Rockstar discusses the past, present and future of GTA Online

[ReverseFlash]

Rockstar North's co studio head has talked about the past, present and future of GTA Online.

 

"We’ve always wanted to build these immersive, complex living worlds to hold our stories, regardless of whether it’s for a single player or multiple," he says. "We had created complex systems for weather, traffic, population, and more, to give people as much freedom as we possibly could to create unique experiences. "

 

 

"We can go ‘into’ the world by creating additional interiors like the Maze Bank Arena, missile silos, or the underground bunkers. But we also have the opportunity to change the topography in major ways, like the Diamond Casino & Resort building. There’s a lot more we can do with the world we’ve made before we’re going to feel like we’re pushing the limits of what it can handle."

 

"We have great people at every level of the company who play the game all the time and who are constantly coming up with new ways to add to the world. It’s a credit to the entire team, from the initial world-building that sets up the universe, through to scripting, animation, and the mission design."

 

Rockstar discusses their thoughts on role playing

 

"It’s fascinating, People are taking it far beyond traditional game structures and we love seeing what people get up to. They’ve essentially had to break the game down to do it, but it shows that not only are people constantly looking for ways to create different kinds of immersive experiences, but that others enjoy watching what they do. We’ve always wanted people to role-play. Even in the singleplayer games we’re providing an opportunity to play as a character in a specific kind of world."

 

"As we have developed our online worlds we’ve wanted it to be an opportunity for players to role-play as their own characters within the structure of that world we’ve built. In Red Dead Online we took another step by giving players specific roles, but we think there’s a lot of ways we can improve that experience."

 

 

 

Rockstar on player habits and what people want

 

 “The most interesting thing, but maybe not surprising, is that what people say they want isn’t necessarily what they want.

“Sometimes we will release an update and see a lot of negative social media feedback. But we learn by the way that people are engaging with it that it’s actually really popular. We’ve always been trying to deliver something our audience will enjoy and we’ve learned a ton about the game through player habits.

 

 

“Player feedback is always a part of our overall decision-making process in terms of guiding the moving parts of any given update. We often have the larger concepts we want to pursue from update to update as part of our near-to-long- term planning, but the team is constantly looking at player data or the feedback the community sends us to see how we can improve what we’re building as we go.

 

 

 

Now Rockstar talks about the Future of GTA Online

 

 "We try to keep plans going roughly a year out, but we want to have the flexibility to be responsive to any changes," says Nelson. "So we choose not to telegraph that entire timeline to players. That said, players should feel confident that we have a ton of brand new ideas still to come. It’s been six years and we just hit record player numbers and we are all incredibly grateful to everyone who’s been with us along the way. In terms of what’s coming up, Halloween should be a lot of fun this year and we’ve got really exciting plans for later in the holiday season and beyond."

 

 

 

https://www.pcgamer.com/the-past-present-and-future-of-rockstars-world-conquering-grand-theft-auto-online/?utm_content=bufferc0480&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=buffer-pcgamertw

 

 

 

 

Edited November 24, 2019 by ReverseFlash

[joel15cat]

[Lonely-Martin]

"...to give people as much freedom as we possibly could to create unique experiences. "

 

Bullsh*t, absolute bollocks.

 

If they're gonna start with a flat out lie, there's little point reading on IMHO.

[ventogt]

This was discussed like a week ago or more.

[ReverseFlash]

2 minutes ago, ventogt said:

This was discussed like a week ago or more.

 

Can I see this?

[JackCarter]

I remember on 360, my buddy was walking his dog or something, I had my character standing in the window of his Del Perro apartment, looking out over the street. I walk in from the kitchen and look at the screen and all of a sudden there's like 6 guys pulling up in military vehicles on the sidewalk, all dressed as tacticool as was possible in those days and they were using the lobby mic and going full on milsim. I started choking from laughing so hard because the lobby was next to empty then out of nowhere here's this whole team of guys hopping about the curbs and shooting at cars, yelling commands at eachother, trying to move in formation. 1 sounded like Barry White, another sounded like the chipmunks..

[mute!]

"Halloween should be a lot of fun this year...'

 

 

With that out of the way, it sounds like they want to continue milking gta online well into 2020. I get why, but wish GTA6/GTA online 2 would come out already!!

[Yellow Dog with Cone]

“The most interesting thing, but maybe not surprising, is that what people say they want isn’t necessarily what they want.

