Can they ever go back to one protagonist?

[jondean31]

Just pondering this in my head, I'm not sure they can as in my opinion it made GTA V one of the best games ever, and meant that the story could be 30-40 hours long without being a drag like GTA IV was.

 

Also to have just one protagonist would mean smaller worlds, and I don't think anyone wants that?

[CantThinkOfOne2013]

What you said is true, I'm hoping that the multiple protagonist system is here to stay, it did wonders for mission variety.

I personally think that they can't go back but a lot of GTA IV fans are going to disagree with me.

[TheTechPoTaToCHIP]

Rockstar has said that the multiple protagonists paradigm could possibly return to future games if it fit the game's story and setting. They said that they could still go back to one protagonist if it fit the story the best but the multiple protagonist concept would still be a part in some future installments.

[jordio]

Rockstar has said that the multiple protagonists paradigm could possibly return to future games if it fit the game's story and setting. They said that they could still go back to one protagonist if it fit the story the best but the multiple protagonist concept would still be a part in some future installments.

 

Do you know where they said this?

 

I also believe that they could go either way really. The 3-protagonist storyline worked perfectly for me, but I still think they could pull off another great game with just one protagonist.

[98 in 1]

I definitely want them to do multiple protagonists again. I feel like V only scratched the surface in terms of what they could do in terms of gameplay and plot.

[Vanto]

If the next game has multiple protagonists, I want at least it to have more than 69 missions.

[Tycek]

I hope they can get back to lower numbers of protagonists, because three of them was nothing more than a mistake. None of them is interesting, none of them is written on the level R* used to write and it created nothing, but a mess. I want more protagonist than one only if they will be written well. Here was textbook example, how to not pull it off. Let's hope it was the bottom and next tries will be only better.

Edited March 29, 2014 by Tycek

[Sami Uso]

I hope the next game returns to just one protagonist because I like the idea that I'm alone in the game whenever I'm in a secluded area. Take GTA SA for instance, I loved how secluded the woods were, and it felt like I was being watched all the time and I thought something was just going to jump out and kill me. Hopefully the next game pulls off that very same vibe, because GTA V just didn't do it for me.

[ryan_J]

I'd be happy no matter what way it goes, I actually kind of preferred one protagonist because I felt I could become more attached to charters like Niko and CJ because the story was focused on them, when I play with one character I can put myself in that characters shoes. I still loved having multiple protagonists and it definitely has its benefits but in terms of character attachment it was detrimental or me personally.

 

The benefits of multiple playable characters is of course variety and multiple perspectives on the story, I think if rockstar uses multiple protagonists again I'd like to see them explore it more than they did with V don't get me wrong they done it very well in V but as someone said they've only just scratched the surface with the possibilities.

[BlackNoise]

I think two would be better.

[ryan_J]

I think two would be better.

 

I actually think this too!

[glass pipe]

I agree. I did find gta v's story to be quite f*cking short though.

[PeriodZeroHero]

i like the 3 character system a lot

story needs work tho

Edited March 29, 2014 by SuburbansWorst

[AZAZEL]

Rockstar are not ones to be dictated by technology. I'm sure they'll use it again if it fits their idea for a story, but I have no doubt that they could go back to the more traditional protagonist in a jiffy, if that's what they felt was right. L.A. Noire is a good example - the advanced motion capture was prudent to the interrogation scenes, but it's not something they felt compelled to use in other franchises.

[Voggs]

At first it was a wierd idea when I read GameInformer's info, but then I thought it's really cool, sometimes you get bored playing as only one guy in an open world. I always play GTA SA with different skin mods.

If they keep this up, I support a female protagonist, it's about time. And just in case, Online female characters doesn't count.

[wiizardii]

I thought the multiple protagonist was intreresting before the launch of GTA V when it was announced few years ago. I liked the idea because I always thought it would have been cool to play other characters in a GTA game ever since I was a kid playing GTA VC. However, now that I have played GTA V so much and all, I dont like it as much. In their next game, it should be just 1 protagonist. No more Multiple protagonists.

 

PS: You may not care, but if R* decides to not give Multiple Protagonists in any GTA game in the future, it would put GTA V over as a unique GTA game. As its gunna be known as the only Grand Theft Auto game with multiple protagonists.

[ryan_J]

Rockstar are not ones to be dictated by technology. I'm sure they'll use it again if it fits their idea for a story, but I have no doubt that they could go back to the more traditional protagonist in a jiffy, if that's what they felt was right. L.A. Noire is a good example - the advanced motion capture was prudent to the interrogation scenes, but it's not something they felt compelled to use in other franchises.

I definitely agree but I don't think L.A. Noire is the greatest example. Being only the publishers wouldn't rockstar have had less of a play in the motion capture technology that Team Bondi?

[Harwood Butch3r]

Three seemed a bit overkill considering the relatively short story. I wouldn't have a problem with two. Maybe a father/son kind of thing or brothers.

[Aerosmithfan999]

I hope the next game returns to just one protagonist because I like the idea that I'm alone in the game whenever I'm in a secluded area. Take GTA SA for instance, I loved how secluded the woods were, and it felt like I was being watched all the time and I thought something was just going to jump out and kill me. Hopefully the next game pulls off that very same vibe, because GTA V just didn't do it for me.

