Was Franklin added in later on in development?

[DirtCheap]

So while replaying the game, I noticed Franklin in some missions involving M and T does very little work. Here are some examples:

Three's Company- all he does is snipes a few guys that are not that much of a threat. Also, why is he all of the sudden just standing in a building?

 

Blitz Play- did we really need 2 people for the ground team? If anything, it may have had M shooting and T sniping in the beta

 

Monkey Business- sits in a truck and does nothing

Edited December 16, 2017 by DirtCheap

[hasidichomeboy]

he was most likely present from the start but i guess dan houser just didn't really give him that much to do

[ChiroVette]

So while replaying the game, I noticed Franklin in some missions involving M and T does very little work. Here are some examples:

 

Three's Company- all he does is snipes a few guys that are not that much of a threat. Also, why is he all of the sudden just standing in a building?

Blitz Play- did we really need 2 people for the ground team? If anything, it may have had M shooting and T sniping in the beta

Monkey Business- sits in a truck and does nothing

 

 

Well, when you consider that no matter what ending you choose, Franklin will ALWAYS be part of the game, I think that an argument could even be made that he is the main protagonist, but I don't think that's true either. The fact is that Franklin has a lot to do in a great many parts of the game, but his involvement in Blitz Play and Monkey Business may, in fact, be meant to convey his relative inexperience with the kinds of crime that Michael and Trevor were very used to.

[DirtCheap]

True that, but then again, think about it. M and T's rises to success make sense (M is a bank robber and T is a big drug dealer) but Franklin? All he did was snipe some guy and all of he sudden, he has a mansion

[ChiroVette]

I see your point, but Lester explains the reason why Franklin gets the long term loaner of the house in a phone call. Part of it is to keep Franklin on a leash so that he'll continue doing those assassination jobs for Lester. Given the volatility of GTA stock market, and the fortune that Lester and his associates were poised to make based upon franklins assassinations, it seems reasonable to throw Franklin a bone like a house. Plus as Lester said to him, his use of that house had tax implications. Though they were never explained, I always assumed that giving Franklin perpetual use of that big house was somehow beneficial to Lester in terms of some sort of tax situation.

Edited December 15, 2017 by ChiroVette

[Lemoyne outlaw]

i dont think he was added late. but i do feel he didint get nearly as much screen time or story development as he should have. we have him for the first couple missions. we only had a couple repo missions. i was looking forward to a repo minigame. then after he met michael. frank had a couple more missions. after the jewel store job. and trevor joins the story. franklin isint used as much. mostly because the story was mostly about michael and trevors past. and a little bit about up and coming criminal franklin. i do wish he was used more in the story but oh well. i still think the gta 5 story is as good as any other story.

[ClaudeSpeed1911]

Trevor came last.

 

I think Rockstar wanted to expand his character in the story DLC. With all the hints about him starting his own gang and giving Lamar work.

Such a shame that never happened since it could have fixed some of the issues I had with the story, I wanted more crime.

[Prasdana21]

I don't think so, but he might be the last protagonist that Rockstar wrote for GTA V. I think Michael was the first protagonist that Rockstar wrote but I'm not sure who got written latter between Franklin and Trevor. Either way, he ended up being the third wheel

[Eram]

So while replaying the game, I noticed Franklin in some missions involving M and T does very little work. Here are some examples:

 

Three's Company- all he does is snipes a few guys that are not that much of a threat. Also, why is he all of the sudden just standing in a building?

Blitz Play- did we really need 2 people for the ground team? If anything, it may have had M shooting and T sniping in the beta

Monkey Business- sits in a truck and does nothing

 

No sh*t, and that complyied you in some more, I guess. Keep it coming dude, pretty please!

[cp1dell]

I don't think so, but he might be the last protagonist that Rockstar wrote for GTA V. I think Michael was the first protagonist that Rockstar wrote but I'm not sure who got written latter between Franklin and Trevor. Either way, he ended up being the third wheel

Maybe. Michael was the first character they wrote when coming up with the story, Trevor probably followed since he is heavily involved in Michael's story. From there they needed an outside/neutral perspective probably and along came Frank.

[Algonquin Assassin]

Regardless of when he was written it’s obvious he’s the most bland of the three. As much as I despise Trevor atleast he feels on equal ground with Michael.

