Grand Theft Auto 1
Let The Mayhem Begin.....
When one heard the
rap song, Joyride by Da Shootaz, playing in the background; the world
was never going to be the same again. The days of saving the princess
out of the castle or being the one lone space cowboy defending the
entire planet from murderous aliens from a distant galaxy were over
(That trope got old quickly!).
One became a element of the criminal underworld. Your death wouldn't result in the planet being overran by those mutant space pigeons. No, your death in the game would have just been a another insignificant one among many. Yet, that one lone thug on the streets could have that opportunity to rise up the ranks, often with insane results.
GTA greatly influenced my teenage years. It was the right game at the right time. At the time, it ranked up there along Civilization, Sim City 2000, Half-Life/CounterStrike, and Unreal Tournament. I still consider San Andreas one of the greatest games ever made. DMA Designs and Take 2 Interactive became household names. Take 2 Interactive eventually became RockStar Games.
It's hard for those who didn't live through the 90's to realize the impact of this game or to put in into context. Those who grew up after this time lived in a world that was molded by this series. GTA was just another game among many. Taken for granted among many. Yet, there was a time when this wasn't always the case. I remember the games of the 80's and 90's. Games that were very linear in nature. A set path that you couldn't deviate from. GTA showed the wonders of a open-world game. Games with a open-world environment were still a rarity and novelty at this point, and not the norm it is now. A YouTuber, Kim Justice, has done a really awesome retrospective series on the GTA franchise. I highly recommend checking those videos out. The first video in the retrospective is linked below.
One jokes about the trope of saving the princess, stopping that rampaging alien attack, defeating Dracula, etc. It was typical to play the hero. That's the 80's for you. At the same time, this would have made sense, as most of those who played video games in the 80's were children. One could look at a game at Custer's Revenge on the 2600 was and understandably realize why that game so controversial. It was offensive to both women and Native Americans. Combined this with the fact that most of those who played games at this time were children. There was merit behind that controversy. At the same time, adults were often lampooned for playing video games by those that saw it as a time waster, failing to realize that it was just another recreational activity no different from reading a book or watching The Terminator or the various Rambo movies.
As we entered the 90's, the typical age of the gamer was growing. Nintendo for the longest time refused to acknowledge that gamers are getting older. At this point, it's important that in 2019, the average age of a video gamer is 34 years old. There are far more people my age playing such games than children. It's seen as unusual just to view gaming as a children's activity when most who play games are adults. Most have conformed to this idea that most who play games are adults, unless one watches Fox News, which still embraces the 80's-early 90's mentality that only children play video games and pretend that the ESRB doesn't exist.
One became a element of the criminal underworld. Your death wouldn't result in the planet being overran by those mutant space pigeons. No, your death in the game would have just been a another insignificant one among many. Yet, that one lone thug on the streets could have that opportunity to rise up the ranks, often with insane results.
GTA greatly influenced my teenage years. It was the right game at the right time. At the time, it ranked up there along Civilization, Sim City 2000, Half-Life/CounterStrike, and Unreal Tournament. I still consider San Andreas one of the greatest games ever made. DMA Designs and Take 2 Interactive became household names. Take 2 Interactive eventually became RockStar Games.
It's hard for those who didn't live through the 90's to realize the impact of this game or to put in into context. Those who grew up after this time lived in a world that was molded by this series. GTA was just another game among many. Taken for granted among many. Yet, there was a time when this wasn't always the case. I remember the games of the 80's and 90's. Games that were very linear in nature. A set path that you couldn't deviate from. GTA showed the wonders of a open-world game. Games with a open-world environment were still a rarity and novelty at this point, and not the norm it is now. A YouTuber, Kim Justice, has done a really awesome retrospective series on the GTA franchise. I highly recommend checking those videos out. The first video in the retrospective is linked below.
One jokes about the trope of saving the princess, stopping that rampaging alien attack, defeating Dracula, etc. It was typical to play the hero. That's the 80's for you. At the same time, this would have made sense, as most of those who played video games in the 80's were children. One could look at a game at Custer's Revenge on the 2600 was and understandably realize why that game so controversial. It was offensive to both women and Native Americans. Combined this with the fact that most of those who played games at this time were children. There was merit behind that controversy. At the same time, adults were often lampooned for playing video games by those that saw it as a time waster, failing to realize that it was just another recreational activity no different from reading a book or watching The Terminator or the various Rambo movies.
