One element that sets Rockstar Games' open-world titles apart from every other is the massive scale and attention to detail of their setting. This doesn't happen by chance, as it is the product of essentially unlimited budgets and a design philosophy with no creative constraints that is set to make Grand Theft Auto 6 a game like very few others, according to what former Rockstar Audio Designer Rob Carr (Red Dead Redemption, Grand Theft Auto 5) recently revealed in a new interview with Kiwi Talkz.
"You can kind of go nuts... As a creative person, I’ve never had [creative restraints] as a problem," Carr said, replying to a question asking if Rockstar's unlimited budgets are the reason behind the high quality of their games. "One thing that Rockstar does exceptionally well is the open world... The first thing that you ask in any job is: what are the limits? You know, what are the constraints that we have here and you'll give them technical limitations. You know, like each soundbank has to be X, Y, and Z; these are your limitations for every mission. These are the technical constraints. Well, what are the creative constraints? There isn't any. Go nuts."
This "unlimited" sort of development blueprint leads to the creation of every game element at a massive scale. "What that means is like, well, if you want to do footsteps and you want 10,000 different unique sounds for that, go nuts. Because we'd soon have lots of things and then pull back on something if we don't need it. Like, yes, you did 10,000 footstep sounds. Do we need 10,000? Probably not. Well, let's just limit it to about 100 then."
Trimming The Fat: The Final Phase of Grand Theft Auto 6's Development
This massive scale, however, doesn't make it in the final product, and is then trimmed down as needed towards the end of development, according to the former Rockstar Games developer. "Can it get quite overwhelming, though? Obviously, with something like, say Red Dead Redemption 1 and GTA 5, they're massive in size, right? So, the amount of sounds you'd have to make is just insane. It’s easier to dial it down, go too much and then strip some fat off than it is to not do enough and then have to push for that extra 5 or 10% at the end of the project, right?"
Going by the fact that this blueprint has been in place for a long time, and that Rockstar has reportedly implemented granular systems such as a procedural breakable glass system, there's a very good chance Grand Theft Auto 6 is currently in this "trimming down" phase ahead of its launch this November.
With such a development blueprint in place, and a total budget that is probably well north of $3 billion, Grand Theft Auto 6 is setting out to be the ultimate open-world game. Unfortunately, we have seen very little of it in action, but if the game isn't delayed again, it shouldn't take much longer to see how developers have "gone nuts" for this new rendition of Vice City.
About the author: Francesco De Meo has been covering video games and technology since 2012, starting his career at small outlets like Gamersyndrome and GeekSnack. After joining Wccftech gaming section in 2015, he quickly expanded his video gaming coverage with in-depth reporting, interviews with iconic industry figures such as Grasshopper Manufacture founder and No More Heroes creator Goichi "Suda51" Suda, Resident Evil series creator Shinji Mikami, Team NINJA's president and Nioh series director Fumihiko Yasuda, and Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama, reviews and on-the-ground coverage of major industry events such as Gamescom and E3. When he's not reporting or reviewing, Francesco can be found playing the genres he loves most, spending time with his six cats, reading, writing music, playing guitar and drumming for his progressive rock band.
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