 

Franklin gets relegated to the background which is why I don’t like how the choices of the endings are placed on his shoulders. If GTA V had two protagonists it would definitely be Michael and Trevor. Franklin feels like a side character. Not a protagonist.

[DirtCheap]

Another thing I noticed is how bland Franklin's character transitions were. When you switch to Trevor, he's either evading the cops or waking up drunk or showing his psychotic side. When you switch to Michael, he's either with his family or staring at the moon in BC. When you switch to Franklin, he's just eating some chips or putting on clothes or exiting some shop which is boring compared to Michael and Trevor.

[Cheatz/Trickz]

No, but I do think he was added just to have a CJ-esque character, because it's San Andreas again. Like a lot of things in V, Franklin seems like a tool to lure back the SA fanboys, though the story is Michael's Rockstar knew that some kind of gangbanging theme would appeal to them.

[Electrochoc]

Another thing I noticed is how bland Franklin's character transitions were. When you switch to Trevor, he's either evading the cops or waking up drunk or showing his psychotic side. When you switch to Michael, he's either with his family or staring at the moon in BC. When you switch to Franklin, he's just eating some chips or putting on clothes or exiting some shop which is boring compared to Michael and Trevor.

That's right.

 

After putting 80 hours, I still encounter new switch scenes with Trevor & Michael I have never encounter before but I almost memorised all Franklin switch scenes.

 

"Holla at me y'all peace"

"This motherf*cker clean"

 

Two unlikeable character got the best switch stuff and the only likable character in the game is bland.

Edited December 16, 2017 by Electrochoc

[Algonquin Assassin]

Don’t forget ironing clothes or cleaning his bike. Yeah all of the switch scenarios of his I’ve encountered are really boring and uninteresting.

[MARKUS.]

Franklin transitions were far more interesting before he gets his mansion, gosh, Franklin looks like he's the one that he's retired, not Michael

[DirtCheap]

Here's more cases in which I believe Franklin was added later into:

 

-Merryweather Heist: all he does is snipes which is unnecessary considering the fact Michael deals with the militia on board while Trevor scouts the ocean floor

 

-Marriage Counselling- I know this may be a bit of nitpicking, but was Franklin really needed in this mission? All he does is provides some small dialogue and shoots 2 cartel members which Michael could have easily done.

 

-Fresh Meat- it would have made more sense for Trevor to forget about Brad and save Michael as this would have made more sense than him saving Michael in Wrap Up as him appearing at the right place at the right time makes no literal sense. (also, how come Franklin has to do a big shootout on his own? The mission is sorta hard (first try, don't judge) as when M and T usually do shootouts, they succeed because of their special abilities)

 

-Something Sensible/ Time's Come- this may be a bit controversial but the two bad endings make no sense. Why does Franklin all of the sudden betray the guy who saved his ass many times or the guy who made him rolling in dough? He doesn't even show that much remorse, just says 'Sorry about this man, but time to die' and then chases them and kills them without a second thought. Was Rockstar trying to make him unlikable as it would show that Franklin doesn't give a rat's ass about his friends and cares more about money?

[Official General]

So while replaying the game, I noticed Franklin in some missions involving M and T does very little work. Here are some examples:

Three's Company- all he does is snipes a few guys that are not that much of a threat. Also, why is he all of the sudden just standing in a building?

 

Blitz Play- did we really need 2 people for the ground team? If anything, it may have had M shooting and T sniping in the beta

 

Monkey Business- sits in a truck and does nothing

No he was not added later in development. In fact, he was there from the start, I mean the first trailer even clearly shows that he was.

 

What puts to rest your speculative theory is the fact that in previews of V, Dan Houser himself said that Trevor was added last to provide players with a suitable character for general mass-destruction and rampaging in free roam gameplay.

 

Anyway, regardless of what stage Franklin became involved in V dont matter, he only played a peripheral role as a protagonist which is just silly. And it still dont change the fact that he had very little involvement in the main story and was greatly lacking in depth and development. Not to mention he was very bland in personality apart from the fact that moaned a lot. Bottom line is that Rockstar did a very mediocre job of Franklins role in the game, which is a shame as it could have been so much better with a ton of great ideas that would have improved the experience of playing as him.

