Would you prefer multiple protagonists like GTA IV or GTA V?

[Dr. Ugs]

If R* decides to repeat the multiple characters strategy, do you think they will make it like they did with GTA IV or GTA V?

 

GTA IV: 

- Release the game with only one main character with a strong story that people can identify with. Everything is written around that character, so at the end it feels more complete and you feel more submerged in his life.

- Release DLC with another main character that can be totally new or someone that made an appearence in one mission from the first character.

- You can see the different views of culture, parts of the city, different people, etc, from each character. So for example if the city turns out to be VC, you can experience the latino (if the protagonist is latino), brazilian (if he's brazilian), american (if he's from the US), etc, cultures from each main protagonist.

GTA V:

- The game has 2+ main protagonists that share a story.

- It can be one male and female (since every big company starts to do this).

 

These are some of my points of view and as you probably can see, I prefer the GTA IV style more than GTA V.

 

Just to clarify: I'm not talking about the story or who is going to be the main protagonist. I know there is a thread about possible story of the protagonist, I just want to discuss if you prefer one style or the other and I tought it deserved another thread.

Edited May 8, 2020 by AntonGandonBF3
Clarify

[Zello]

 

GTA V style but only two protagonists. They wouldn't be friends though they'd hunt each other down much like Neil McCauley and Hannah in Heat.

 

I do like GTA IV's style but releasing everything as DLC would feel incomplete imo. It worked at the time way back in 2009 but If I pay for a game today I want the full experience. Cutting things out from a game and then selling them as DLC later is a very sh*tty move other devs do but when R* does it we somehow praise them? 

Edited May 8, 2020 by Zello

[Jabalous]

The original story should focus on a single protagonist so that we can get to know him well, from the past, present to the future. If R* wants to tell stories of different protagonists, then it's better to be done the IV way. 

[Emmi]

If it were to come I hope they do it in IV style ... release a complete game focusing on one character, then 1 year or so later release a massive story dlc focusing on another character which was already present in the main game.

 

Now if I read what I just wrote for a 2nd time I can only laugh ... who are we believing that R* will ever again release story mode dlc for any of their upcoming games ... LOL

 

[Middle Class Roadman]

Multiple protagonists would be a terrible decision. 

Edited May 8, 2020 by Dark Rosewood Varnish

[Algonquin Assassin]

GTA IV/EFLC approach definitely. Though I could be a tad biased... just a little.

 

The thing I've always loved about GTA IV/EFLC is although you technically have the same city and the same point of time the three all manage to feel different to eachother and this is mostly because the protagonists have their own stories that are bound together by one common story arc a bit like Pulp Fiction.

 

I feel this approach would work best for GTA VI if R* use multiple protagonists again and they're not sure of a particular tone/theme to settle on. Maybe they could make one protagonist could have a GTA IV ish type story, another with a GTA V ish story and/or another as a wildcard, but keep the stories separate with a common link between them for some interesting crossovers. I've always preferred this approach in any game that has more than one protagonist as it feels more organic and interesting. 

 

GTA V's approach was ok, but I got a bit tired of the "three best friends in the whole wide world" and I didn't feel the sense of individuality of Michael, Trevor and Franklin like I could with Niko, Johnny and Luis. Their individual stories felt vastly undercooked because they were basically sharing one story and similar goals.

 

If anything I hope GTA VI goes back to being a single protagonist game, but if they feel like it has to feature multiple protagonists again I hope they do something similar what they did with GTA IV/EFLC. 

[TheSantader25]

I'm ok with both if it's done right. Both have potential for telling incredible stories and I enjoyed both V/IV's approaches despite the obvious flaws.

Though the IV approach wouldn't work now cause R* don't do DLCs but here's hopin. (or not if they're gonna cut sh*t out of the game to sell later)

 

So my vote is either a single protagonist with a very developed story or multiple protagonists with R* finally accomplishing the full potential of this feature and brilliant idea now that they have better hardware. Also fully exploring the protagonists and not neglecting any. 

Edited May 8, 2020 by TheSantader25

[Kris194]

3 hours ago, Zello said:

 

GTA V style but only two protagonists. They wouldn't be friends though they'd hunt each other down much like Neil McCauley and Hannah in Heat.

 

I do like GTA IV's style but releasing everything as DLC would feel incomplete imo. It worked at the time way back in 2009 but If I pay for a game today I want the full experience. Cutting things out from a game and then selling them as DLC later is a very sh*tty move other devs do but when R* does it we somehow praise them? 

The lost and damned and The ballad of gay Tony DLCs weren't cut from GTA IV. How do you imagine playing as Niko and in the next second playing as Luis or Johnny? It would feel like the game has very serious identity crisis and that's kinda how GTA V feels. In one second you play as Michael - family man, next second you play as Trevor - psycho redneck and finally there is Franklin who is...who? What writers and creators of this game wanted to tell us?

Edited May 8, 2020 by Kris194

[Zapper]

3 hours ago, Zello said:

 

This here is one of the greatest scenes in the history of movies. Beautifully shot, scripted and acted. Just magnificent. 

