During the last couple of months I have played a lot of Grand Theft Auto 5. It is a beautiful looking game which creates a very convincing world. People drive their cars, do their daily business, cinemas play movies, celebrity bus tours drive around, there is a huge number of details, many which I’ll probably never notice/run into. The game allows you to switch between three characters at any moment and if you are not playing with the other two they will just do their own things. Although this is a game it made me wonder at times how these characters would experience me taking control or the impact my actions would have on random passers-by. I basically wondered how real their world would feel for them. It is a subject which has been explored in movies. The Matrix is probably the most famous example, but Existenz and Dark City also deal with it. The Thirteenth Floor is also a very interesting take and actually close to what I was thinking about while playing GTA5. Continue reading →