 

I still prefer playing as him over Michael and Trevor in free roam though, he is better suited for that in my view - I just cant picture middle-aged, luxury-living Michael feeling the need to still get caught up in crime or beef in the streets. And I still consider Trevor to be the worst of the three.

Edited December 16, 2017 by Official General

[Cheatz/Trickz]

I just remember the first time I played the game and reached Lamar Down, I was like "finally, something meaningful related to Franklin is happening". I think I actually voiced those thoughts to myself during the drive.

[Official General]

I just remember the first time I played the game and reached Lamar Down, I was like "finally, something meaningful related to Franklin is happening". I think I actually voiced those thoughts to myself during the drive.

Funny you say that, because I was thinking that too. But I still disappointed because I knew that was near the end of of the story.

[Zello]

They should have made Franklin half Mexican it would have made the story a bit interesting if he was related to someone in one of the Mexican gangs or someone in the Madrazzo cartel.

[cp1dell]

Sucks we never got the alien invasion DLC. That was supposed to be "Franklin's DLC" so that would have been perfect for people that wanted more focus on him, even if it was a "what-if" story.

[Official General]

Sucks we never got the alien invasion DLC. That was supposed to be "Franklin's DLC" so that would have been perfect for people that wanted more focus on him, even if it was a "what-if" story.

No thanks, I want no part of that bullsh*t from Online to come to SP.

[Electrochoc]

Don’t forget ironing clothes or cleaning his bike. Yeah all of the switch scenarios of his I’ve encountered are really boring and uninteresting.

Despite being the loneliest character in the game, Trevor's life was more colorful than Franklin's life. It was impossible to predict where he would go when you switched to him. It's strange that they were so creative about Trevor and they didn't give a sh*t about Franklin.

Edited December 16, 2017 by Electrochoc

[Official General]

 

Don’t forget ironing clothes or cleaning his bike. Yeah all of the switch scenarios of his I’ve encountered are really boring and uninteresting.

 

 

 

Despite being the loneliest character in the game, Trevor's life was more colorful than Franklin's life. It was impossible to predict where he would go when you switched to him. It's strange that they were so creative about Trevor and they didn't give a sh*t about Franklin.

 

As colourful as Trevor’s life was made out to be, it certainly didn’t mean I was gonna like it or find it entertaining, especially in the switch scenes. Dressing up in women’s clothes and being drunk, forcibly feeling up another man in the same bed, beating up people in the street for seemingly no real reason - not colourful to me at all. Cheap shock factor material in media entertainment does not wow me like it does for people like you.

[cp1dell]

 

Sucks we never got the alien invasion DLC. That was supposed to be "Franklin's DLC" so that would have been perfect for people that wanted more focus on him, even if it was a "what-if" story.

No thanks, I want no part of that bullsh*t from Online to come to SP.

Huh? The only connection that the cancelled DLC and GTAO content have is that Rockstar recycled the vehicles, weapons, and other miscellaneous content from the DLC into GTAO's numerous updates. The Alien Invasion DLC in no way would have resembled what people got in GTAO. One of Ash's posts detailed what the DLC was about a little.

[Electrochoc]

 

 

Don’t forget ironing clothes or cleaning his bike. Yeah all of the switch scenarios of his I’ve encountered are really boring and uninteresting.

 

 

Despite being the loneliest character in the game, Trevor's life was more colorful than Franklin's life. It was impossible to predict where he would go when you switched to him. It's strange that they were so creative about Trevor and they didn't give a sh*t about Franklin.

As colourful as Trevor’s life was made out to be, it certainly didn’t mean I was gonna like it or find it entertaining, especially in the switch scenes. Dressing up in women’s clothes and being drunk, forcibly feeling up another man in the same bed, beating up people in the street for seemingly no real reason - not colourful to me at all. Cheap shock factor material in media entertainment does not wow me like it does for people like you.

 

You like Trevor or not, it is personal. I personally didn't like Trevor too. Here, the only thing that can not be denied is that they used a certain creativity while writing him.

When I switch to Franklin, he is seen cleaning the same bike for a million time and yelling this motherf*cker clean. Although I love Franklin more and play mostly with him, I can't even compare his scenes to Trevor's scenes.