 

 

[HamwithCheese]

"we can totally change the map without any issues"

 

*Diamond resort runs at about 20 fps*

 

"Fans dont want what they want"

 

*releases botched missions and survivals with sh*tty payouts and broken cars*

 

"Players complain, but new updates are still very popular"

 

*yeah what's the player drop off rate there chief?*

 

"We give players freedom and unique experiences"

 

*arbitrary restrictions, linear mission design, lack of customization in most aspects*

 

"Halloween should be fun"

 

*releases slow trike, busted survivals and vanilla peyote plants that are also broken*

 

You guys need a community manager or something? Jesus Christ.

Edited November 24, 2019 by HamwithCheese

[Quinn_flower]

Bullsh*t r* listening... Hahah dont make me bring up the clothing 

[Boozey St John]

Well, it's good to know that I don't want what I *thought* I wanted. 

 

Next update should just turn that tower, that's been under construction for six years, into a giant middle finger. 

[Volatollotalov]

Seems to me that this was an interview very much aimed at the investors, not the players

[joel15cat]

2 hours ago, ReverseFlash said:

 

Can I see this?

 

 

I made a song for it.

[Black-Dragon96]

5 hours ago, ReverseFlash said:

The most interesting thing, but maybe not surprising, is that what people say they want isn’t necessarily what they want.

 

Yeah sure thing R*, the adversery modes are totally not only popular because they are paying double for the first week. Who would come to such a ridiculous conclusion.

Thats why the 99,9% of them are dead as soon as the double $ ends.

 

When people ask for this:

they ofcourse want sh*t like this:

Edited November 24, 2019 by Black-Dragon96

[Willy A. Jeep]

What silly reasoning they've got for player habits. Of course content is popular when it's in the game, because it's something to do - the point of playing a game. It doesn't mean that it's what people want, or that other (non-existent) content is not, they're just looking for more gameplay in the game they paid money for. When you make the arena and fill it with tools, you can't make unbiased observations when players are using the tools in the arena and not the tools you didn't add to the other arena you didn't make! That's madness.

 

To me, it's always seemed like Rockstar is more keen on doing what they want than what players want, which is backwards. They make content that sometimes is enjoyed by the community at large, and other times they're wasting everybody's time on things that either nobody is interested in, or things that are so half-hearted that many people who would've liked it can't even enjoy it right. It's not necessarily that the game is bad, just that it could be so much better. And goodness gracious, I recognize that the vocal parts of the playerbase don't necessarily represent its entirety, but they do represent considerable segments of it. They're suggesting content all the time, things that many players do want, why not add that alongside the stuff that only people at Rockstar are suggesting?

 

And, of course, these spokesmen seem so laughably disconnected from the reality of the game. Playing for more than two hours on PC routinely results in menu users ruining entire sessions, forcing disconnects, and generally making players shy away from actually participating in much of this "immersive, complex living world" of Grand Theft Auto Online. Further, with the incredibly restrictive, PvP-encouraging structures of the highest-paying freeroam missions, I find it hard to believe they have multiple people playing the game "all the time" as normal players do without seeing so much of what is wrong with it. At best, they've fallen victim to groupthink, at worst, this is what they actually want. Yikes.

[Big Molio]

3 hours ago, Quinn_flower said:

Bullsh*t r* listening... Hahah dont make me bring up the clothing 

They are obviously listening to some colourblind kid from the sticks with no fashion sense who thinks that a gold lamé bomber jacket with neon purple $$$$ signs all over it is cool as f*ck.

[Lock n' Stock]

Quote

“Player feedback is always a part of our overall decision-making process..."

Of course it is. At least when it comes to the kiddies who want flying bikes and laser guns.

Edited November 24, 2019 by Lock n' Stock

[Yellow Dog with Cone]

[Semaj 2JZ♢]

“The most interesting thing, but maybe not surprising, is that what people say they want isn’t necessarily what they want."

 

Translation: Shut the f*ck up. We think you're stupid. We want your money. Not your criticism. This is our investors game. Not yours.

 

Give players "As much freedom as we could."

 

Oh? So it's only "as much freedom" when it comes to anything that doesn't involve GTA$? Because when it comes to game modes and making money we are all handcuffed and hampered at EVERY f*ckING TURN. Timers on literally everything is freedom? Telling the entire lobby what you're doing and putting a flashing red blip on us is freedom? F*ck you, PR bitch.

