Latest news with #KurtTillmanns
Yahoo
26-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Jack Black Set to Reprise 'Really Fun' Role in Upcoming Project
Jack Black Set to Reprise 'Really Fun' Role in Upcoming Project originally appeared on Parade. has reprised one of his lesser-known roles, much to the delight of gamers everywhere, we're sure. The comedian returns to the beloved Tony Hawk'sPro Skater franchise next month, with the remake of the third and fourth installations set to release on July 11. Black first appeared in the remake of the first and second installments back in 2020, voicing—and modeling for—the character of Officer Dick. Now he's back, not only as Officer Dick—whose storyline has been tweaked from the OG to include a fun new character arc—but his British counterpart Constable Richard, as reported by to the game's publisher Activision, in his youth, the character "was mocked by other skaters and called a 'poser.' Overtaken by the need for revenge, Dick vowed to one day become what those skaters feared most – the long arm of the law!' Director Kurt Tillmanns told the publication how excited they were to have the School of Rock star agree to come back after his "really fun" inclusion in the first remake. "We wanted to carry that forward; we were really thankful we reached out to him and he was down to come back, but we wanted to tell a little bit more of the Officer Dick story,' he added, revealing that Officer Tom, from Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4, has been replaced by Black's character for a rare moment of "intricate" character development, moving from a high school security guard to the campus security sheriff of a college. "We wanted to bring him back and put our own stamp on it in that way and we're really happy that he was absolutely game to do that.'Jack Black Set to Reprise 'Really Fun' Role in Upcoming Project first appeared on Parade on Jun 25, 2025 This story was originally reported by Parade on Jun 25, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
26-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Jack Black Set to Reprise 'Really Fun' Role in Upcoming Project
Jack Black Set to Reprise 'Really Fun' Role in Upcoming Project originally appeared on Parade. has reprised one of his lesser-known roles, much to the delight of gamers everywhere, we're sure. The comedian returns to the beloved Tony Hawk'sPro Skater franchise next month, with the remake of the third and fourth installations set to release on July 11. Black first appeared in the remake of the first and second installments back in 2020, voicing—and modeling for—the character of Officer Dick. Now he's back, not only as Officer Dick—whose storyline has been tweaked from the OG to include a fun new character arc—but his British counterpart Constable Richard, as reported by to the game's publisher Activision, in his youth, the character "was mocked by other skaters and called a 'poser.' Overtaken by the need for revenge, Dick vowed to one day become what those skaters feared most – the long arm of the law!' Director Kurt Tillmanns told the publication how excited they were to have the School of Rock star agree to come back after his "really fun" inclusion in the first remake. "We wanted to carry that forward; we were really thankful we reached out to him and he was down to come back, but we wanted to tell a little bit more of the Officer Dick story,' he added, revealing that Officer Tom, from Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4, has been replaced by Black's character for a rare moment of "intricate" character development, moving from a high school security guard to the campus security sheriff of a college. "We wanted to bring him back and put our own stamp on it in that way and we're really happy that he was absolutely game to do that.'Jack Black Set to Reprise 'Really Fun' Role in Upcoming Project first appeared on Parade on Jun 25, 2025 This story was originally reported by Parade on Jun 25, 2025, where it first appeared.
The Verge
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Verge
The enduring cool of skateboarding games
More than 25 years after the first Tony Hawk's Pro Skater put skateboarding games on the map, developers are still finding new ways to explore skating in video games, especially in 2025. Skateboarding fans are about to have some promising new games to play, with Activision's Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 remake releasing in July and EA is set to launch its online-only, free-to-play Skate revival this year. In 2022, my colleague Andrew Webster wrote that we're in a golden age for skateboarding games, and things haven't really slowed down. So what is it that makes skateboarding so good for video games, and allows so many different expressions of the sport from different studios? 'I think skateboarding is one of those things that's just always cool,' THPS 3 + 4 game director Kurt Tillmanns tells The Verge. 'It's an evergreen fantasy, in both real life and games. Being a skateboarder is a sign of what and who is cool.' He says 'there's a reason that we're all in awe of what these people can do.' Part of what makes skateboarding cool is the music, fashion, and art, and video games let people experience that skateboarding culture, too, Tillmanns says. Also, 'it's safer,' jokes Andrew Schimmel, a senior producer at Snowman, the creators of the Skate City series. He says there's a lot of people that would probably love to try skateboarding but don't want to risk breaking a bone. 'Being able to dive into a fantasy world where you can act that out and see the gnarly consequences and not have to suffer from them is like immediately appealing.' It helps that games take so many different approaches to skateboarding. 'The skate community is so diverse, so it makes sense that there's an appetite for all different types of games — some more realistic, some more arcade, some more casual,' says Skate executive producer Mike McCartney. For the new Skate, 'it's all about re-creating a skateboarding experience that reflects the freedom of exploration, discovery, and expression you see in skate culture. We really wanted to respect the roots of the franchise, while bringing the game forward.' Tony Hawk's Pro Skater games will always have what's in the title: 'They've got Tony Hawk, and they've got pro skaters,' Tillmanns says. That includes things like their styles and their personalities — even the special tricks for the skaters are a representation of their style in real life. Tony Hawk is very involved, too, even with the 3 + 4 remakes. Hawk 'is where the culture comes from' and he has a 'real eye for detail' about what goes in the games. 'He knows that this game is the lexicon for skaters for the next few years,' according to Tillmanns. The THPS series also strikes a nice mix of an arcade-y experience and a skateboarding simulation. It has generally realistic physics and locations, but also lets you pull off outlandish tricks, strive for video game-y goals (S-K-A-T-E, anyone?), and play as some not-real characters in wacky places. For the Skate City games, the Snowman team had to think a lot about how to make skateboarding work on mobile. The first launched as an Apple Arcade exclusive, and Skate City: New York is currently an exclusive there, too, so the Snowman team had to figure out a mobile control scheme that 'feels novel and fits the sport' that's also approachable enough to serve a wide audience, Schimmel says. Your two thumbs represent your front and back foot, and you flick your thumbs to emulate flick tricks with skateboarding. Developers I spoke with think there's still a lot of ways skateboarding games can grow, too. 'Skateboarding never stops evolving and neither will our game,' Skate 's head of creative, Jeff Seamster, says. 'The creativity of skaters consistently blows my mind. The spots they find, the tricks they're (still) inventing, the vibrant style… we couldn't have imagined today's scene from where we were standing 15, 10, or even five years ago. So, who knows what we'll see tomorrow?' 'Multiplayer and online can always be the next frontier,' Tillmanns says. THPS 3+4 will have crossplay, and the team is excited about 'increasing that pool of online players to something that we've never seen before in a Tony Hawk game.' Schimmel points to games like OlliOlli World (a cartoony, side-scrolling skateboarding adventure) and Skate Story (a psychedelic-looking skateboarding game set to launch this year) that are highlighting skateboarding in different ways. 'In terms of what hasn't been done, I think there's probably lots to explore,' he says.
