GTA 6 isn’t even out yet, and the game is already ruffling feathers and causing controversy. Many people are even going so far as asking for the game to be banned.
While Rockstar Games’ franchise has always been known for controversy, the studio once went too far to chase realism with one of the greatest games in its franchise, GTA San Andreas.
GTA 6’s Distant Predecessor, GTA San Andreas, Was Too Authentic
Video games are ultimately a form of consumable digital media. Audio plays a huge part, like any such form of consumable media. Everything from a game’s voice acting, background score, and OST add to its success.
Voice actors from video games became popular, like Yuri Lowenthal in Marvel’s Spider-Man and Troy Baker in numerous iconic titles like Uncharted, Far Cry 4, and The Last of Us. Rockstar went one step further with voice actors in GTA San Andreas.
Former Rockstar director, writer, and voice actor Jeffrey Crawford “Lazlow” Jones, featured in numerous GTA games, including GTA 6‘s immediate predecessor, was recently interviewed by Kinda Funny Games.
Jones made an incredible revelation about his role at the company and shared how Rockstar Games approached cultural nuance in its games:
So if you need specific accents or languages, we would travel to those places…going back to San Andreas…the gang members in the game, those were real gang members that they recruited to come do voiceover.
He also mentioned that the voices of gang members in the game would suggest improvements to the voice-over script. Jones would then encourage them to say whatever they felt appropriate.
Why Doing Something Similar To GTA San Andreas With GTA 6 Is Impossible
The upcoming title, GTA 6, is set in Vice City, the franchise’s take on Miami, Florida, a melting pot of various people and cultures. While Rockstar is still expected to do a fine job, pulling off a San Andreas with the voice-over would be incredibly risky, given its track record.
That is because it would cause a lot of negative publicity around the game. Many anti-video game movements, especially around GTA games, have recently emerged.
While Rockstar is known because it couldn’t care less about all of the controversies its video games cause, it will likely tread lightly in this case also because the studio was recently reported to be trying to do away with its culture, which has come under fire several times.
Did you ever imagine that the gang members in the game would be voiced by individuals who live the lives of people they voice in the game? Let us know your thoughts on this in the comments below.