 

This interview is laughable at best and should have been seen as the utter bullsh*t it is and not ever been published, at worst.

[Lonely-Martin]

Oh that's right, I DIDN'T want to run my businesses in my former crew sessions and hope to grow that rather than many quitting or going solo to do theirs in peace too. Of course, now I remember. None of us did.

 

I swear some of those responses are bait, lol. 

[Halal Cyborg]

They’re probably assuming everyone bought a mk2 oppressor because it’s what everyone wanted without realising...not because it’s a vehicle without a counter save for one of your own.

cocks

[Standard Deluxe 59]

Interesting to know that apparently I don't want a classic Porsche 911 lookalike and actually wanted a widebody and rally variant. 

 

I also didn't know that I wanted a bagged chop top 49 Mercury Coupe instead of a stock one. 

 

Nor did I know that I wanted an Esprit with useless machine guns.

 

Yeah, the players don't know what they want or want what they want? I mean I guess...

[MeisterJazz]

I just just f*cking hate R more and more now. The f*ck are they doing with the 6 billion dollars we made them???

[HamwithCheese]

39 minutes ago, Standard Deluxe 59 said:

Interesting to know that apparently I don't want a classic Porsche 911 lookalike and actually wanted a widebody and rally variant. 

 

I also didn't know that I wanted a bagged chop top 49 Mercury Coupe instead of a stock one. 

 

Nor did I know that I wanted an Esprit with useless machine guns.

 

Yeah, the players don't know what they want or want what they want? I mean I guess...

This x1000. They wonder why stuff isn't as popular as they expected it to be, you gotta wonder what they actually gave us that was highly requested?

 

Jester? Subpar. Comet classic? Two subpar models. Gauntlets? Well received but rather slow. Madmax sh*t? Insane pay walls and unlocks. Nightlife update? Time consuming upkeep, paywalls, trash clothing. The list can go on and on but this is a BnM at this point.

 

It's unfair to say "oh well the customer is wrong because they don't like what they want, no they want this." That's incredibly insulting to me, and it gives off this foolish "the audience loves me I can't fail" attitude, and eventually will lead to their downfall.

Edited November 25, 2019 by HamwithCheese

[Yellow Dog with Cone]

25 minutes ago, MeisterJazz said:

I just just f*cking hate R more and more now. The f*ck are they doing with the 6 billion dollars we made them???

[dorcy]

4 hours ago, YELLOW DOG WITH CONE said:

lol. "i'm dead iniside."

 

this does pretty much sum it up. players buy product, bitch about purchased product, pretend next time will be different. rinse repeat.

 

 

[B7R]

I'm no moderator but at this point, take it to PM guys, enough of threads getting derailed because there's a feud between members

[Coleco]

Ooh I think I arrived in topic at just the right time  

 

 

Also, this game should be commended for a number of things, but wholesome gameplay and player engagement certainly aren't among them. From the start this game has been a shallow multiplayer sandbox which has the occasional Shiny New Thing thrown into it every so often. Not a 'living, breathing world' by any means. 

 

Unless you count 'living' as skies filled with shark-jumping examples of how to destroy game balancing and 'breathing' as the sounds from other players mics every time you're locked in a lobby waiting endlessly for another lousy Adversary mode to start

 

Edited November 25, 2019 by Coleco

[Uncle Sikee Atric]

21 minutes ago, B7R said:

I'm no moderator but at this point, take it to PM guys, enough of threads getting derailed because there's a feud between members

 

Both of ya, either do that or knock it off!

This sort of thread has the potential to create a flame war fairly sharpish in any case, so don't give us a reason to lock it.  Be civil.

[JackCarter]

1 hour ago, Coleco said:

Ooh I think I arrived in topic at just the right time  

 

 

Also, this game should be commended for a number of things, but wholesome gameplay and player engagement certainly aren't among them. From the start this game has been a shallow multiplayer sandbox which has the occasional Shiny New Thing thrown into it every so often. Not a 'living, breathing world' by any means. 

 

Unless you count 'living' as skies filled with shark-jumping examples of how to destroy game balancing and 'breathing' as the sounds from other players mics every time you're locked in a lobby waiting endlessly for another lousy Adversary mode to start

 

I gotta disagree. I don't feel like it became your description until Ill Gotten Gains.