Vertigo Design 
Arenas 

Skateboard Park 

Description: 

The skateboard park provides most of the challenges of the other arenas in a relatively safe environment. There are other skaters to collide with, but no cars, rats or signposts. 

The skateboard park features a large smooth curved surface of cement. It features smaller, smooth ramps, rails, and obstacles to jump over. In tournament mode, skaters jump over progressively greater numbers of barrels to demonstrate their big-air prowess. 

The skateboard park is mostly populated by a gang of suburban teenagers who skate with polish perfected from hours of skating. They are relatively polite with a few exceptions, although they have given themselves the ominous name of the City Thrashers. 

Features: 

Ramps, curved surfaces, rails, barrels, empty fountains, stairs, blocks, statues. 

  
Scoring: 

Scoring emphasis in the skateboard park is similar to standard skateboard tournament rules. Precision of moves, big air, and error-free skating all contribute points beyond the basic object and move points. 

  
Native Tribe: 

The Hawks relentlessly pursue perfecting their moves. They skate the densely populated skateboard park with perfect choreography, rarely colliding. They are the most skilled ramp skaters, regularly catching big air, performing varials and kick-flips. They are into skateboarding, not fighting, but they will take out thugs or clumsy beginners who initiate too many collisions. 

  
Sample Game Play:  

It is the final round of the tournament. You are performing a timed medley of your hottest moves in the skateboard park arena. You glance at the scoreboard. You are in 2^nd place -- only two hundred points behind. You’ve grabbed a water power-up and your stamina’s at an all-time high. A couple of near-impossible moves at this point will push you over the top… Damn! The clock. It’s ticking down the last fifteen seconds. Time to walk on air. 

You push hard toward the tall ramp. Only by moving fast and catching big air can you make the points you need. There are some barrels and a rail between you and the ramp. You ollie over the barrels and make it a kick-flip just for good measure. The audience murmurs appreciatively. Your score vaults up by ninety points. 

Taking the rails means one less push, but this angle of attack is too perfect to resist. You reverse kick-flip launch onto the rails and ride a perfect gritty railslide all ten feet. The crowd cheers as you push hard at the big ramp. Seven seconds remaining. 

  
Time slows to a crawl. The crowd noise fades as if it is coming from a cheap clock radio at the bottom of a well. The other skaters have evaporated. It is you and the ramp. You carve up the side at maximum velocity. The ramp peels away into the sky like a tower. Moving straight up, you graze the side edge with measured grace. The top edge flies under your feet. Silence. You are airborne. Your hand reaches instinctively for the board. You lean back into an inverted Indy. For a thirtieth of a second the meaning of life is clear. 

Your feet whip around underneath you like a pendulum and the board grinds onto the middle of the ramp. No need to look at the score -- the roar of the crowd and that perfect feeling inside pronounce you the victor. 

  
Layout: 

This overhead view of the skateboard park shows the major points of interest: 
 

1. Curved edge. 
2. Smaller ramp.
3. Multi-level rail.
4. Curves.
5. Blocks
6. Barrels.
7. Half-pipe.

Detail: 

1. Curved edge.  

The edges of the skateboard park curve into a recessed floor. This allows skaters to gain momentum simply by tipping into the main play-field. 

2. Small ramps. 

The smaller ramps are an ideal place for skaters to pick up varial and indy skills without hurtling along at half-pipe speeds. When a skater can shoot up the side of one ramp, catch air and then roll down another ramp, he is ready for bigger game.  
 

1. Multi-level rail.

The skateboard park caters to most all kinds of skating, including street skating. The multi-level rail allows skaters to polish their grindy moves like railslides and noseslides without lofting as high as handrails or risking stairway landings. 

1. Curves.

The most unique feature of the skateboard park is its smoothly varying curves. They offer a fast, relatively safe free-form skate much like surfing or snow-boarding. Point-driven skaters can use them to catch big air, leap other skaters or perform varials and indies. The Vertigo curves rival those of the best real-world skateboard parks. 

1. Blocks.

Blocks provide nice grindy surfaces for perfecting street skating moves like nosegrinds, bluntslides, five-ohs and fifty-fifties. They are low, forgiving ollie targets and can also be used to launch ollies over taller objects and other players.  

1. Barrels.

Barrels allow long-jumping players to prove themselves. The more speed, the more barrels a player can clear in a single jump. Mix in a kick-flip for added points and thrills. 

1. Half-pipe.

The half-pipe is the purist skater’s surface of choice. It is also heavily weighted in the skateboarding competition.  

Half-pipes allow skaters to build up speed for catching big air. Ramp skaters can do fakies, varials, and indies to their hearts’ content. Scoring is based on real skateboard tournament rules and judging style.