Modelling Urban Behaviour Amidst Networked Ultraviolence

Reflecting on the medium-as-message of Grand Theft Auto 3

Ed. This piece was originally published on September 2, 2002 at cityofsound.com. Although I’ve tidied it up, apologies that some links may have broken.

Save a little unfinished business with some Yardies, I’ve effectively finished Grand Theft Auto 3. I say ‘effectively’ as, unlike Tetris which has been scientifically proven to be of finite length, it’s almost impossible to conceive of ‘finishing’ in Liberty City, the mis-en-scène in GTA3. I know it’s been around a while, but I’m so impressed with the game. Not in its cartoon violence, rich graphics and sound design, or sub-Godfather plot clichés, but in its convincing realisation of the city. This feels like a city in which you live, at your own pace, going about activities of your own volition, an open-ended approach in which you engage—or not — with non-linear narratives within a simulacrum of a living, breathing city.

Jessica Hammer, who studies interactive narratives at NYU, gave a speech to us at the BBC recently. I actually disagree a little with Jessica, whose talk was generally fascinating otherwise, in that she said GTA3 “manages expectations well” i.e. you expect to be able to drive, and enjoy the functionality model associated with driving…