More games followed. Major releases were complemented by new chapters, additional content and add ons. The action moved from London in the 1960s (GTA London 1969/1961) to Miami (Vice City) in the 80s, to a gang-dominated near future (GTA 2). As technology improved, the top-down viewpoint changed to a full 3D world (GTA III) and with that, the Grand Theft Auto series took a quantum leap into the mainstream consciousness.
GTA held a mirror up to contemporary America and reflected back a twisted, tongue in cheek parody of the American dream. Work hard, kid. You too can have everything. Or you can steal and save a hell of a lot of time. Or just steal a car and go have fun. That’s OK too…
GTA V, the fifth major release in the Grand Theft Auto franchise was released today. Shops and stores across the UK and worldwide opened at midnight, to allow queues of eager gamers to buy the game. Despite a few rogue shopkeepers breaking the sales embargo, queues duly formed and punters eagerly snapped up copies of what is likely to be the biggest video game launch of all time.
The media has gone into overdrive, with television, radio, print and online publications all reporting on the launch of the game. Unlike many of the previous GTA titles, the coverage has, in general, avoided the hysteria and outrage which has dogged the franchise since the very beginning. Instead, the media are asking about the game’s potential sales, the ongoing popularity and even the cultural impact of the series as a whole.
By any measure, GTA V is already a success, but the scale of the game and the number involved are so staggering they bear repeating.
The scale of the game is difficult to convey. GTA V is huge. The game world is double the size of the previous two GTA games AND Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption put together. Every single aspect of this world has to be built and created. Every building, every road, every alleyway. All of the buildings, shops, businesses. All of the posters, the advertising, the people. The cars, the vehicles, the missions. It make producing a major Hollywood movie look simple. They only need to create elements of the world they show. Sets can focus on a single room, or building. The story can only be experienced in one way.
It’s a huge achievement. Everything has to work together. Everything has to be tested. Everything is interactive, meaning the player can PLAY with it and the world has to react realistically and consistently from the smallest detail upwards.
Then there’s the actual storyline. GTA V introduces three main characters, which the player can inhabit and move between as the game progresses, choosing the most appropriate skill set for specific jobs. The script for the original game was around 30 pages of narrative, delivered by a virtual pager in blocks of around 120 characters. GTA V delivers a huge, collaborative script, with around 50+ hours of gameplay, all of which can be seen from any of the three different main character’s viewpoints.
It’s clear that GTA V represents one of the biggest achievements of the games industry to date.
While the vast majority of the GTA series has been set in the USA, the game has been designed and developed in Scotland from the outset. The whole series has a rebellious and subversive dark humour running throughout. It is a parody of contemporary US culture. There’s a particularly Scottish sensibility within each game, clear to those who take the time to play them and which is recognisable to players in everything from area names, business names and elements of missions.
GTA is a global success story which deserves recognition and respect from the rest of the creative world as a staggering achievement and a work of art. In 2006, the series was included in the Design Museum as an example of world class British design, alongside Concorde, red telephone boxes, the London tube map and the Mini.
Made In Scotland.
GTA V is OUT NOW for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Alternatively you might enjoy, iFruit, the companion app for your iPhone or iPad, which is available FREE on the app store.
Congratulations to Les, Aaron and the whole team at Rockstar North. All 350+ of you…