Ununreal city

I played a Grand Theft Auto game on my computer a few years ago. While I could take or leave the moral conundra of it, I really appreciated the idea of having a big city in which to meander around. One of the things that makes for good art, in my book, is that sense of a well-realized environment, a world for the reader/viewer to participate in (Little, Big and Dhalgren are both prime examples of that). I even liked having a bunch of different radio stations to listen to while driving like a maniac through the city.

So I’m tempted to cave in and buy one of those mega-consoles now that I’ve seen this post about the New York-based GTA that’s coming out in October. If the images from the trailer are part of the gameplay (and not just from the interstitial segments), it’ll be an amazing experience.

Of course, they may have to change the title of the game. After all, stealing a car in NYC would be more trouble than it’s worth, if the game accurately depicts the traffic in Manhattan.

Oh, and if you’re interested in that idea of world-building in art, check out some of the related posts at the bottom of the City of Sound post.