Making crime pay
Video game developer Rockstar's latest instalment in the 'Grand Theft Auto' series has gamers all revved up
Three letters are synonymous with all that's right and wrong in the video game world: GTA. Once a simple, low-budget crime game, the Grand Theft Auto series has evolved into a cultural phenomenon that transcends the medium. The fifth entry, GTA V, is one of the most anticipated games of all time and will hit store shelves on September 17.
Analysts are predicting record-breaking sales, US senators have already called for it to be banned in the wake of the Sandy Hook elementary school massacre, pre-orders were pulled because of the hype, and through it all, obsessive gamers, fans and even some who've never touched a controller have been eagerly awaiting its release.
What we're trying to do here is bring the gameplay towards a more cinematic direction
The storm surrounding GTA V is not surprising, though. Since its humble beginning as a 2-D top-down game, in which a small, low-resolution character goes on a crime spree in a simply drawn city, the series has been praised by gamers while being excoriated by politicians. Bans in less lenient countries have been common and conservative groups have had a field day with the fact that it rewards players for engaging in irresponsible sex and violence.
But the series survived - even possibly thrived on - the backlash, and everything only became louder when the third entry arrived in 2002. A literal game-changer, Grand Theft Auto III took the basic formula and amped it up into a massively complex world. It was the stuff gaming dreams were made of: players were set loose in a fully interactive 3-D city and left completely to their own devices.
Players could follow the missions, earn cash by committing crimes and build up an immoral empire. They could become psychopathic, kill innocent bystanders and see how long they'd last before being gunned down by the cops in a blaze of glory.
Or the truly adventurous could forget the madness, abide by the laws and go bowling with their virtual girlfriend.
Race stolen cars, sleep with prostitutes, chat with people on the street - the world was yours. The game revolutionised the industry and the genre it created was given an equally fitting name: open-world. Now, more than a decade later, comes GTA V - and while the series hasn't changed much on a purely aesthetic level, its influential developer, Rockstar Games, is planning a similar industry coup in other ways.