Grand Theft Auto Grieving Thread - Yep, I've been drinkin' again...

[The Last Stand]

You know why R* rarely does E3 events?

GTA 3. One of the Houser brothers recalls that GTA 3 received underwhelming support from gamers then. It wasn't until people played the actual build that III turned into a monolith success.

 

[Dom Cruise]

Houser's mom is in Get Carter? What the fuck...?

I know, it's a wild fact and it's weird that it isn't more well known, I learned about it by reading the book Jacked: The Outlaw History of Grand Theft Auto by the same writer as Masters of Doom, which was an incredibly interesting and comprehensive history of Rockstar games.

But 8 years after that book's publishing it's still not well known, but it explains if they had a personal connection to the movie Get Carter why gangsters was something they were interested in.

For what it's worth, Sam Houser is still technically part of Rockstar last I checked. As long as he's still with Rockstar, I won't completely rule out GTA VI.

Granted, if he's getting more into music then there's a good chance he's been reduced to a figurehead position by the Take-Two suits.

Ok, Sam is still with them? That's good, but Dan is the writer, Sam doesn't do any writing, right? I would say in which case Dan is the real heart and soul of Rockstar games.'

People don't give simple writing enough credit for what makes a game good, the only reason everyone is so obsessed with Fallout New Vegas is because of the writing was so good, not because of the glitchy (at least within release window) gameplay, I mean F:NV's gameplay is fine, but it's only legendary because of the writing.

I think it's also why Resident Evil went to crap before because of it's lead writers died.

I wonder if Dan bailed because simply, how do you write a GTA game in today's climate? Real life America is more absurd than any writer could have dreamed of, all the outrageous satire of the 90s and 2000s like South Park and GTA and none of it is even close to as absurd as our present reality.

Plus this current climate is where satire and humor goes to die, imagine what the 2000s could have done with our present world, how hilarious the mockery people engaged in back then would be when applied to today, but it's simply not allowed anymore in corporate released media.

 

[Maurice Caine]

I know, it's a wild fact and it's weird that it isn't more well known, I learned about it by reading the book Jacked: The Outlaw History of Grand Theft Auto by the same writer as Masters of Doom, which was an incredibly interesting and comprehensive history of Rockstar games.

But 8 years after that book's publishing it's still not well known, but it explains if they had a personal connection to the movie Get Carter why gangsters was something they were interested in.

I actually saw the movie because of GTA London, lmao.

 

[The Last Stand]

I wonder if Dan bailed because simply, how do you write a GTA game in today's climate? Real life America is more absurd than any writer could have dreamed of, all the outrageous satire of the 90s and 2000s like South Park and GTA and none of it is even close to as absurd as our present reality.

Satirizing current events with any media would be nigh impossible. You make a satirical joke on protesting or society's reaction to social media, it'll likely be outdated before you even finish the script. The SATIRE would be scratching the surface to reality. That's how bizarre today's political climate is.

Present day GTA with the same lampooning as IV/V would be a daunting task to keep up with.

 

[Fuck Y'all]

Ok, Sam is still with them? That's good, but Dan is the writer, Sam doesn't do any writing, right? I would say in which case Dan is the real heart and soul of Rockstar games.'

yea, and tards on GTAForums can't get it

Satirizing current events with any media would be nigh impossible. You make a satirical joke on protesting or society's reaction to social media, it'll likely be outdated before you even finish the script. The SATIRE would be scratching the surface to reality. That's how bizarre today's political climate is.

something something clownworld

 

[The Last Stand]

For instance, GTA IV lampoons the concept of the American Dream. Right down to its synopsis on the back of the box:

What does the American Dream mean today? For Niko Bellic, fresh off the boat from Europe, it is the hope he can escape his past. For his cousin, Roman, it is the vision that together they can find fortune in Liberty City, gateway to the land of opportunity. As they slip into debt and are dragged into a criminal underworld by a series of shysters, thieves and sociopaths, they discover that the reality is very different from the dream in a city that worships money and status, and is heaven for those who have them and a living nightmare for those who don’t.

That American Dream is lampshaded by poverty, crime, corruption, post-9/11 hysteria, cynicism to name a few. If you paid attention to GTA IV's characters, many of them have aspirations influencing their motives. Niko wants to escape his past and find his betrayers. Roman wants women and money and live luxuriously. Francis wants to be Commissioner. Playboy X wants to "go legitimate" and get out of the drug game. The Pegorinos want to be on the Commission with the Five Families.

America is the "land of opportunity." For IV's cast, reaching that opportunity is not an easy process. Often, it's unachievable without cheating, lying, stealing, even killing.

 

[Maurice Caine]

Lately, we've been getting a lot of rumours regarding III, sadly I don't think R* would do a lot with it these days...

 

[The Last Stand]

Lately, we've been getting a lot of rumours regarding III, sadly I don't think R* would do a lot with it these days...

I feel bad for the people that made this song, because it's now associated with disappointment. It's quite catchy.

 

[Captain Syrup]

Plus this current climate is where satire and humor goes to die

Obviously it's harder when entertainers are voted into office. Equally, though, humor is based on sharp observation. Not surprising that folks aren't encouraged to think critically or ask hard questions about society.