 

And regarding the topic 2 protagonists with their unique playstyles (stealth, guns blazing) with a different unique abilities to interact with people and environment based on their expertise is my ideal choice along with some branchings in storyline based on dialogue choices or depending on how you tackle certain pivotal situations.

[KingAJ032304]

Everything I'm about to say is completely my opinion that can easily be changed: 2's the perfect number in video games imho. You don't need to 3 cities, really 2 is enough. 2 difficulty settings is enough as their's always onne that doesn't get played. You don't really need 3 endings as 2 is enough time for both. 2 base games are probably better than 3. The same applies for protagonist. Just have 2 different protagonists GTA V style and we're good!

[fleathemighty]

I don't really know how to articulate this but I'll give it a try.

GTA 5 had 3 protagonists, and I was ok with Franklin and Michael, but really disliked Trevor, a lot. I really didn't play him except when I HAD to. I feel like R* had the space to play with a 3rd protagonist a little bit since they already had 2 easily likable characters. In this idea, I feel that if we only had 1 protagonist, R* would deliver a likable character, not a controversial one like Trevor.

 

So ideally, I would want a single protagonist because I feel like it would be a character I'm going to like, and I will probably become really invested into the character. I honestly liked all of the protagonists in GTA except for Trevor. And tbh I'm sort of on the borderline if I dislike Luis or not, definitely my least favorite of the bunch.

[DarkDayz]

Think Arthur Morgan pretty much solidifies one protagonist going forward. Three protags in in GTA V was a cool misdirection in game design. People were talking about it, not talking about all the elements of game design that has been outdated for a decade now.

 

Time for them to innovate in other areas.

Edited May 8, 2020 by darkdayz

[GTA-Biker]

I'd prefer one protagonist,maybe two at most.If R* does plan to make three protagonists again,they should make a long story with at least 100 missions,to give each of the protagonists enough screen time to develop their personalities enough (in my opinion,GTA 5 had too short story for three protagonists,so we ended up with Franklin being a bland stereotype of a gangbanger who wants to get rich and leave the hood,Trevor acting like Michael's comedic sidekick,and only Michael acting like an actual person).

Edited May 8, 2020 by GTA-Biker

[iiCriminnaaL]

GTA IV/EFLC's approach.

[Nappy]

Switching protagonists sounds good on paper but it works terrible in the missions of Gta V. I don’t care how many protagonists it’ll have. I want a good story and a good protagonist/protagonists.

[BelfastBrawler]

Multiple protagonists feels gimmicky. This kinda worked in V since it was implemented so that you could experience the entire map more easily, so that if you wanted to check a different area you would switch. Personally i just mostly use one, so changing only happens during missions. In V they have different stats but they don't have that much of an impact, maybe except for the special abilities. I would prefer having a single protagonist with a heavier focus on rpg elements and upgradeability, and missions that give you multiple ways to complete them like they did with some heists. Since in V they end up being "drive there kill this guy, oh and you have to play as this guy". I feel like the three protagonists weren't that usefull. You could make Trevor and Michael supporting charcters and it wouldn't change that much.

[Gettin up]

Pretty sure it's two at least.

[DexMacLeod]

I think I've said this in similar thread but 'd like to see V's system improved on. Get rid of the forced switching within missions and make all three characters actually play different. Make one a smaller, nimble character with an emphasis on stealth and/or gunplay, one a bigger brute type with an emphasis on melee combat, and a third, more typical character that's borderline useless outside of a car. 

 

I liked the three characters from a narrative standpoint but it didn't really add much to the gameplay for me.

 

If they went the IV route with three separate stories that happen to crossover from time to time I'd want them to all be in the game at launch. Sort of like an anthology story I guess where we get to pick which order we do them in and maybe when we've completed all three we can than switch between the characters whenever we want in free roam.

[shadyslady]

Yes. Please. At least two characters with very different environments and ambitions. 

But three would be better

[Guest]

GTA VI/EFVC

[shadyslady]

1 hour ago, RenegadeAngel said:

I'd prefer one or two protagonists max, but if there is three, I'd totally enjoy the IV/EFLC approach with V's simultaneous character switch! Protagonists barely know each other and have their own unique story arcs that rarely interconnect at certain places, but at the same time you can switch between them at your convinience. Maybe they could even make the city feel different for every character again just like in IV.

I second that. 

City should feel different with every char. 

We have this with EFLC, but the immediate switch isn't there. 

 

Gta 5 has it, but they don't feel anything different. 

The special ability maybe but that's it. 

 

Better Call Saul portrays Saul Goodman and Mike Ehrmantraut, same city and crossing paths, also lots of criminal energy, yet it is different. 

 

I'd welcome a character who isn't totally nuts and ready to kill anyone in the streets 

[m0b0ss]

GTA IV easily. Though I wouldn't mind a GTA V approach, it needs to be improved. Also not contrary to a female protagonist if written well (and they surely can)

[Verdant]

I would prefer the GTA IV way with one protagonist. I personally love Niko Bellic and he is one of my favorite video game characters ever. His story was well written and deep. From what life was like for him before coming to Liberty City to his present days and what his future holds.

