Canon Gameplay Discussion

[LucidLocomotive]

By now, this game has been directed to death. I am just wanting to start a discussion about which minor gameplay choices are canon/intended. This thread is also approaching the topic from a roleplaying perspective. Many agree that Rockstar's open world games, ever since GTAIV, have been great for roleplaying and realistic gameplay, due to realistic animations outside of cutscenes. Feel free to also post any complaints you have that tie into this topic. 

 

One example I have been thinking of. One of the first introductions to random events that you will have under normal gameplay circumstances, is the armored truck at the Globe Oil gas station in La Puerta. Under normal gameplay, you will run into this early in the game as Franklin, most likely before/after/in-between the "Chop" and "The Long Stretch" missions. Due to this, it seems intended that the player is meant to rob this truck as Franklin, early in the game, while he is still in his hood/hustler phase, desperate for money. This also seems like the most logical time period for the player to canonically experience the store-robbing mechanic. The only other points in the game that canonically make sense for robbing stores, is as Trevor, simply out of boredom or for fun. 

 

An issue I have with this is, I don't believe the bandana is possible for Franklin to wear outside of missions freely before beating the story mode, and the mask store is not introduced at this point either. So this leaves the only disguise for Franklin as a hat and sunglasses. It also feels strange for Franklin to be slaughtering the guards, which makes me wish that the stun gun or baton were introduced prior to this point. However, this isn't all that bad because it leaves room for more creativity for role-players. I like to try to come up with the most realistic, in-character way of tackling in-game events like this. For the truck, it makes sense that Franklin would at least attempt to keep it non-lethal. Something I like to do is park across the street, then run over to the truck with a shotgun. This gives the guards time to load up the truck. By the time you reach the truck, both guards will be about to take off, but when they see you approaching with the gun, they get out of the truck to threaten/shoot you. The coolest and smoothest way I've found to do this is to run up to the driver-side, knock-out the driver guard with the shotgun right as he get out, then immediately get in the driver seat and take off down the road, leaving the second guard there. Then drive down the street towards Franklin's house along the tram tracks, and drive down into the tunnel. There is a space at the start of the tunnel where if you hide out here, you should quickly lose the two-star wanted level. Then, get out of the truck and shoot the back doors open with the shotgun, getting the cash, and then run through the tunnel to the other side, where it opens up and there is a ladder on the left that brings you up to the surface, clean getaway. F would then most likely call a cab back home, since he can't change his clothes. With this, all the cops will find is the truck left behind in the tunnel, and with no kills, it seems at least in the GTA Universe, that he would likely get away with this. 

 

Something along these lines that I am conflicted about has to do with Blitz Play. In the promotional art, as well as all of the trailers, we have Trevor with the monkey mask, Franklin with the skull mask, and Michael with the hockey mask, but the gold medal is given for all three wearing hockey masks. I like the aesthetic of the different masks shown in the art, and it makes more sense given the comments in the cutscene about them looking ridiculous. I can't decide which approach is canon. There are certainly many gold medal objectives which are not meant to be canon (such as the time-based ones that require skipping cutscenes, or the accuracy ones which require acting like a video game character during a gunfight as opposed to a human). 

[Americana]

You should always have a drink of whiskey as Michael after a heavy shootout.