Everyvody Wants To Drive What Tommy Vercetti Drives

I've been playing Grand Theft Auto: Vice City in my spare time lately. I ought to be concentrating on the 5 games I haven't beaten*, but I find it so much easier to waste time tearing through the streets of Vice City on motorcycles, picking up the money my illegal operations bring in, and occasionally getting into gun battles with gangs and/or the cops.

Playing GTA, I was reminded of something I used to notice (and complain about) quite a bit. It seems like whatever vehicle I'm driving, there will be lots of those on the road at the same time as me. It won't only be that car, but whatever it is will probably make up a fair percentage of what's available. Which is a pain when I'm driving a Perennial (crappy station wagon) and I need something faster/heavier/better armored, which is when I usually notice the phenomenon. It probably happens just as much when I'm in a good car, but if I already have a sweet ride, I don't need to be paying much attention to what else is available, do I?

I used to think it represented how a person may not be able to see something readily, until they find one example, then they start to develop a search image, and suddenly they notice what they're looking for everywhere. I've experienced that outdoors, looking for particular plants, or leaves, 4-leaf clovers, whatever. I'll be struggling to find them, but once I find that first one, I start seeing theme everywhere. Now I think the game might be trying to create a false sense of security. The cops are after me, but so what, there are dozen otehr cars on the road just like mine, surely they'll never pick me out of the crowd.

Except they do, of course. The police (and whatever gangs are angry at me) can always spot me, no matter what I'm driving, or how fast, so it doesn't matter how many other drivers are out in their Banshees, whoever is after me isn't going to lose track of my specific ride. I look at it as a tradeoff, though. It really shouldn't work that when I'm being chased, I can drive to an auto shop, get my vehicle repainted and drive back out, and the police who saw me drive into the shop, will be completely befuddled. But it does work. As long as I don't do something stupid.

* I did beat the Level 7 boss on God Hand this evening, though, so that's a little progress.