As we entered the 90's, the typical age of the gamer was growing. Nintendo for the longest time refused to acknowledge that gamers are getting older. At this point, it's important that in 2019, the average age of a video gamer is 34 years old. There are far more people my age playing such games than children. It's seen as unusual just to view gaming as a children's activity when most who play games are adults. Most have conformed to this idea that most who play games are adults, unless one watches Fox News, which still embraces the 80's-early 90's mentality that only children play video games and pretend that the ESRB doesn't exist.
The Aspect Of The Game On Society
At this point, it's
important that as gamers aged, video games became more mature. Mortal
Kombat took the consoles by storm. The epic fatalities drew many to the
arcades and the Sega Genesis. On the PC side, id Software released
Wolfenstein 3D, a game where one fights Nazis in a secret castle to stop
the SS from doing there insane experiments in the name of world
domination. In Doom, one places a space marine battling demon possessed
soldiers and various monsters when the portal of Hell was opened on a
Martian colony. One could argue that Doom is actually the most Christian
video game ever made because your casting out the demons and other
Hell-spawned creations. Except that your cross happens could be a
chainsaw, double-barrel shot-gun, or sci-fi weapon in the form of the
BFG 9000 plasma gun. That's how I fight demons!
Even with the more mature settings, one was still fighting on the side of good. Until one gets to GTA. This series of games provoked a lot of attention, often from those who never touched a controller in there life. It's important to realize that the elements in GTA are a reflection of real life, granted exaggerated at times. However, GTA is often a very accurate measurement if one wants to see the state of society. GTA was molded by the events around it, not the other way around. One could argue that if you don't want GTA, then one has to work on the issues of society as a whole, because GTA is a product of that society. One could blame GTA and its likes all day long, but as long as one lives in a society where acts of violence and marginalization are the norm and glamorized, then games like GTA will also be the norm. One would have to address police violence, racial profiling, and poverty that results in these criminal elements to take hold. Or one can take easy street and just to blame the game.
Now, children shouldn't be exposed to this game. At the same time, one shouldn't get into a pious, self-righteous state and condemn the game either as GTA is a reflection of society as a whole. Also, one should turn into a uniformed idiot and naturally assume that only children play video games. As noted early, it's generally accepted now that most who play video games are adults, but this wasn't the mindset in the 90's. However, Jack Thompson (who I will cover in more detail) tried to sell a idea that was contrary to this. "There shouldn't be videos games for adults because adults don't play video games!" cried people like him.
There have been countless studies that show that people often gravitate to these games because it's a reflection of there interest, not a influence that causes people to become violent. Correlation does not equal causation. People play these games because it reflects there interest, not causes them to embrace it. Games like this and FPS's do cause people to become more aggressive in the short term. At the same time, various other activities like sports watching TV or movies can also do the same thing. This section is starting to feel like a rant, but it's very annoying when several will do a hit piece demonizing video games based on claims that haven't been substantiated by science, but yet proclaimed as the gospel truth by those that don't want to take the time to research the topic on hand.
Even with the more mature settings, one was still fighting on the side of good. Until one gets to GTA. This series of games provoked a lot of attention, often from those who never touched a controller in there life. It's important to realize that the elements in GTA are a reflection of real life, granted exaggerated at times. However, GTA is often a very accurate measurement if one wants to see the state of society. GTA was molded by the events around it, not the other way around. One could argue that if you don't want GTA, then one has to work on the issues of society as a whole, because GTA is a product of that society. One could blame GTA and its likes all day long, but as long as one lives in a society where acts of violence and marginalization are the norm and glamorized, then games like GTA will also be the norm. One would have to address police violence, racial profiling, and poverty that results in these criminal elements to take hold. Or one can take easy street and just to blame the game.