I was thinking this the last time I was playing San Andreas. To this day the woods still have that creepy, secluded feeling to them.

[ryan_J]

Three seemed a bit overkill considering the relatively short story. I wouldn't have a problem with two. Maybe a father/son kind of thing or brothers.

Brothers would be epic!

 

The thing I don't like about multiple protagonists is that it makes it hard to follow the GTA tradition of coming to a new city or returning after a long time. I didn't like how all 3 characters in V has always been in Los Santos or had been there for years. You could argue that Trevor was new to Los Santos but come on, it didn't really have the same effect.

[xenorama]

I think there should be multiple characters, at least two, but you should pick them from the beginning, with no switching mid-game, and they should be enemies.

 

For example, if there were two, one would be the main protagonist and the other would be the main antagonist. Depending on who you picked, you would play one side of the story. You'd be fighting against the other person you could have chosen, basically.

 

Kind of like playing as the "bosses" in Street Fighter 2.

[iLLViLLain]

I favor the focus on one character. I appreciate what they did with GTA V but the problem was that the game eventually started to give off the sense that only one or two characters were getting focused on whereas the ignored character is just there to fill some sort of quota. Now, if the next GTAs set up its multiple playable characters like how the GTA IV universe was set up then I'd be fine with that.

Edited March 30, 2014 by iLLViLLain

[Staten]

There's nothing stopping R* going back to one character, except possibly for negative forum reaction; then again, they'll have to deal with negative forum reaction if they decide to do multiple characters again. Personally, I don't mind as long as the game is as fun and the narrative as absorbing as V.

[LTDHO]

Multible works, but you should be given the option to chose which you want for a mission as each one would be skilled differently.

[Harwood Butch3r]

 

Three seemed a bit overkill considering the relatively short story. I wouldn't have a problem with two. Maybe a father/son kind of thing or brothers.

 

Brothers would be epic!

 

The thing I don't like about multiple protagonists is that it makes it hard to follow the GTA tradition of coming to a new city or returning after a long time. I didn't like how all 3 characters in V has always been in Los Santos or had been there for years. You could argue that Trevor was new to Los Santos but come on, it didn't really have the same effect.

The thing about that is the map's open from the start so you can go to LS with Trevor before the script in the story allows. I made that mistake in my first save when he went to LS before when he goes there in the story with Wade and it didn't feel right at all.

 

I kind of miss the "fish out of water " feeling though. That's why I still love experiencing LC with Niko. Each time is like getting to experience this strange new place over again.

[ryan_J]

 

 

Three seemed a bit overkill considering the relatively short story. I wouldn't have a problem with two. Maybe a father/son kind of thing or brothers.

Brothers would be epic!

 

The thing I don't like about multiple protagonists is that it makes it hard to follow the GTA tradition of coming to a new city or returning after a long time. I didn't like how all 3 characters in V has always been in Los Santos or had been there for years. You could argue that Trevor was new to Los Santos but come on, it didn't really have the same effect.

The thing about that is the map's open from the start so you can go to LS with Trevor before the script in the story allows. I made that mistake in my first save when he went to LS before when he goes there in the story with Wade and it didn't feel right at all.

 

I kind of miss the "fish out of water " feeling though. That's why I still love experiencing LC with Niko. Each time is like getting to experience this strange new place over again.

 

 

Again it's all about character relation for me, as you said that fish out of water feeling is what makes up a big part of a GTA game for me, its about discovering new things in the city, even now after 100's of hours with IV I never feel 'at home' in LC same with Vice City and even Sanandreas to an extent. I don't think we should ever feel 'at home' in a GTA game ever. Like I said, I know LC like the back of my hand but I still don't feel at home and that's a feeling I love it puts me on edge.

 

This is something that V didn't do, what I'd like to experience in a future GTA, is a multi-protag story where one of the characters is brand new to the city and the other character/characters has always lived in the city in question. I think it would be the best of both worlds.

[Magic_Al]

Multiple protagonists help make an open world more open, less linear experience, without skimping on content. Most players simply will not complete a long linear story. Only 28% on Xbox Live Gold/Silver got the story complete achievement in GTA IV.

 

If they go back to one protagonist (maybe in Agent?) I wouldn't expect the story length to be more than Red Dead Redemption's.

[Dope_0110]

I don't think they are limited to stay at multiple protags. It all depends on the story. A game can be perfectly fun, even with a long storyline, with only one protag.

There are advantages to both sides, so I think they'll just do whatever they feel is best, not just automatically do what they already did in the last game.

[Xerukal]

Two protagonists would be pretty interesting to see the next time around, actually.

 

They should just work their way back down. Next game should be two protagonists, and the one after that should be one. Then just do what comes naturally, I guess.

 

There are many interesting dynamics Rockstar could work into two characters working together OR two entirely different stories slowly coliding with eachother as the game progresses.

 

Maybe something like Pulp Fiction?

Edited March 30, 2014 by Xerukal

[Alec Skorpio]

I wouldn't mind two protagonists.

 

Or even if they decided to just have one "main" protagonist, I'd like to be able to take control of partners in missions instead of relying solely on AI to assist me.