Also not surprising that GTA has devolved: 70's-style stand-up and "take my wife" material.

 

[The Last Stand]

Also not surprising that GTA has devolved: 70's-style stand-up and "take my wife" material.

Explain how.

 

[Captain Syrup]

Explain how.

Well, take the radio skits for example. We begin with GTA2 which pokes fun at rampant consumerism and pharma lobby. (Oh, it seems so easy in the movies, but keeping it up can be a real problem!)

3 is more political, with hints of jobs going overseas (...our new satellite in China is something all Americans can be proud of.) Later titles continued this trend with talk shows and ad breaks.

There is a sense that the US will sink beneath the waves before it ever accepts that greed is not good: the Bush analog Alex Shrub doesn't want any more sixties counterculture springing up, to the point where he equates vegetarianism with being pro-soviet; the sports show lists off college ball, football and killing communists as America's pastimes; one guy in IV was talking about health care, saying things like, "If your hip hurts, you should just kill yourself. If you fall down and break your hip, it's all over. Don't make me pay for it", etc. Ammu-Nation is a nothing but extended gag about gun culture. The religious right doesn't get much airplay, likely in part due to Pastor Richards being cut, though LCS has a nice line from "Nurse Bob" about sex being an unnatural act.

4 is supposed to be the dark, serious one, and yet the radio and NPC dialog is really puerile. They hired SNL cast members and writers to do the radio bits and they imported their NYC comedy style, which was a huge mistake.

Lazlow and Maurice used to play straight men. This time there is no straight man, and it is part of the reason why the satire feels flat. Lazlow is an annoying perverted douche. He is so over-the-top with his self-loving personality that he shoves a hot dog vendor's face into boiling water. Then came the recent DLC where he is even cringier than ever. There's a lot about modern politics they could satirize, or try to, but no, let's hear more offensive jokes about Lazlow's coke habit and sexual deviancy, please. It feels like people are holding onto what they liked about him in 3. The talk show hosts shout the same three things over and over and it gets repetitive quickly.

 

[Maurice Caine]

No offense, can't we bomb that shithole?

 

[White Devil]

View attachment 2262776

No offense, can't we bomb that shithole?

Nobody wants your shitty politics in their video game except the fucking retards that don't buy video games.

 

[Jonah Hill poster]

View attachment 2262776

No offense, can't we bomb that shithole?

This post screams condescension when you analyze it. Meanwhile, posters like this will stay quiet when you try to question them as to why we need more random GTA Online updates, while we still don’t get any clue as to if they are working on GTA VI.

Satirizing current events with any media would be nigh impossible. You make a satirical joke on protesting or society's reaction to social media, it'll likely be outdated before you even finish the script. The SATIRE would be scratching the surface to reality. That's how bizarre today's political climate is.

Present day GTA with the same lampooning as IV/V would be a daunting task to keep up with.

Obviously it's harder when entertainers are voted into office. They're risible by design. You can't satirize the establishment any more. The establishment converts that into fuel.

Equally, though, humor is based on sharp observation. Not surprising that folks aren't encouraged to think critically or ask hard questions about society.

Also not surprising that GTA has devolved: 70's-style stand-up and "take my wife" material.

If I recall, GTA V made light on their parody radio commercials about how China was on the verge of controlling U.S.’s cyber security since the POTUS thought that playing nice would not get them to stop importing Chinese agents to steal classified information.

Now that Joe Biden’s in office, I’m not even sure they‘ll comprehend satire, let alone laugh at it. They’ll get to a point where the satire is basically you being forced to laugh at cheap jokes at someone’s expense.

 

[Anachronistic]

View attachment 2262776

No offense, can't we bomb that shithole?

I stopped taking GTAForums seriously after their TLOU2 thread became nothing but hug boxing.

 

[The Last Stand]

I may need to pay attention. One instance of parody in GTA3 I know is Chatterbox.

 

[Captain Syrup]

If I recall, GTA V made light on their parody radio commercials about how China was on the verge of controlling U.S.’s cyber security since the POTUS thought that playing nice would not get them to stop importing Chinese agents to steal classified information.

There is no party which opposes neoliberalism. Voting in a neoliberal system will yield neoliberal results.

Now that Joe Biden’s in office, I’m not even sure they‘ll comprehend satire, let alone laugh at it. They’ll get to a point where the satire is basically you being forced to laugh at cheap jokes at someone’s expense.

Inertia has done more than PC culture to ruin comedy.

Your last part hit the nail on the head. There is no wit in GTA anymore. It's a below-average American shitcom for people who can't feel tall unless their knees are pressed on someone else's chest.

 

[Fuck Y'all]

while we still don’t get any clue as to if they are working on GTA VI.

Their answer will be "it's in works because Schreier said so"

Also admins there made a hoax about remastered trilogy, so why even bother?

 

[D.Angus]

Rockstar just announced that GTA Online for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 Will Shut Down on December 16, 2021.

 

[CWCissey]

Well I don't think they've updated it in years, so no real loss.