Volume 2 Issue 5 November 2006 Grand Theft Auto - Hardcore Gamer

Fan Interview
With Rich Rosado, Associate Producer of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
Rich Rosado worked with the revolutionary Grand Theft Auto III and
the whole family of GTA titles that followed it. In fact, you can actually
hear him as one of the pedestrian voices in San Andreas! He’s been with
Rockstar games since 2001, where he worked with a little game you
might’ve heard of called Max Payne. In addition to his work in creating
Vice City Stories, he also worked on GTA’s PSP debut, Liberty City Stories.
korn: Is GTA: VCS going to be a continuation of the Grand Theft Auto
series, or is this game just a side story to esh out the franchise? Are there
any new areas in the level map that differ from the PS2 counterpart?
Rich Rosado: Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories is a whole new game,
[with] an entirely new storyline and all new characters. As a game, we
have expanded on what we have learned from previous installments in the
franchise to make what we feel is a dening version of Grand Theft Auto.
In terms of the map, the game takes place roughly two years prior to the
events of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. If Vice City itself is an alternate
Miami, the timeline for our game captures a grittier Vice City, much as
Miami was a different city just a few years prior. A lot of construction is
going on, and the glamour that many associate with that time period is just
beginning to emerge. As for the map, there will be some new areas. How
we expanded on the city, and how it ends up as the map you saw in Grand
Theft Auto: Vice City, was great fun to pull off.
MPHtails: Will we have as many “mini-missions” this time around, such as
the Sunshine Autos races and the Ice Cream Truck/Drug Running?
RR: It wouldn’t be a Grand Theft Auto title without them. We love to
provide gamers with the ability to wander around and explore the world
we have created for them. Some old favorites have returned, as well
as some new ones that take advantage of the environment of Vice City.
There are a number of water-based missions since the waterways are so
important. You will be able to save lives, you will be able to ght crime,
but the means by which you engage in those activities will be tweaked for
new gameplay mechanics.
Honrosie42: Do you attempt to design the missions more like the console
versions, or do you design things with a “pick up and play” style due to the
handheld nature of the PSP?
RR: We feel that we did a pretty good job in Vice City Stories of walking
the ne line between the two. Liberty City Stories was our rst time
designing a Grand Theft Auto game on the PSP, so there was a level of
experimentation going on in all aspects of the game, and mission structure
was one of them. With Vice City Stories we wanted to create more
detailed, action-packed missions as we feel today’s Grand Theft Auto
players are accustomed to more sophisticated missions. An extra year of
technical design has allowed us to really push the PSP hardware to open up
the mission design and really esh some great things out.
Honrosie42: Does the scaled down nature of the PSP present any tricky
problems in recreating the GTA games?
RR: Absolutely. Unique challenges faced us at every turn. First, the size of
the media, 1.8GB, is such that we invented new ways to t all the data, all
while retaining the massive open-city environments that Grand Theft Auto
is known for. From a mission standpoint we planned development around
the concept that most people would be playing the title on the go — during
commutes or on the subway. As such, the missions were designed to be
short, explosive, and action-packed. While this worked for a lot of people,
we had some vocal fans who really wanted more complex missions. In an
attempt to please everyone while staying true to our original design, we
have included a variety of missions that take advantage of the complexity
of the city and vast number of activities available.
Designing games in general is an enormously difcult endeavor. We take
each of the lessons learned from one version of a game and expand on
them in new versions. With the PSP, we’re attempting to create games that
are as amazing as anything you would see on any other console, including
next gen systems.
goodfellaron: Does GTA: Vice City Stories make use of the PSP’s
upcoming new GPS feature?
RR: Integrating GPS into games could lead to some interesting game
elements. However, we want all features to be available to all PSP
players. By working on GPS exclusive features, we must tell players to
purchase an accessory to experience the full game.
gh_07: Now that you have made Liberty City Stories and Vice City
Stories on the PSP are you thinking about making San Andreas Stories?
RR: As a company we are very committed to creating cutting edge
content for the PSP. It’s an amazing piece of portable technology
that is uniquely suited to the kinds of games we like to make. Since
we are just learning to fully utilize it, there are no concrete plans for
new versions.
Remy-Soujirou: Am I seeing things or are Lance and Victor Vance identical
twins? Also, supposedly, the main character, Lance Vance, changes his name
to Quentin in the game. Is this by any chance Rockstar is paying homage to
lm director Quentin Tarantino?
RR: While there is a resemblance, you do notice several key differences
(one of which is that Vic is shorter than Lance). As for Quentin, while he is
a good director, I’ll chalk that up to coincidence.
8bithaven: The GTA series has put out some great games in the past but what
are the new things that you are adding to the gameplay to keep it fresh?
RR: It gets harder and harder to create gameplay that is both fun and new.
We try our best to listen to what our fans liked and did not like about our
previous titles, and with games in general and incorporate that feedback
into new games.
So, what are we adding? A lot of work went into the mission design in
general. We made a very serious effort to avoid redundancy. The dozens of
missions in the game are designed to be as fun and exciting as possible.
AngstOverlord: Are we ever going to get a playable female character in
GTA? As much fun as I had with CJ in his underoos, I couldn’t identify with
him at all.
RR: You never know... strong female leads can indeed make for great
gaming. I am sorry you could not relate to CJ, but was it due to the fact
that he was a man, or the setting he was in? Would simply switching him to
a female have made it better, or simply come off as a gimmick to cash in
on a broader, female audience?
AngstOverlord: Secondly, is the music going to have new pieces, or will it
be the same as the console edition? I revel in 80’s music.
RR: So do we, and in doing so we have created an entirely new soundtrack
for Vice City Stories, with songs such as Foreigner’s “I Want To Know What
Love Is,” Dio’s “Holy Diver” and much more. We are incredibly proud of
this soundtrack, it contains over one hundred licensed tracks and is quite
possibly the best, deepest collection of songs ever assembled. It was also
spectacularly difcult to t it all on the UMD. I hope you enjoy it!
AngstOverlord: Finally, will swimming be enabled in this game? Drowning
in a three-foot deep puddle just cramps my style.
RR: Break out your trunks! Not only is swimming in the game in an
incidental way, like when you drive your car off a pier, for example, but
the waterways around Vice City play a role in the game in a broader sense
than ever before.
snowstorm52: What new vehicles are in the game that weren’t in Vice
City for the consoles?
RR: There are some vehicles, such as the JetSki, that are entirely new
to the Grand Theft Auto universe. With so much water surrounding Vice
City, the team here really focused on making the water-based vehicles feel
completely different than land-based vehicles. So for example, the JetSki is
really fast but can take very tight turns by holding down the Right Shoulder
button while maintaining the ’feel’ of a Grand Theft Auto vehicle.
In addition to completely new vehicles, we are also proud to have been
able to include helicopters, which are making their debut on the PSP in
Vice City Stories. Being able to y the choppers is awesome! It opens
up a huge dynamic in the game, with the verticality of Vice City and the
rooftops, and it’s such an incredible way to see and get around the city.
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