[ChiroVette]

The beauty of GTA V, among other things, is how well developed and essential to the narrative the protagonists are. Also, I love the way they balance one another out. Franklin is arguably the glue that binds the trio together, by the way, a fact confirmed by his saving Michael's life in Fresh Meat when Trevor leaves him for dead with Cheng.

 

 

When I switch to Franklin, he is seen cleaning the same bike for a million time and yelling this motherf*cker clean. Although I love Franklin more and play mostly with him, I can't even compare his scenes to Trevor's scenes.

I am not a big fan of the switch scenes for any of the protagonists. Not because they are bad in and of themselves, but after a hundred times hearing the same lines and seeing the same scenes over and over again it gets boring. Rockstar should have allowed the player to X-out of the scene once the game connects to the character. That would have fixed the repetitiveness. Because if you have seen it as many times as many of us have, they are all boring after a while.

 

I have the same gripe with stealing parked cars on the street. When the door is locked, you are married to the whole "break window, get in, hotwire the care" crap before you can drive off. These are all things that should be able to be bypassed after a certain amount of times playing the game, for example, subsequent playthroughs.

 

Honestly, I don't find Michael waking up screaming, switching in his clothes closet, or napping by the side of the road any more or less interesting than Franklin's switch scenes, or Trevor's for that matter. Though admittedly, I get more lulz from switching to Trevor. Really the only problem with Franklin cleaning his car or ironing clothes is that you can't button-press past it even if you have seen it 600 times before.

 

As for the thread topic, I don't think, for one second, Franklin was an afterthought. He is an integral part of the story, and while he does have a low profile in some of the missions, I believe that is meant to demonstrate that he is the most inexperienced of all the protagonists. There are also some missions where you play only as Franklin, with no sign of Michael, Trevor, or even both.

 

One of the awesome things about the Strangers & Freaks missions is that they act as excellent character expository for all three protagonists alone interacting with side characters. Early missions with Lamar and Stretch, repo of cars and a motorcycle, Assassination missions, and on and on. Franklin is key to the narrative.

 

I never felt like Franklin was marginalized at all. And, as I said above, he is the one protagonist that decides the fate of the other two, which also sets him up as a major player in Los Santos.

Edited December 16, 2017 by ChiroVette

[Official General]

 

 

 

Don’t forget ironing clothes or cleaning his bike. Yeah all of the switch scenarios of his I’ve encountered are really boring and uninteresting.

 

 

Despite being the loneliest character in the game, Trevor's life was more colorful than Franklin's life. It was impossible to predict where he would go when you switched to him. It's strange that they were so creative about Trevor and they didn't give a sh*t about Franklin.

As colourful as Trevor’s life was made out to be, it certainly didn’t mean I was gonna like it or find it entertaining, especially in the switch scenes. Dressing up in women’s clothes and being drunk, forcibly feeling up another man in the same bed, beating up people in the street for seemingly no real reason - not colourful to me at all. Cheap shock factor material in media entertainment does not wow me like it does for people like you.

 

You like Trevor or not, it is personal. I personally didn't like Trevor too. Here, the only thing that can not be denied is that they used a certain creativity while writing him.

 

When I switch to Franklin, he is seen cleaning the same bike for a million time and yelling this motherf*cker clean. Although I love Franklin more and play mostly with him, I can't even compare his scenes to Trevor's scenes.

 

For once I’m in agreement with Chiro on something - I couldn’t care less about switch scenes to be honest. Whether one protagonist’s switched scene is much better than the other’s or not makes not the slightest difference to me bro. And also like he said, they end up being very repetitive, colourful or not - that factor alone makes all switch scenes feel boring, no matter how colourful they are.

 

So in a nutshell, switch scenes are completely meaningless to me to even feel bothered by them in the first place.

[DirtCheap]

I also don't really care that much about the transitions (except for a few of Trevor's) but what I'm trying to say that is that in comparison to M and T's transitions, Franklin's ones really lacked any creativity. Franklin DID have some interesting transitions during his ghetto storyline (seeing him stopping a fight between Lamar and some Ballas made me think this was meant to show his "gangbanger" character- boy was I wrong). But as soon as he had a mansion, his transitions just showed him cleaning a car or patting a shirt, which was really dumb as these transitions could've developed his character more.