As the anticipation for Grand Theft Auto 6 mounts, discussions around the game’s potential design and layout continue to gain momentum despite the absence of official information.
GTA 6 has been under development for at a decade, with fans eagerly awaiting any snippets of information about what could be Rockstar Games’ biggest and most ambitious title to date. The series, renowned for setting the gold standard in open-world gaming, faces the challenge of both meeting expectations and innovating for the current gaming era.
A recent conversation with Tony Gowland, a former Rockstar Games developer with credits on titles such as Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories, Vice City Stories, and Red Dead Redemption, revealed an intriguing perspective on the matter.
In an interview with PCGamesN, Gowland expressed his desire for GTA 6 to feature a “smaller but more densely packed location.” He fondly recalls Vice City’s scale, suggesting that its size allowed players to familiarize themselves with the city’s landmarks and routes, an experience that might be lost in the vast open worlds of contemporary games. This is a growing sentiment that aligns with recent trends, highlighted by games like Assassin’s Creed Mirage, which have chosen to offer a smaller but denser map filled with rich detail over sheer size.
The idea of a compact yet detailed map isn’t without precedent. Genre contemporaries like the Yakuza series have had a ton of success in offering densely packed worlds that evolve and shift noticeably with player progression, resulting in a deeply immersive experience. This stands in stark contrast to titles like Starfield, which, despite their expansive realms, sometimes leave players feeling as though they are traversing repetitious spaces.
On the other hand, Rockstar’s track record showcases an ability to craft engaging and diverse environments, regardless of scale. Red Dead Redemption 2, for instance, delivered a vast open world that players adored, maintaining player interest across large terrains.
But, is a more compact GTA experience the key to the success for GTA 6? Don’t forget, the very word “Auto” is found in the name of the franchise. It’s no secret that Rockstar has designed every GTA game with vehicle movement in mind. A good example is Los Santos in GTA V. Its expansive nature necessitated extensive driving, riding, or flying – elements fundamental to the game’s identity.
With this in mind, wouldn’t it be counterproductive for Rockstar to scale back and make GTA 6’s map smaller?
Then again, it’s worth noting that, Vice City, which is based on Miami City in real life, is much smaller than Los Angeles, the basis for Los Santos. Even when you factor in the surrounding cities, there’s a possibility that GTA 6 will feature the kind of smaller but denser map that Gowland is describing.
Keep in mind that older GTA entries technically had smaller worlds than the latest installment but felt arguably more expensive due to their detail-oriented and discovery-filled environments. The emphasis on unique, varied experiences in each locale was far more evident pre-GTA V. GTA: San Andreas, for instance, felt expansive with its varied landscapes, from cities to deserts and woodlands.
However, until Rockstar Games sheds more light on GTA 6, the debate around map size and density remain speculative.
For now, GTA fans can have their fill by playing GTA 5 or enjoying freebies such as the GTA Trilogy Remaster as well as GTA: Liberty Stories and GTA: Chinatown Wars.
