vehicles also contribute to this fictional space, with each station playing into the satiri-
cal themes of the game and its biting take on American culture. And again, the writing
on the radio is some of the best satire you are likely to find in any medium.
Though the missions and cut-scenes that make up the main story arc are com-
pletely pre-scripted and cannot change based on the players’ actions, the designers
made a number of decisions that allow players to still feel like the story is their own.
First of all, though the objectives themselves do not change, the order in which players
attempt many of the missions is left to their own discretion. Furthermore, players can
play through the game’s main story arc without even going on all the missions, meaning
each user will likely play a different subsection of the content that is available. Also, in
Grand Theft Auto IIIthe designers deliberately kept the main character mute so play-
ers could feel more immersed in the game, avoiding the distancing effect of having a
main character that talks. Since players are already making choices in the game-world
that define the personality of their character, keeping him from speaking allowed this
personality to be dominant in the players’ minds, instead of something the designers
established for them. Interestingly,Vice Cityadded speech for the main character,
though this was not particularly praised by users or the press.
Of course, one could hardly discussGrand Theft Auto IIIwithout bringing up the
controversy its release created in the mainstream media. What seems to have upset
people the most was the players’ ability to have the choice of running over innocent
pedestrians and, specifically, paying to sleep with a prostitute and then killing her to get
their money back. Such complaints seem to come from critics who do not fully under-
stand the nature of an interactive world. In such a world, players have the choice to play
as they want. Would it be better if pedestrians magically jumped out of the way of
players’ cars? What lesson would that impart to players? Indeed, many players of the
game will go out of their way to avoid pointless killing. I have discussed the game with
plenty of players who deliberately avoid killing innocents as they move through the
world; they simply see it as something they don’t want to do and it becomes part of their
role-playing experience. In the end, creating a world where players are able to make
meaningful choices means making a world where they may make some very bad
choices indeed. The people who complain about a game that allows for the making of
such poor choices are the same people who would prefer to censor what people can read
and see in other media as well. If one believes in free speech for novels and films, one
must also allow players the freedom to act as they want inside a simulated game-space.
I have seen a few members of the development community complain about all the
awards that the game received. Surely a game that pushes violence and taboo subject
matter as far asGrand Theft Auto IIIdoes should not be rewarded? Certainly, it should
not be rewarded based on that alone, nor should it be rewarded based on its tremendous
popular success. However, the fact of the matter is thatGrand Theft Auto III, through
its systems-based design and emergent gameplay, pushes games toward their tremen-
dous potential more than most other games of recent memory. And based on that, the
game truly deserves all of the accolades it has received.
482 Chapter 24: Game Analysis:Grand Theft Auto III