Now, children shouldn't be exposed to this game. At the same time, one shouldn't get into a pious, self-righteous state and condemn the game either as GTA is a reflection of society as a whole. Also, one should turn into a uniformed idiot and naturally assume that only children play video games. As noted early, it's generally accepted now that most who play video games are adults, but this wasn't the mindset in the 90's. However, Jack Thompson (who I will cover in more detail) tried to sell a idea that was contrary to this. "There shouldn't be videos games for adults because adults don't play video games!" cried people like him.
There have been countless studies that show that people often gravitate to these games because it's a reflection of there interest, not a influence that causes people to become violent. Correlation does not equal causation. People play these games because it reflects there interest, not causes them to embrace it. Games like this and FPS's do cause people to become more aggressive in the short term. At the same time, various other activities like sports watching TV or movies can also do the same thing. This section is starting to feel like a rant, but it's very annoying when several will do a hit piece demonizing video games based on claims that haven't been substantiated by science, but yet proclaimed as the gospel truth by those that don't want to take the time to research the topic on hand.
On To The Game!
Most of my exposure
to GTA 1 was on the PlayStation. Me and my brother received the
PlayStation as a Christmas present many moons ago, along with the game.
My mom didn't know anything about the game, other than we wanted it
badly. One day, she heard a lot of profanity coming from our bedroom.
She went in demanding to know who was cussing. Neither me or my brother
Matt were. We demonstrated that the profanity was coming from the street
peds. We walked up to a few bystanders as they yelled "A**hole", "Son
of a B****", and "Go to Hell". She was so embarrassed. We weren't!
Anyway, hours was spent causing mayhem in the streets. So many hours wasted on fighting the cops with rocket launchers and machine guns. Sometimes, the fuzz had to take on a few tanks as well! Of course, the actual missions in the game as well. They ranged from stealing cars, taking part in bank heist, blowing up those that wronged the baddies, and collecting money under a hail of bullets. The successful tries, and dozens of multiple failed attempts as one scores a "GOURANGA" after running over a group of Hare Krishnas. Who ever had a adrenaline rush as one encounters a police barricade firing dozens of high velocity rounds at your car at once! It was so much fun.
Anyway, hours was spent causing mayhem in the streets. So many hours wasted on fighting the cops with rocket launchers and machine guns. Sometimes, the fuzz had to take on a few tanks as well! Of course, the actual missions in the game as well. They ranged from stealing cars, taking part in bank heist, blowing up those that wronged the baddies, and collecting money under a hail of bullets. The successful tries, and dozens of multiple failed attempts as one scores a "GOURANGA" after running over a group of Hare Krishnas. Who ever had a adrenaline rush as one encounters a police barricade firing dozens of high velocity rounds at your car at once! It was so much fun.
The cities that will redefine the series in later games are
present in this version. Liberty and Vice Cities are here, along with
San Andreas. I remember playing the game for the first few times and
forgetting about the incomplete bridge. Most of the time, I was in a
sports car. One can even make it in a taxi. You won't make it in a VW
Beetle. Trust me on that! Occasionally a building will go kaboom in the
process. Sometimes, instead of fighting the criminals in a street fight,
one finds it easier to use the expensive sports car as a weapon. One
thing to note that if one decides to recreate the bus scene in Speed
and the police are on your tail, they will smash into you. But if you're
going fast enough, the police car will explode as it slams in back hard
enough, but your bus wont explode the first time. Also, if your bus
hits a motorcycle as full speed, that motorcycle will explode, but the
bus will remain intact. One will need to bail quickly though as the
vehicle has taken a lot of damage.
Impact On The Gaming Scene
GTA 1 was released
on both MS-DOS and Windows as well. It was one of the first titles that
supported the 3DFX Voodoo Graphics Accelerator. The game plays and looks
better on the PC than it does on the PlayStation. The controls were
more defined playing on a keyboard than using a controller.
PC gaming was going through a revolution during this time. Starting with Doom, the fps's took PC gaming by storm. Graphical and gameplay innovations that spread through other genres like racing (Need For Speed) and simulator (Microsoft Flight Simulator). GTA was released during this gaming revolution. Not only that, but with 3D accelerators around the corner and the newer titles, like Quake, updated to supporting them, modern gaming was right around the corner. Half-Life and Unreal Tournament was only a short time away.
