The Delightful Resurrection Of The Surf Video Game

A ways back, I wrote a story on the Sad Death of Surf Video Games… Today, YouRiding has risen and although it’s not for console, the goal is to eventually get into the controllers of bored, couch-ridden youths. Ever since Transworld Surf and Kelly Slater’s Pro Surfer, there’s been a vacuity in virtual surfing… YouRiding: The Journey launched globally today and is avail for download right here. “There seemed to be a void in surfing games,” Travis Bateman of YouRiding tells Stab. “Over the past few years the ones that have been released on mobile devices haven’t been geared towards surfers. We felt it was more than necessary to bring a true surf game to the table. Right now we’ve just launched on mobile. Future plans include taking the game to all platforms including consoles, PC/Mac, and Apple TV type devices.” It may be unfair to speak in terms of resurrection; YouRiding has been available via .com for over nine years, this is just their first mobile venture. 

“Mimicking the ocean has proven the most difficult obstacle. YouRiding has been in existence for over nine years perfecting the ‘realism’ of the wave to an unmatched level. Making the manoeuvres flow with the speed of the wave in a natural way is also a tedious process. Basically making a surfing game that feels right is extremely hard to achieve.”

The team at Youriding set out to create a “for surfers, by surfers” time-waster and got real brands and notable gents behind the game. “We’ve had an enormous amount of co-operation and support from brands and riders,” says Trav. “So far we have Matt Wilkinson, Kanoa Igarashi, Nick Rozsa, Dillon Perillo, Balaram Stack, Ry Craike and Jason ‘Ratboy’ Collins as the cast. Rip Curl, Quiksilver, Volcom and Globe are the supporting brands and SuperBrand, JS Industries, Channel Islands, FireWire, Lost and Rusty are among the shapers to choose from.” They also have the option for Futures or FCS fins. 

The death of surf video games was surely a result of a lack of sales. After all, surfing is coastal-specific; desire for something like Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater or the Skate series supersedes anything surf-related. “With the democratisation of video games brought about by mobile phones, today is the perfect time to release a surfing game. The Journey is free to play with optional in-app purchases.” App-based games take hold like opioid addiction and – with the help of kids’ smartphones permanently attached to their parents’ credit cards – can be shockingly lucrative. The Candy Crush Saga in 2013 pulled in 1.5 billion dollars… which is fucking sickening. 

“We are trying to fill the void by releasing the best surf game to date.”

“You can expect to surf Pipeline, Cloudbreak, Lowers, Skeleton Bay, J-Bay, Teahupoo, Lance’s Right, Mundaka, La Graviere, Supertubos, Superbank and many other known spots,” continues Trav. “We have nearly 400 different waves and we plan on implementing a condition system with changing winds and time of day depending on where you’re located to give every wave a realistic change in conditions. We also have well-known locals giving tips for their home breaks.” 

They’ve opted out of paying for a soundtrack. “We do have a voice over commenting on your every move and wave noises,” Mr Bateman says. “The great part about the game being on your phone is the fact that you can play your music library at the same time.” Which is the better option… purchasing songs for commercial use can be rather dear. However, a soundtrack does bring a whole lot… remember the punk/jazz medley of Anti-Flag and Tony Guerrero in Transworld Surf? Oh, to live those days of limited responsibility and excess time again.