022
The Big 10
STORIES EVERYONE’S TALKINGABOUT
10
IAN DEAN
EDITORJESS KINGHORN
STAFF WRITEROSCAR TAYLOR-KENT
GAMES EDITORMILFORD COPPOCK
MANAGING ART EDITORWhat does Dan Houser leaving
Rockstar mean for GTA VI?
FLAWED GENIUS DAN
HOUSER’S WRITING
MADE US CONNECT
WITH OUR HEROES.Red Dead Redemption 2
revealed the strengths
and weaknesses of Dan
Houser. It was like playing
a time capsule. While
open worlds in games
have moved on, RDR2
chewed tobacco and
refused to follow. In
development for over
seven years, influences
waxed and waned as
trends came and went.
Yet Houser’s writing
elbows itself front and
centre and refuses to be
ignored. The game, and
Houser’s GTA series,
forces us to care for the
unlikeliest heroes. I’ll miss
his nasty, funny, but often
endearing characters as
these were GTA; here’s
hoping someone at
Rockstar has been
taking detailed notes. QROCKSTAR GAMES
HAS PLENTY OF
TIME TO FIND A
REPLACEMENT; GTA V
IS STILL PLEASING
THE PLAYERS.Much like how the loss of
its lead writer doesn’t
necessarily mean better
writing in future
instalments, my dislike of
the series in general has
little bearing on its high
probability of future
success. I’m a Yakuza
woman myself but that
doesn’t mean I want
Rockstar to copy Sega’s
homework. My kid sister’s
1AM effing and jeffing
about the latest group of
hoodlums to make off
with her shipment of
cocaine is a fine reminder
of not only the fandom’s
fervour but also how well
that audience is catered
to by the existing product.
GTA VI? I don’t think
Rockstar is in any hurry. QGTA VI COULD BE
GTA ONLINE ONLY.
HERE’S HOPING
THE HOUSERS’
AMBITIONS HAVE
LEFT THEIR MARK.There are few gaming
fans who haven’t been
given a little smile by the
Houser brothers’ criminal
simulator. From the off it
was never really a series
that needed good writing
to win people over, but the
mixture of outrageous
satire and drama added
a lot nonetheless. Many of
those moments stick with
us. Given how successful
GTA Online has been, I’m
holding out hope that the
single-player aspect will
remain just as important
going forward, thanks to
the Housers’ ambitions.
Hopefully traces of his
aspirations remain even
though Dan’s gone, as
otherwise Online could
usurp single-player. QGTA WILL CARRY ON
REGARDLESS; THE
SERIES HOUSER
HELPED BUILD IS
TOO STRONG.It’s feels strange to think
Dan Houser won’t be
around for another GTA,
or indeed a Bully, Midnight
Club, or Max Payne. This
is a developer who has
defined three generations
of videogames, and to
think any new GTA will be
Houser-less is sad. And
yet he’s laid the solid
foundations for others to
build on. I’d like to think
his influence on the
series is so strong that
even without him GTA VI- whenever it arrives and
whatever it is – will carry
on in the same vein. You
can’t really have a GTA
that isn’t spiky, arrogant,
filthy, and acerbic – a
grubby mirror on modern
living, a playground for
our darker sides. Q
just one more question...
the team debate this month’s burning issue
HOUSER MOVES
Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser is
leaving the development studio in
March. The controversial writer
and producer helped make Grand
Theft Auto the third best-selling
series ever. So what next for GTA?