Thoughts on controls (above all most important in my mind):
I'd like to see a complex control scheme ala SKATE, that features a fairly steep learning curve that encourages trial and error. I think what's so special about SKATE, is the sense of achievement you feel upon mastering tricks. I like the idea of aping the "different buttons correspond to different body parts" system used in skate.
I'm definitely in favor of a behind the skier view.
(XBOX360)
Riding:
Left Analog (Body/Hips): Left and right control turns (pressure sensitive). Holding "up" causes the rider to take an aggressive stance/tuck. If the rider is in the flats or has completely stopped, up skates. Double tap to holding up causes the rider to sit on his/her tails for maximum speed into jumps. Pulling back (down), causes the rider to scrub speed (pressure sensitive) by snowplowing, or quick speed checks, to an all out hard stop by pulling all the way back.
Right Analog (Skis): Left and right, in conjunction with the left analog being pressed in the same direction, makes as sharp a turn as possible. Pulling all the way back or forward, causes the rider to prepare to pop off of either tails or noses respectively. A quick "SKATE ollie/nollie"movement=small pop, where as a slow and deliberate movement that allows the "crouch animation" to complete=max pop. Pushing halfway forward or back causes the rider to enter into a press. The degree/duration of press is dependent on skis used, and snow type. Buttering is accomplished by pulling halfway back* (*while riding forward, everything is reversed for switch riding/tail butter spins), then swiveling 180 degrees (left or right) to forward accompanied by pressing the Left Analog stick in the same direction. Amount of spin is affected by speed of movements, and terrain (doing so off of a knuckle or over a roller will cause you to spin more).
Digi pad:
Player chosen gestures. Ideas: Down=rideaway/bang Up= fist pump/claim Right= Goggle fix/Headphone adjust Left= Pull Pants up/crotch grab thing others: Candide one arm behind back-slight crouch, pole clap, bird, sarcastic racer/gaper tuck, etc.
Back: Toggle i-pod controls --> at which point LB and RB skip through playlist
Y: Toggles Trailmap
B: click in/out of bindings when stopped
LB/RB: Look left/right while skiing straight
LT/RT: Handplant WHEN "quick" ollieing over a jib/knuckle. Player must pull back on left analog stick and press LT/RT/both to handdrag. Timing is critical. Releasing the trigger to late will cause the rider to fail to "pop" of his hand(s).
X/A: Zoom in/out
In Air:
Left Analog: 2 of the 3 rotation axis. After ollie/nollie Left and Right will cause the rider to spin upright. For bigger spins, the player must quickly throw the left analog stick in the opposite direction of the intended spin just prior to takeoff before throwing back in the other direction (direction of the spin). For non inverted off axis spins (bios and corks), the player rolls the left analog stick either forward or back respectively after setting the spin either left or right (at about 180). Up and Down cause the rider to flip. Diagonals control inverted spins (d-spin, rodeo, misty).
LB/RB: Control the 3rd axis of rotation. When pressed without the Left Analog stick, the rider will do a "ear to shoulder" lincoln loop. If used in conjunction with Left Analog, depending on timing, the rider will over/underflip. Experiment.
Digi Pad: customizable. Goof/old school tricks. up=superman, down=laid out backie, left=spread eagle, right=screamin'. others: urlacher, boner, mannequin (for zeros), rollin' the windows up, etc.
Right Analog: Controls "orientation" of skis. When not grabbing, left and right cause the rider to shifty/twist at hips. Pressing the Right Analog stick in the same direction as a spin will make the rider spin faster. Pressing forward will bring the noses up and forward towards rider (think lifting toes), back will drop the tips and bring the tails closer to the rider's butt (think curling toes down). "Orientation" of ski affects which grabs you will do....
LT/RT: Left/Right hands. Grabs! Either LT or RT alone will do a safety, both will do a truckdriver. When combined with the Right Analog stick, the rider will do different grabs. I won't list them all, and I think the "arsenal" should be customizable, but here are some ideas.
LT/RT and down = Blunt/TrueTail, LTandRT and down = Octo, LT/RT and up = true nose, LTandRT and up = rocket/double nose...you get the picture.
B: bail!
On Rails:
Case sensitive, controls affected by surface type and width.
All controls still apply, and jibbing is really just an extension of the control scheme and is open-ended.
For example: Popping and spinning onto a wideish box. If the rider 270s onto the box, he will continue to spin on the surface. Unleeesss......He grips the edge!! Which brings us to:
X/A (Left foot/Right foot): Scissor/grip jibs. Rider pops, spins a right 270 onto a flat box and lands right foot forward. Pressing A will cause the rider to grip edge with front (right) foot, thus stopping the rotation. This allows the player to straight slide and simply "fall off" the end of the box and spin 90 degrees in either direction to land switch or reg, OR pretzel 270 (and up) out. This is done by quickly ollieing with the right analog stick and spinning (in this case left). Same principle applies for any sort of swap. Front or blind (on a box) is determined by which side to the box the rider lands on. Popping onto a box left foot forward to the right side and pressing X will initiate a blind swap toe dip. Landing left foot forward on the left side and pressing X will initiate a front swap toe raise.
Rails are essentially the same, scissoring is still done with the front foot's corresponding button, but the player must also push either left or right on the left analog stick in the direction of the desired swap/spin out. Example: Urban style down rail on the skier's right. Ollie(nollie) spin right 90 degrees to left foot forward skier slide. To front swap, I would press X (left foot) and left on the left analog to drop my heel. A quick ollie, and a left 180, and voila. K-feds and any combo of swaps/spin outs should be possible.
Back to the initial example of the wide box hypothetical.
If the player takes too harsh of an angle in approaching the box (box on skiers right, starts waaay left, and takes a sharp angle to his right) he will slide off to the right. Landing on either a box or rail directly under the bindings will produce the most stable slide. BUT, landing behind or in front of them allows you to do presses, IF the corresponding direction (up=nose press or down=tail press) on the right analog is pressed.
That's all I got control wise for now.
The option to design parks, move objects, build urban lips, bc jumps, wallrides, etc. would be fantastic.
Obviously, extensive rider customization (ala SKATE) is cruuuuucial. Sponsorship by ski manufacturers, boot cos., outerwear/accessory cos., etc. is important. Ski choice should affect rider's abilities i.e., stiff skis are better for jumps/pipe, soft skis more playful/buttery. Riding Bents in the park should feel different than Walls. Riding a rockered pow ski should feel different than a more traditional big mt. charger. In addition to this kind of customization, there needs to be a "style" feature. Sleepy, steezey, lazy VS. Athletic, aggressive, technical. The style choice should affect animations such as landing jumps, making turns, skating, popping, etc.
I think the inclusion of pros similar to SKATE feels about right.
For the love of god.....no collection challenges!!! I don't care if they're letters, coins, or fucking guitars...it's never fun. Ever. Challenges should resemble those in SKATE and focus on particular set-ups, tricks, photo ops, etc. They should involve all of the skills in the game and should serve the duel purpose of helping the player progress. There should be essentially 2 career paths. Comp skier vs. Film skier. Player chooses his focus. Ultimate goal to have Segment of the Year/Athlete of the Year at Powder Awards, or alternatively win JOSS/X/Dew. Get photos, make edits, earn sponsors as you progress.
Big focus on on-line multiplayer. Also, the ability to freeski and to set "drop in points". Real-time weather simulation.
Environments should be varied, and resorts should feel like living, breathing places. Strong balance between big mt., tree/pow/bc booter, park/jib.
