Tony Hawk's Pro Skater

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater puts the player in control of a skateboarder and takes place in a third-person view with a fixed camera. The goal of the game is to perform tricks and combinations thereof in an effort to increase the player's score. Movement can be altered using the d-pad or analog stick , and ollies , grabs , flips and grinds are each assigned to individual buttons. Each skateboarder has eight grabs, eight grinds and eight flips.

The number of points earned from a successful trick sequence is dependent on the amount of time spent in the air, the degree of rotation, and the number and variety of tricks performed; the more a single trick is performed in a sequence, the fewer points it will earn. When the player succeeds in performing tricks, a special gauge increases. When this gauge is full and flashing, the player is capable of performing a special trick that is worth many more points than ordinary tricks. If the player bails (falls off their skateboard), any points that may have been earned from the current combo are lost, and the special gauge is emptied.

In the game's "Career Mode", the player must complete five objectives (represented by VHS tapes ) in each level within a period of two minutes. The player is not obligated to complete all the objectives within a single run; any completed objective is committed to the game's memory, which allows other objectives to be completed within multiple playthroughs of a level. Two common objectives in each level are achieved by accumulating two defined scores, which gradually increases in difficulty throughout the game; while one other common objective is to collect letters of the word "SKATE". Another common objective is to destroy five of a certain object within each level.

The fifth objective involves collecting a VHS tape hidden in the level. Completing objectives unlocks additional levels and equipment for use. Three of the mode's levels take place in a competition setting in which the player performs for judges and accumulates the highest score within three one-minute rounds. The player receives a bronze, silver or gold medal depending on the final score they are given.

Other single-player modes include the "Single Session", in which the player can freely accumulate a high score within two minutes using any previously obtained levels and characters, and the "Free Skate", in which there is no time limit imposed. The multiplayer mode is played by two players in a split screen view and offers three games: "Graffiti", "Trick Attack", and "HORSE". In "Graffiti", players must accumulate the highest score by changing level elements into their own color via the use of tricks. If a player performs a higher-scoring trick on an element that has already been marked, the element will change to that player's color.

"Trick Attack" is a mode in which players must accumulate the highest score by chaining tricks together. "HORSE" is a game that is played intermittently between two players , who must compete in rounds lasting either eight seconds or until a trick has been made. The player with the lower score on any given turn receives a letter in the word "HORSE" or whatever word the players have generated prior to the game's start. The first player to accumulate the entire word loses.

Featured pro skaters The game features a total of ten real life professional skateboarders, along with two unlockable original characters: Officer Dick and Private Carrera.