A video game to rock the skiing world? Dropping on smart phones everywhere the week of X Games 16? That’s right, Tanner Hall has begun a collaborative project with Dave Howard of To Market (a Canadian Coding Company ) developing the next viral Video Game App. I guess Tanner has been out of the video spot light for long enough, and has decided it’s time to bring himself back into the limelight with Tanner Hall Halfpipe Skiing.
Hall met Howard whilst skiing Monashee pow and by the end of their bottomless week the two had essentially worked out the blue prints for an app to change all apps (or maybe just entertain the adolescent, tall tee wearing, interweb surfing crew of Park City and Mammoth). Implementing a joystick on one side, directional arrows on the other, and your smart phones tilt sensor, you will be able to guide your skier down Super Pipes from the world over(characters are set to include Phil Casabon, Henrik Harlaut, and Tanner Hall among others).
Jonny Mosely Mad Trix was the last to take a stab at the video game market (over a decade ago), and perhaps the world is finally ready for a second go. Hall says of Mad Trix,
“There used to be Jonny Moseley Mad Trix, and I was one of the characters in that, but that game was kind of a joke. You could ski on top of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. It didn’t really represent our sport well.”
But you know what? When I’m playing a video game, I absolutely want to jib the Golden Gate. I mean sh!t, if I want to I should be able to navigate my remote controlled huck monkey down the spines in the lower flanks of the Statue of Liberty’s dress. After all, I’m playing the game for entertainment, not to “represent the sport.”
- Hucking yer meet in some imaginary temple in Jonny Mosely’s Mad Trix
Regardless the game certainly holds potential. The iPhone and Android app markets have been yearning for an entertaining snow sports game and hopefully Hall and Howard will be able to produce. Howard is projecting big, expecting over 1 million downloads in the games first Month (this might well be feasible as the game is available at the low price of free.99). Barring success, there will quickly be sequels to follow with an urban rail and a backcountry freeride version.
Like Mr. Tanner himself says, “This could either be really big or really stupid, and I don’t really want to put my name on anything stupid, and I know Dave doesn’t want to either.” And as much as I’d love to hate, someone who has appeared in over 30 of our favorite ski flicks has got to have the know how to come up with something moderately entertaining.