Planet Radio

Why is the radio in the Grand Theft Auto series so good? This is a question I wanted to investigate. I found myself playing Grand Theft Auto 5 (GTA5) and I was driving around in the car and not doing any missions or races, just listening to the radio. In my last prototype (prototype 3) I investigated casual games and found this information When we say that a video game is a casual game, we usually refer to a specific type of gameplay. They are simple games that require little mental investment from the gamer. They are often underestimated by hardcore gamers and, on the other hand, they have diehard fans that adore to play them every day. (Sobolev, n.d.) GTA 5 is by no means a casual game. High action, drama and intensity are enshrined into the game, but the driving aspect coupled with the radio can create a casual experience. The driving controls in the game are simple, the cars are automatic, and you can steal any vehicle you want in the game. The radio controls are also simple. There is a lot of variety in the radio stations revolving around different genres of music. One aspect that has been introduced in GTA’s radio was its ability to relay events of the game world. Did you just complete a mission about robbing a bank? The radio will have a news segment where they report the robbery or speak about it in some way or form. Did you just complete an assassination mission? The radio will report on the death of the person you just killed. The aspect of the game world working with the radio is fun to experience. I wanted to adopt some of these features in my prototype 3 I had a game where you drive around and listen to the radio. Between songs, the radio presenter would say tell the player about something in the game’s world. The radio would essentially serve as the player’s itinerary while they play the game. For this prototype, I wanted to expand this prototype. I wanted specific radio stations to lead to different visuals (in GTA 5 each protagonist has a preferred ratio station due to their differences in character and will sometimes change the radio station to their preferred station). For the radio to have more of a relationship with the game’s world a bit like the Grand Theft Auto series. In essence, I wanted to expand and flesh out (to an extent) my prototype 3.