With the announcement that Grand Theft Auto 6 is in the works, players have been speculating about what they want and don’t want to see in Rockstar Games’ latest open-world title. One Reddit post in particular caught my attention.
In a game like GTA, players usually steal cars, break the law, and kill people. Yes, there’s quite a lot of killing in GTA games. So why do GTA players want silly things? Probably because we tend to remember silly things more than all the killing we do in the game. Sure, you can do a mission where you take out six armored vans around the town using a rocket launcher, but in GTA, you can do them using a remote-controlled toy plane (GTA: San Andreas). Missions and activities like those are what always made the series stand out.
While attending a college lecture may not sound too exciting, Rockstar made it fun. In GTA 4, players had to go on a blind date and to job interviews. In GTA 5, players also had to infiltrate a social media company and remove viruses from a PC. Naturally, all of these missions turned ugly in the end but it was the execution that made them stand out. Leave it to Rockstar to turn everyday activities into criminal acts in disguise.
GTA always manages to squeeze non-violent side activities into the game. We had mini-games like pool, bowling, and darts, and then we ran a triathlon and played the stock market. It’s finally time to be a good neighbor and keep our grass trimmed. I sure hope so, especially if I get to race neighbors using my mower. Oh, and if HOA comes knocking, I’m sure I’ll find a creative way to get out of a fine.
This is something that has been bugging me since the first GTA game. If the cops chase you for every criminal act you do in the game, why don’t they ever chase you for running a red light? More importantly, would I want something like this in the next game? It’s hard to say. On one hand, it might add an extra element to the game if I had to check my surroundings before ignoring the traffic light. On the other, I can also see this get annoying fast.
If I had to pick one silly thing I’d like in GTA 6, I’d bring back the swing (from GTA 4). There was this swing that every time you pressed a vehicle against it, it launched you away. It was a minor but hilarious glitch that many players were aware of.
Silly activities like mowing the lawn or attending a lecture may not seem like they belong in GTA, but they help the game stand out. I for one am very much looking forward to seeing what Rockstar has in store for us when GTA 6 releases. Here’s hoping the devs surprise us with even more silliness.
