0ZsVKy0 Tony Hawk 3 speedrun footage from GeorgeThePlushie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMq2xFb0juI Tony Hawk IRL footage from Gamespot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GO3tuHqvzVQ Asteroids footage from Shane McComas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYSupJ5r2zo --- Thank you all SO much for your continued support. Whether you support the Patreon, subscribed or just watch the video, I just want to say thank you—people like you are changing my life for the better every day. ---