Abstract:
One of the biggest questions surrounding "GTA 6" is how much freedom Rockstar will give players in story missions, especially since the developer promises that this game will have the largest and most detailed open world to date. The "GTA" series has always allowed players to move freely outside of the main mission, but this may not be the case when advancing the plot. Rockstar missions often have a strong cinematic feel and set specific goals and processes that players must follow, even as the open world offers seemingly endless possibilities.
In "GTA6", Rockstar seems to be consciously adjusting this balance without sacrificing the narrative that has become an important part of the series. In August this year, Netflix's "GTA6" extended show released live footage of Jason and Lucia, including the two's hasty escape from an apartment building and a police chase involving Raul. At first glance, both sequences appear to be highly scripted, but the actual mechanics behind them are clearly more complex than what's shown on screen. In fact, Rockstar has now shed some rather interesting light on how these missions will actually work.
Rockstar Games has released a new official statement on the gameplay content in the extended presentation of "GTA6", confirming that some story missions provide multiple ways to complete goals. In an interview with IGN, Rockstar Rob Nelson explained that the developers are trying to give players more freedom within missions without compromising the cinematic feel of the missions. Nelson singled out two clips from Netflix's extended presentation, saying players don't necessarily have to follow the path shown:
"In the first mission you see in [the Netflix extended reveal], they are in a high-rise residential building and trying to escape. There are multiple routes out of the building. There is also a mission where they meet Raul, who gets into the back seat of a car. The flow at the beginning of the mission is fixed, as the player controls Jason to shoot and Lucia to drive, but then the control switches. , it's up to you to drive. The game will suggest an optimal escape route, but you can still escape successfully if you don't follow that route - this mission is essentially a police chase. As long as a mission can transition into a system-driven state, such as a wanted level system or a robbery system, we will try to avoid making it feel disconnected from the way the open world works.
Nelson's statement indicates that in some cases, the open world of "GTA 6" will be more flexible than "Give Him Love 5", allowing players to complete objectives in different ways without causing mission interruption. Escape from an apartment building is a good example of this, as the player obviously isn't forced to leave through the exact same exit every time. The clip involving Raul is perhaps even more interesting because it shows how GTA 6 will transition between scripted gameplay and an open-world system.
At the beginning of the mission, Jason is responsible for shooting and Lucia is responsible for driving; but after the player takes over the vehicle, he can choose his own route to get rid of the police. Rockstar will still provide an optimal route, but players are not required to follow it, which may make repeat play more interesting. The development team's goal seems to be to make these transitions feel more natural, rather than treating the plot missions and free exploration of "GTA 6" as two completely separate experiences.
Of course, this does not mean that every mission in "GTA6" will allow players to do whatever they want. Nelson acknowledged that certain aspects of the narrative still need clearer guidance, especially when Rockstar has to ensure that certain events happen in order to maintain the plausibility of the plot. However, developers are clearly looking for opportunities to give players as much control as possible.
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