The game even had a cool innovation. On both the PC and PlayStation version, you could pop in a audio CD, and the game would start playing tracks from that CD if you were in a car. The player could pick there music of choice in a GTA game since the very beginning.
Despite this though, GTA was still bound by the hardware limitations of the hardware for that time. The game was originally conceived on the Commodore Amiga, but that platform was dropped for the PC and PlayStation. Pentiums were the norm by this point, but many PC users still had desktops with 486 processors in them. The first 3D accelerators were pricey too. It would take several years before they were the norm.
With that said, when I revisited the game though, it didn't age well at all, and no, I'm not talking about the graphics either. There were hardware limitations that would have made a 3D game unfeasible. I can understand the reasoning behind the top-down view. My biggest complaint with the game was that it felt to much like a arcade game. It provide 15-30 minutes burst of fun before the player started to get bored. The missions were very straight-forward. It kept score in a manner similar to arcade games. As such, there was little replay value. If you failed a mission, then you couldn't play it again. It meant that progressing through the game was much harder if one failed at several missions.
For modern hardware, one can play the game under the Epsxe PlayStation emulator or play the DOS port under DOSBox. Several of the unofficial ports of DOSBox, like the SVN-Daum builds, can play thed game with a emulated 3DFX Voodoo at really good performance. The Windows 95 port of the game should run under most VM software, even though haven't explored the Windows version that much. RockStar had made GTA 1 and 2 free downloads in the past. The game is available though Steam.
PC gaming was going through a revolution during this time. Starting with Doom, the fps's took PC gaming by storm. Graphical and gameplay innovations that spread through other genres like racing (Need For Speed) and simulator (Microsoft Flight Simulator). GTA was released during this gaming revolution. Not only that, but with 3D accelerators around the corner and the newer titles, like Quake, updated to supporting them, modern gaming was right around the corner. Half-Life and Unreal Tournament was only a short time away.
The game even had a cool innovation. On both the PC and PlayStation version, you could pop in a audio CD, and the game would start playing tracks from that CD if you were in a car. The player could pick there music of choice in a GTA game since the very beginning.
Despite this though, GTA was still bound by the hardware limitations of the hardware for that time. The game was originally conceived on the Commodore Amiga, but that platform was dropped for the PC and PlayStation. Pentiums were the norm by this point, but many PC users still had desktops with 486 processors in them. The first 3D accelerators were pricey too. It would take several years before they were the norm.
With that said, when I revisited the game though, it didn't age well at all, and no, I'm not talking about the graphics either. There were hardware limitations that would have made a 3D game unfeasible. I can understand the reasoning behind the top-down view. My biggest complaint with the game was that it felt to much like a arcade game. It provide 15-30 minutes burst of fun before the player started to get bored. The missions were very straight-forward. It kept score in a manner similar to arcade games. As such, there was little replay value. If you failed a mission, then you couldn't play it again. It meant that progressing through the game was much harder if one failed at several missions.
For modern hardware, one can play the game under the Epsxe PlayStation emulator or play the DOS port under DOSBox. Several of the unofficial ports of DOSBox, like the SVN-Daum builds, can play thed game with a emulated 3DFX Voodoo at really good performance. The Windows 95 port of the game should run under most VM software, even though haven't explored the Windows version that much. RockStar had made GTA 1 and 2 free downloads in the past. The game is available though Steam.
Grand Theft Auto
WIKIPEDIA
WWW.WIKIPEDIA.ORG
WIKIPEDIA
WWW.WIKIPEDIA.ORG
Grand Theft Auto
Steam
New Study Shows That There Is No Link Between Violent Video Games And Aggression In Teenagers
Forbes
WWW.FORBES.COM
New Scientific Study Shows That Playing Action Video Games Is Good For You
Forbes
WWW.FORBES.COM
New Study Finds No Link Between Gaming And Sexist Attitudes
Forbes
WWW.FORBES.COM
Violent video game engagement is not associated with adolescents' aggressive
behaviour: evidence from a registered report
Royal Society Publishing
WWW.ROYALSOCIETYPUBLISHING.ORG
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