How did you get into fakeskating?
What up Fluckers?
I suspect this topic has already been covered here, but I'd like to hear it from the currently active dudes:
How did you get into fakeskating?
I was a latecomer to the pastime. I've been playing skate adamantly since the OG 360 demo. I had just started 11th grade when OG dropped. I had it pre-ordered, and immediately began pouring lifehours into San Van. I would do all challenges and freeskate for hours on end on hardcore, but never really filmed. I got more into filming in 2, but only uploaded clips to .reel. The thought of making an edit never held my interest.
At that point, the only edits I had seen were remakes of pro's real-life parts - which I thought was the corniest/nerdiest thing someone could do with the game. Still, I cherished S2, and played it for hundreds of hours (many of which online).
I hated S3 based off its demo alone. The graphics, the physics, and worst of all, the environment! The whole thing felt rushed to me, and I foresaw a horde of arcade-style trickliners clinging to the whole online team feature (I was sad to be right about that later), so I passed on S3 for a solid 6 months after its release. Refusing to play it and continuing to revel in S2.
--Then I went to the inaugural NY Maloof Money Cup. Skate had a tent there with 3 consoles set up, and a big screen showing all these edits from the online community. Everyone was cramming in to play, so I just stood back and watched the edits; I was blown away. The sheer creativity rivaled that of real skating. The recognizable differences in style from person to person were uncanny. Suddenly I felt like a fakeskate bigot, or some luddite living under a boulder of his own preconceptions. I had been so so wrong.
After about 10 minutes of enjoying the footage, I looked over and saw Cuz standing directly to my left. I turned to him and shared my appreciation of the edits, as well as my gripes with S3. He agreed that the game was a rushed effort, but really fun once you get used to the differences. We then walked over to a console and played together. He showed me some lines and favorite spots, and we passed the controller. I finally got it.
I went and bought a copy with my next check (a couple weeks later) and came to enjoy S3. I didn't find Fluckit for a whole nother year, but I'm still glad I got into it at all. I could've completely missed out on all of the awesome stuff this community generates (though I did catch glimpses on the shitty EA forums prior).
Even if I missed the golden days, I'm grateful to have been present for any days at all here.
Keep Fluckin y'all.