The head of the GTA VI studio, along with key core team members from development, art, narrative, scriptwriting, and open-world writing, recently gave an interview to the British fashion and culture magazine LOVE, sharing more details about the game's production.
GTA VI is the latest mainline entry in the GTA series, arriving after a 13-year hiatus. It features the largest and most immersive evolution in the series to date. Set in Leonida, with Vice City based on Miami, Florida, players will assume the roles of the criminal duo Jason Duval and Lucia Caminos, embarking on a thrilling crime saga.
The team stated that the unique interactive nature of video games lies in their ability to create virtual worlds where players can reside and share a journey with one or more characters. They hope players will want to escape into these worlds and connect with these characters, becoming fully immersed. "Realism" is key to building immersion, but excessive realism can be counterproductive, so a balance must be struck between "realism" and "convenience."
While creating GTA VI, to accurately portray Vice City based on Miami, a small group from the team began with traditional field research. Starting from Miami, they spent several days driving around to explore the local culture and surroundings of Miami and its vicinity. They even rented a helicopter to fly over the Everglades and the city, eventually hovering above a Beyoncé concert. To deeply experience the local culture, the team immersed themselves among locals, including police officers and gang members. While many were charming, some were frightening, exposing the team to chilling stories, locations, and details.
To bring this world to life, the team put immense effort into the details. There are dedicated teams for pedestrian dialogue, as well as for advertising and comedy writing. These elements are not treated merely as "background"; to some extent, they are all "foreground," differing only in whether the player notices them. Every NPC encountered in the game is more than just an extra; they are complete characters and protagonists in their own stories.
The team is guided by things that make people laugh, seeking fresh perspectives on subjects rather than following predictable, conventional paths. They aim to surprise players in a way that fits the world they've created—one that is both realistically grounded and absurdly exaggerated. However, since the game's development cycle spans several years, the team must create content that remains impressive at release, rather than blindly chasing fleeting trends. Therefore, they chose topics of universal interest, such as conspiracy theories and the public's quirky reactions to everyday events, using these as material for their creative expression.
The team emphasizes that the "American Dream" remains a central theme in this game. It hasn't collapsed but has changed form, shifting from grand success to smaller comforts like "owning a house with your family and paying off the mortgage." Yet even this may feel out of reach for ordinary people today. The team created two protagonists with complementary personalities. The female lead, Lucia, was inspired by the writer's immigrant mother, portraying someone strong, kind, and unwilling to be taken advantage of, who strives for a better life. The male lead, Jason, is a former military serviceman turned criminal due to his material circumstances. Whether he is driven by necessity or possesses a different logical framework is left for players to judge.