Bolstered by the popularity of its predecessor, Trials Evolution set a new 1-day sales record. But as you may have noticed if you played the game or demo, a fraction of a degree on the analog stick can be the difference between "sweet jump, bro" and a passionate embrace with pavement. It's difficult, is what we're saying. So you may have wondered, why would so many people subject themselves to this?

"I think there is a more positive explanation than sheer masochism," Tero Virtala, managing director at RedLynx, told Gamasutra. "It's like in real life when you start practicing something very physics-based, like tennis or billiards, there is no limit how far you can develop your skills. In Trials, it's also about your own true skill, not the skill of your avatar or game character." He added, "The sense of accomplishment is that much more genuine because it was all your own doing: your skill, your persistence."

Virtala also says that seeing your friends' times is the constant incentive to keep going back to the game. "This time around, we even have your friends' runs showing in the game as dots bobbing ahead of you. It's amazing what a little competition can do as an incentive to keep people playing."

He suggests that since the original game, Trials HD, had the same solid physics foundation, the studio didn't change much in the way of core mechanics. Instead, it focused on ancillary features like player-created content, the level editor, and multiplayer.

Virtala hints at other platforms, by pointing out that as a physics-based game, it "creates very little limitations. There are many great things still to be done with Trials Evolution."