Skitchin'

An example of gameplay in Skitchin'

Skitchin' puts the player in control of an inline skater who must race against a varying amount of skaters in a tournament spanning twelve different cities, including New York City and San Diego.[1] During a race, the player can accelerate, jump, crouch, and attack neighboring racers. The player can also engage in skitching, the act of clutching onto a moving vehicle's bumper to gain momentum.[2] The player can pick up weapons lying in the road – such as nunchaku, chains, pipes, crowbars, whips, and baseball bats – and use them to attack opponent racers. Traffic cones on the side of the road may indicate a nearby weapon. Some opponents wield the aforementioned weapons, which can be taken and used by the player if the enemy racer is attacked as they are holding the weapon out to strike. The player can carry multiple weapons at once and cycle through them to select a weapon for use.[3] If the player skates off a ramp, they can perform tricks by pressing one of any button while midair. When the player successfully performs a trick, a trio of judges momentarily appears in the lower-left corner of the screen to rank the trick's complexity.[4]

The player character begins the game with $100.[5] The player earns more money by winning races, skitching on various cars (with police cars rewarding more money), performing complex tricks, and knocking down opponents in combat.[6] Between races, the player can check the status of their skates, wheels and protective gear, which wear out over time, and can access a shop to purchase new equipment. The player will receive a password at the end of a successful race, which can be entered at a password entry screen in a subsequent session to maintain the player's progress.[5] The game ends if the player runs out of health, gets caught by the police, or cannot afford to replace worn out skates.

Skitchin' was developed by EA's Canadian division.[7] It was conceptualized by Dave Ralston, designed by Dave Warfield and directed by Tim Brengle. The game was programmed by Lance Wall, Daniel Wesley and Lee Ingraham, while Tony Lee, Jack Snowden and Cindy Green created the graphics.[8] The game's engine was repurposed from the Road Rash series to capitalize on its success.[9]

To collect reference material for the stunts seen in the game, the development team went to the Skate Ranch in Toronto, where they were directed to Troy Manering, the community's reputed best skater.[7][10] After the team rented a warehouse and set up a series of ramps, Snowden spent several days videotaping Manering performing a collection of moves, which were rotoscoped for the game's characters. For the game's graffiti art, the development team conducted an exhaustive tour of Toronto and photographed graffiti styles that they liked. After finding a phone number on one of the walls, the team came into contact with Carlos Zelaya, Zack Benwell, and Nelson Garcia.[7][10] Because the trio were teenagers and unable to drive, the interview with them was conducted at a train station. The artists were impressed by the game's concept and suggested a grunge soundtrack during a visit to the EA Canada offices.[7] The game's audio artist, Jeff van Dyck,[8] was not initially knowledgeable of the genre, but developed a taste for it after being locked in a room and listening to a collection of CDs of bands from Seattle's grunge scene.[7]

In response to the ongoing debate concerning violence in video games and the questionable legality of the activities depicted in the title, the development team accessed the cartridge several times to temper or remove imagery that could be considered gratuitously violent. The game includes a disclaimer upon booting that warns players of the dangerous nature of the stunts and activities portrayed in the game and the risk of serious injury involved in attempting them.[7]

Skitchin' was released in North America and Europe on March 1994.[1][11] The game was promoted with a magazine advertisement which used the headline "Skatin', Hitchin', Bitchin', Skitchin'". EA associate publicist Fiona Murphy recounted, "The American Slang Dictionary defines the word bitchin' as 'good, excellent, superior.' Our use of the word was with this meaning in mind and was not intended as profanity. Skitchin' is an action-packed, hard-core street game, and we felt the word bitchin' in the headline ... reflected the attitude of the game and also conveniently rhymed with 'Skitchin''."[12]

Mister Blister of GamePro praised the unique concept, fluid and well-rendered visuals and "incredible" heavy metal soundtrack, though he noticed that the controls were slightly sluggish.[1] Rob Bright and Steve Merrett of Mean Machines Sega commended the visuals and ramp trick system, but felt that the lack of variety in tracks led to the gameplay becoming monotonous, and dismissed the thrash soundtrack as "lukewarm" and for "those with defective tastes".[11] The reviewers of Electronic Gaming Monthly commented that "The graphics are nice and the game has tons of options (like the nice two-player mode), but play it once and you get the idea".[13]

• Skitchin' at GameFAQs
• Skitchin' at MobyGames