It's skateboarding...with a dash of noir, via the cigarette that your character takes a drag from in between skateboarding up the walls and ceiling. Yeah, it's that slick. You may remember the Arcane Kids from Zineth, the arcade skater that was shortlisted (and later won ) the best student game in this year's IGF. Well, they've now returned to impress you with another abstractified marvel of skatery. Introducing: Perfect Stride.
The Arcane Kids ask you to envision an alternate universe in which Tony Hawk is not a badass. How that results in a world in which every conceivable surface becomes a skateboarder's outlet for artistic self-expression is a little beyond me, but it still looks cool to my completely unathletic self. According to the dedicated Tumblr , we're looking at something whose mechanics are heavily rooted in old-school shooter mechanics (even if the hypercolored art style looks inspired by something else completely).
Perfect Stride's already in alpha, playable for backers of last year's LA Game Space Kickstarter —though the Arcane Kids hint that the rest of us will eventually get a chance to play, too, so keep your eyeballs fixed on their website for forthcoming details. (Personally, I can't tear my eyes away from it. It has a hits counter and a guestbook. We stare upon a piece of internet history here.)
