Rockstar Games says that all of the best games come out at the end of each console generation. The developer also spoke about the multiplayer mode and the open world of the game.
Dan Houser, founder of Rockstar Games, announced that GTA 5 isn’t a next-gen release. “Rockstar is a content company, not a hardware company. We use the technology we have to create content, and we try not to let ourselves get beholden to the hardware. The fact that hardware’s so mature right now is exactly why we’re able to go on to the next level.”
“GTA 4 was our first attempt at a new platform and HD visuals, so the first part of development was seriously difficult. Now we know what the hardware’s capable of, so it’s become a lot easier to move things along and a lot more fun, too. GTA: San Andreas came out at the peak of the PlayStation 2′s cycle, and we put out a really good game thanks to that. All the best games for a console come out at the end of the lifecycle, right? So now’s the best timing of all.”
Rockstar North head Leslie Benzies said that the multiplayer mode of the game will redefine open world games. He also stated the studio’s ambition for the multiplayer mode: “For GTA V we want to push all of these to a new level while incorporating new gameplay elements that would not have been possible before.”
“The ability to switch between different characters allows the player to do things that wouldn’t have been possible in any other GTA game, and on the multiplayer side we hope that GTA V will do for multiplayer open world games what GTA 3 did for open world single-player games.”
Benzies said: “That’s what we’re working on, but we’re not ready to talk about it just yet. Refining open world multiplayer into something really special has been a huge focus of development and we are very excited to share more information with people soon.”
Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser calls a trip around Los Santos a ‘digital holiday’. In an interview he spoke about creating a solid game world. “Environment is important. Games are very geographical – they present space almost better than they present time, and we try to use that, to showcase variety between different landscapes."
“It’s this idea of a digital holiday: being able to explore spaces that don’t really exist is one of the 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."
“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."
“We’re using the environment to let us have toys we couldn’t have had otherwise. And equally, we’re using the story and environment to introduce missions that can be more extreme. In some ways we wanted the game to have a larger-than-life Hollywood feel; the stories we heard in LA, we wanted to capture them in the game. If the place isn’t informing what we’re doing, we’re not using it correctly.”
Houser also mentioned the expansion of the gaming world with aircraft. Radio play during missions will not be possible anymore, because Rocktar wants the world to feel more tense and engaging. Players will then listen to a theatrical soundtrack which builts up atmosphere.
