How GTA 6's Story Ambitions Could Interfere With Gameplay
Grand Theft Auto is one of the biggest video game franchises on the market, and after the repeated rereleases of GTA 5, which continue to happen in the gulf of no news surrounding GTA 6, it feels as though Rockstar could be developing another story-heavy game that leaves behind some of what makes GTA so special. Technically, GTA 6 isn't announced yet, though it's a given due to the series' continued success over the years. Because of this, many are already speculating about what GTA 6 and its map features will look like.
Grand Theft Auto games share many similarities. They're set in large cities and feature more adult-oriented content from which other games on the market often shy away, and allow the player open access to the city. There's plenty of exploration, and one can get lost in this element of the games, in addition to more organic or emergent elements, such as side missions, real estate or similar systems, or even just learning the city's layout. Still, each game has a story, even if players don't gravitate toward them that quickly. The fluctuating nature of GTA games' stories is ultimately one of GTA's biggest and worst changes as players can never get too comfortable while playing each game.
Grand Theft Auto 6's story ambitions could ultimately hinder gameplay if Rockstar isn't careful. Players return to GTA because of its exploration and endless possibilities in its settings, so focusing too much on a limiting story could hamper player reception of the series' next game. This isn't to say that a substantive story wouldn't work well; rather, the story doesn't need to be the game's main focus. Instead, GTA 6 could work to optimize gameplay for players by introducing new features, smoothing out established features, and ditching dated features from GTA: The Trilogy.
GTA stories are sometimes divisive largely because they're always different in each new entry. GTA 5, for example, saw players completing a series of heists while being wanted by the police for doing them, but this story structure ran the risk of feeling hollow since there was less emotional weight to it. Payer characters need enough backstory or stakes (other than theoretically going to jail if caught)if the player is going to feel something. Otherwise, looting, shooting, and reckless driving could feel empty, and players could lose their drive for continued play.
By contrast, GTA 4's story was more personal and genuine, with protagonist Nico proving that a GTA game can successfully combine sincerity with crime and still be fun and effective. There is endless untapped potential in this series, and perhaps there's an audience for both story-heavy GTA games and GTA games that focus on gameplay. Maybe there's a way that these two aspects can combine into one smooth game, but if GTA 6 can only focus on one, it needs to be gameplay.
Ultimately, the heart of any Grand Theft Auto game is its gameplay mechanics, and GTA 6 can perhaps be most successful if this is what's focused on. Expanding on gameplay concepts and new styles of side missions in GTA 6 should likely be job one. After all, fans play GTA to escape from reality and live a life that they can't live in the real world, so they want to do that in the most fun and immersive way possible. New gameplay mechanics can keep the series fresh, and updating established mechanics will make returning players happy they checked out the series' next entry. Meanwhile, ensuring the story doesn't stop players from progressing in their exploration of the city and its many systems could help players for whom the story doesn't resonate to maintain their interest.
Source: Screenrant
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