[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][mk_image src=”http://www.australianblading.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/oar4.jpg” image_width=”800″ image_height=”450″ crop=”true” lightbox=”false” frame_style=”simple” target=”_self” caption_location=”inside-image” align=”left” margin_bottom=”25″][vc_column_text disable_pattern=”true” align=”left” margin_bottom=”0″]Rollerblading and video games don’t have a great history. Despite many attempts, games based around rollerblading have always ended up b-grade at best and barely functioning at worst – even though you’d think the medium would provide a perfect base for developers to go wild and create something truly fun and immersive.
Jet Set Radio (also known as Jet Grind Radio in America, pictured below in a recent update for Android mobile devices) was the more commercially successful, but its wacky sci-fi setting and combination with graffiti didn’t exactly emulate what blading was really all about. It was fun, but a world away from what was happening in the wildly successful Tony Hawk franchise of skateboarding games.
2003’s Rolling The Game came the closest to being the game we all wanted and even featured Aussie vert icon Cesar Mora, street killer Blake Dennis and UK pioneer Jenny Logue (who you now know as Jenny at Bayside Blades!), however it was dogged by the collapse of its initial developer and never reached its full potential. Even though it introduced some concepts later jacked by even the Tony Hawk franchise, most people prefer not to mention 2002’s Aggressive Inline, which was every bit as awkward as the title suggested.[/vc_column_text][mk_image src=”http://www.australianblading.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/jetsetradio.png” image_width=”800″ image_height=”450″ crop=”true” lightbox=”false” frame_style=”simple” target=”_self” caption_location=”inside-image” align=”left” margin_bottom=”25″][vc_column_text disable_pattern=”true” align=”left” margin_bottom=”0″]You could even argue that the advent of games like Tony Hawk Pro Skater and S.K.A.T.E. played a major part in bringing about the end of the golden era of rollerblading, with every kid in every house knowing the difference between a nollie hardflip and a fakie 360 flip without ever having stepped on a board. Hell, you even got bonus points for knocking down bladers! We all know a rollerblader who who gave up his boots for a board in the wake of the Tony Hawk revolution – the franchise’s cultural impact really was that powerful.
But the fact remains that rollerblading still provides a perfect platform for a video game. Its spectacular physics, combined with creative use of environment and freeform nature are a perfect template for developers to work with, meaning it wouldn’t be long until someone else gave a blading game a crack.
Enter On A Roll Studios, a mysterious new group of developers planning to bring a new blading game to life across PS4, Xbox One, PS3, Xbox 360 and PC. Since launching a Facebook page and Tumblr in late 2013, On A Roll have dropped a series of updates, screen shots and a teaser video – all of which show great promise.[/vc_column_text][vc_video title=”On A Roll Teaser #1″ link=”https://vimeo.com/99902165″][vc_column_text disable_pattern=”true” align=”left” margin_bottom=”25″]Apart from the video, screenshots and a few facebook posts, little is known about On A Roll or the studio itself. A recent interview with One Rollerblading Magazine in the US did shed some light on who was behind the game, with it comforting to know that most of the team has “15 years” experience with rollerblading (despite not naming any names). Beyond saying it will most closely resemble the S.K.A.T.E. series of games, still very little is known about On A Roll, including which (if any) pros will be involved and when it will get a release date. They have, however, released a few photos of the team working on the motion capture side of the development in the studio.
A lot can happen in the cycle of a game’s development, so don’t hold your breath for it to be sitting under the Christmas tree this year. However if you are to believe what you read and see, On A Roll Studios appear to have have the intention of creating the rollerblading game we all want and deserve – it’s now up to them to pull it off. We’ve reached out to On A Roll Studios for an interview, but until then, let us know if you think they can pull it off in the comments below.
For more about On A Roll, check out their Facebook page or Tumblr.[/vc_column_text][mk_image_slideshow title=”ON A ROLL GAMEPLAY & BEHIND-THE-SCENES PICTURES” images=”7687,7686,7677,7676,7685,7684,7683″ image_width=”800″ image_height=”450″ effect=”fade” animation_speed=”700″ slideshow_speed=”7000″ pause_on_hover=”false” smooth_height=”true” direction_nav=”true”][/vc_column][/vc_row]
