The team is not interested in creating more big cities

Nov 20, 2012 08:51 GMT  ·  By

Grand Theft Auto V is still about six months away, but the team at Rockstar working on the it is keen to offer information about the mechanics and the setting, in an effort to show players how the game develops the core ideas of the series.

Dan Houser, a leading developer working on the game and a co-founder of Rockstar, believes that the focus on just one big city is one of the greatest strengths of the game, because it allows the team to create smaller towns and introduce a lot of variety that large urban areas would not capture.

Houser tells IGN that, “It felt California. Oceans are there and tall hills are there. We wanted those in the game. For us, this kind of world, that was a big properly-realized L.A. and a huge slab of regionally appropriate countryside, felt like the most interesting match to do something new with. Doing other cities just didn't seem appealing.”

The developer acknowledges that his team could simulate more than one big city if they wanted to, but they are only interested in adding content to GTA V as long as they can make it meaningful.

The map will be one of the big stars of the new game and, for Houser, capturing the essence of Southern California is crucial for the success of the game.

GTA V will take place in the city of Los Santos, which is designed as a re-creation of Los Angeles, and the surrounding area.

Houser also talked about the possibility of returning characters, adding, “We've never had a game where we've annihilated so much of the cast. I loved Roman, but he may or may not be dead depending on what choices you made. It would be difficult to bring him back.”

GTA V should be out before the end of spring 2013 on the Xbox 360 and the PS3 and gamers might also get versions on the Wii U and the PC.