 

However, I don't mind the idea of multiple protagonists, but would only like to see just 2 this time.

 

There was some statement from a few years ago  (correct me if I'm wrong) about possibly have up to 5 protagonists in a future GTA game. I personally think that's far too much because the way I see it is you're probably going to get 2 characters with an actual decent story and the others just slapped together for the sake of it. So personally, I'm good with just 2 protagonists. 

 

I like the idea Zello mentioned in his post, if its multiple protagonists they could pull something off like Heat. The two characters aren't best friends this time. They are enemies. In another world they could be best friends, but business is business. The crossovers with the protagonists would be great and they could make some interesting cut scenes and an overall great story. 

Edited May 23, 2020 by Verdant

[Algonquin Assassin]

10 hours ago, Verdant said:

I like the idea Zello mentioned in his post, if its multiple protagonists they could pull something off like Heat. The two characters aren't best friends this time. They are enemies. In another world they could be best friends, but business is business. The crossovers with the protagonists would be great and they could make some interesting cut scenes and an overall great story. 

That's what makes the GTA IV/EFLC approach so much better than GTA V's IMO. Niko, Johnny and Luis aren't friends and they barely know eachother besides the few run ins they have. Makes for a far more compelling story than just three friends working together.

 

Anyway I was also thinking how about something like No Country For Old Men? For anyone who's seen it they will know it centres on three central characters Anton Chigurh (Played by Javier Bardem), Liewelyn Moss (Played by Josh) and Ed Tom Bell (Play by Tommy Lee Jones). The bulk of the story is a cat and mouse game between Anton and Liewelyn since Anton is a hitman tasked with tracking down Liewelyn as he discovered money that wasn't his.

 

Without giving too much away as I think it's something you need to see for yourself to know what I'm talking about how Ed fits into this is he's a Sheriff, but the thing I've always found most interesting is despite that Anton is that main antagonist of the movie Ed never physically interacts with him, but he certainly knows about him. While I'm not suggesting one of the protagonists to be a cop/sheriff I think it would be cool if two of them were caught up in a "cat and mouse" game and there's a third party keeping an observing eye even if he doesn't know them personally. Just a thought.

 

Something else I've thought of too is basing it on The Departed/Infernal Affairs ideally if it's two protagonists where one protagonist is a gang member infiltrating the police/FBI to gather evidence against his gang and at the same time an undercover cop is sent in undercover in said gang. Once the story unfolds it's discovered there's a "rat" and all hell breaks loose. Again it's probably unlikely that R* would use a cop for a protagonist even if he's undercover, but one possible solution is to have one of the protagonists to be apart of a rival gang, but he's sent in to pose as a gang member of the other protagonists's gang. I'm sorry if that's a bit of a tongue tier lol. I hope that makes sense.

 

It could even be so that the two protagonists start off as really good friends, but the other discovers the other has been lying all along and it could develop into a blood thirsty rivalry. I kind of feel this is what they were trying to do with Michael and Trevor in GTA V, but it didn't come off quite as convincing.

 

But these are just some of my ideas.

[Aquamaniac]

I'd go with two and it should rather be like in IV than in V, they should either not know each other or even be enemies or something between with some plot twists. The movie "The Departed" comes to my mind.

[pingli]

Im fine with both single or multiple protagonists as long they are interesting.

 

But with they go with multiple protagonists again, i'd be cool to something that combines both EFLC anf GTA V, like you could play more of the but they don't know each other and they bump into each other in a mission, etc.

 

Honestly as long R* doesn't   let us make our own character in single player I am fine. 

[zanesix]

I honestly prefer the GTA IV way of doing it. It's so much cooler when its 3 separate stories than just one big coagulated one. That was my big problem with GTA V, you couldn't really get immersed with it because you keep jumping perspectives every 3 seconds. You never really feel like you're playing as a character, but rather just playing a story. And if I wanted that, I would just play a Telltale game. The GTA IV way of having separate stories with a few conjoined events is way better as it helps draw a much bigger story and world. Half Life 1 did something similar, and I always praise them for that. It's a shame games don't do it that often, it really is neat. The way GTA V does it just feels lazy in comparison.

[El Penguin Bobo]

Honestly? They could instead improve on what V did, I did like the multiple protagonist thing, but I wish it was more fleshed out little bit, make the protagonists feel different from the others apart from special ablitities and quotes.

[MARKUS.]

As R* mentioned while Releasing RDR2. They thought doing multiple characters too but they ditched the idea pretty fast.

 

I believe that R* failed with making a storyline with multiple protagonists, and maybe they go back to one single protagonist, or controlling a different one reaching a chapter/certain decade, if the rumors of being set on multiple decades turns true.

 

And as much as I love Heat, unless it's a crooked cop the second protagonist, it wouldn't make much sense on GTA. And to be fair, the personality that R* did with corrupt agents lately was pretty lame on transformation arc and how they got involved with the story (Agent Haines, Dave Norton, Agent Milton...)

[Limefong]

If it's at least 2 protags not 3