Some Winding Thoughts About Some Games

A friend loaned me Grand Theft Auto 4 last month. I played it a couple of times, then returned it. I hated how all the vehicles handled, and the whole idea of going on dates, or hanging out with friends seemed strange for a GTA game. It makes sense in Persona 3, since that game is all about building connections with other people and drawing strength from that. But with a GTA game, I'd just as soon pass on all that, keep things on a professional level, where I commit horrible acts, and they pay me for them. That way I don't feel bad if the game makes me kill them later.

Besides, practically everyone I've ever met in a GTA game was a horrible person. Why would I want to hang out with them?

The GTA games I've played always encouraged the player to run around doing whatever they want, but those actions always end up bringing the cops down on you. I don't mind dodging the police occasionally, it can even be kind of fun to see how long I can drive around eluding their traps. But on the whole, my preference has always been to avoid enemies. Especially ones that will keep coming endlessly with ever-increasing amounts of force. Which means my style of play isn't really conducive to rampaging. At least with Red Dead Redemption, I can spend a lot of time just riding around looking at scenery, and if I really want to kill some people, it probably won't be hard to find some guys robbing a stagecoach.

I do find it interesting that Rockstar tries for these characters who are meant to be reluctantly violent, but place them in games where the player can slaughter everyone around them. I've seen a few people mention this issue with regards to Niko in GTA 4 (he didn't seem that reluctant to me, but I suppose he wasn't just attacking everyone like a mad dog), or John Marston in Red Dead Redemption. Is that because they figure the player doesn't want to see themselves as a complete psychopath, so it's better to make it seem as though events are conspiring to make the main character kill people? Or would it be difficult to write an entire storyline for a main character where he might simply kill everyone in a given cut scene? I know Trevor in GTA 5 is probably at least a partial nod to this based on what I've heard, but he's possibly balanced out by two less chaotic co-stars.

Speaking of main characters in Rockstar games, I know there was some talk near the release of GTA 5 about the fact there's still never been a playable female character in a Grand Theft Auto game. Or is it any Rockstar game? Bully and Red Dead Redemption didn't have one. One of the guys at Rockstar said this was because they didn't think guys would want to play as a woman. First off, I imagine at least some women play Grand Theft Auto games, so if the guys want to play as guys, perhaps the ladies would like to play as ladies. Second, guys don't want to play as female characters? What about Tomb Raider, or Metroid? You're telling me guys don't play those games? I can tell you they do, because I've played them, along with two Bloodrayne games, Beyond Good and Evil, Velvet Assassin, Wet, Mirror's Edge, Dreamfall: The Longest Journey. . . Not all those games were good, but their quality or lack thereof wasn't due to the gender of the protagonist.

I'll also throw in that I asked Alex, whose roommates own GTA 5, and so he's played it, if he would have any qualms about playing as a woman. He said no, in fact, it might be interesting. Yes, he and I are only two anecdotal data points, but we are guys who will play as female characters at least some of the time, which tends to dispute the guy's point. What's it going to hurt to have one playable female character in your story? I know Rockstar games tend to sexually objectify almost all the female characters (I found it strange how many women were running around the wilderness alone in their undergarments in Red Dead Redemption, and how those women were always going to steal my horse when I agreed to give them a ride into town. The ones that wore more clothes tended to actually be genuine in their need for help, which is a loaded statement by the game), but just because she's a playable character doesn't mean they can't do that. They don't have to, but I imagine they would. Or they could try and comment on it. How does a lady criminal deal with that? Does she use it, try to downplay it, aggressively confront anyone who brings it up?

That might be beyond the grasp of their writers.