14 DAY TRIAL // Dan Houser, one of the co-founders of Rockstar and a leading developer on Grand Theft Auto V, says that he wants gamers to see their experience in the coming game as a virtual holiday which allows them to become completely separated from real-world concerns.
CVG quotes the developer as saying, “It’s this idea of a digital holiday: being able to explore spaces that don’t really exist is one of the things that’s fascinating about open world games. It’s not just about doing the activities we’ve set, there’s also a sense of being there.”
He adds, “If we’ve done a good job, the shoot-outs are fun but so is cruising through the world in a car you really like, listening to music – if these elements feel somehow consistent with each other, then we’re on the right path to something cool.”
Houser believes that GTA V will benefit from synergies between the environments that Rockstar is creating and the story that the team is delivering.
The aim is to take the over-the-top stories that gamers might know from Hollywood and make them available for players to actually experience in the game.
GTA V will take place in Los Santos, a virtual recreation of Los Angeles and its surrounding areas, but the team is aiming to deliver the feeling of Southern California rather than simply re-create the actual areas.
The game will make it easier for players to get around, with a new driving model designed to make exploration of the city more interesting, with mechanics taken from racing games.
The new game will have three protagonists and will include new friendship and economic mechanics.
GTA V is set to arrive on the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 during spring 2013.
Rockstar and 2K Games have not talked about a possible PC version of the game.