Amid much speculation and excitement, Grand Theft Auto 6 will get a trailer next month. We’re told it takes place in a fictional version of Miama, with a Latina protagonist and a Bonnie and Clyde-inspired storyline. Next month, we will see if the rumors are true and get solid information about the anticipated game. Following is a list of features we hope to see in Grand Theft Auto 6.
More NPC Interactions
Interacting with NPCs is one of the most enjoyable parts of open-world games. It’s fun to see how they respond to your actions and test how smart the AI is. Most of the time, they either run away screaming when you do something crazy or ragdoll out of their car after it gets hijacked. I would love to see more detail put into the NPC interactions. Inspired by Red Dead Redemption 2, the NPCs could each follow a specific schedule, such as going to work, visiting a friend’s house, or participating in a family outing at the beach. Essentially, each NPC would have a specific path you could follow throughout the day. Another wrinkle to this would include increased player interaction with NPCs. This could include several options when approaching them, such as wave, punch, have a conversation, or whatever wacky interactions Rockstar could think of.
A Dense and Detailed Open World
Rockstar can create a highly detailed open world where every building is distinct. The city should feel as realistic as possible with very few repeating assets. I would also love to see a city that is always alive, meaning there is music playing in the background, backed-up traffic, lines outside of a concert venue, and other attributes of a bustling city. In addition to this, the environments would be largely interactive, letting you enter and sit down at restaurants, enjoy a movie at the theater, or enter a video game shop and see all the games displayed on the shelves. Red Dead Redemption 2’s world was incredibly detailed. I would like to see Rockstar put that detail into a denser and more lively open-world setting.
Improved Side Missions
Grand Theft Auto has always had several optional activities, such as street races, but it has lacked traditional side missions. I do not want to see monotonous quests that only pad out the game’s length. Instead, I want in-depth side missions that tell a compelling story. It can be an emotional storyline revolving around a city resident, or it could be an off-beat crazy, and humorous experience. Side missions allow you to explore one-off gameplay segments and inject fun diversity into the gameplay loop. Lastly, as you explore, I would like these side missions to happen naturally. They don’t need to be in a mission log or indicated as icons on the map. Having side missions naturally come up will help create a living and breathing city and avoid the pitfalls of a checklist.
More Customization
Grand Theft Auto 5 lets players customize their cars by adding armor, brakes, bumpers, and more. I would love to see customization spread to more game areas, including weapons and houses. For the former, weapons in Grand Theft Auto are usually pretty basic shotguns, pistols, and rifles. However, more customization could let you add sights, stocks, and other add-ons to personalize your loadout. I am more excited at the prospect of customizing your house. Starfield lets you build a base on planets and decorate the interior. Similarly, what if you could purchase a house in GTA 6 and add furniture and rooms? You could add an indoor pool, a bowling alley, or a tennis court. You could purchase a farm or have a beach house. The possibilities are endless. My one request is that it is easy to customize your house. I don’t want to navigate a complicated UI to add a couch to the living room.
A Welcoming Online Experience
Grand Theft Auto Online is a big success, however, Rockstar, at the beginning at least, spent most of their energy on the campaign. I do not want the campaign to suffer, but I want significant resources directed at the online experience. It would be nice if the online experience was more streamlined regarding UI, and joining your friends in the same open world map would be nice. Essentially, Grand Theft Auto Online took a long time to get where it is now, and you can tell it’s a game of iteration with older rewards seeming unnecessary and new menus convoluting the experience. People love jumping into an open-world game with their friends, causing chaos and completing heist. I want GTA 6 to cater to that and make a solid experience from the start.
Dynamic, Gameplay-Altering Weather
A weather system is a usual part of most open-world games. Since Grand Theft Auto originally defined the open-world genre, the next game could continue to innovate by adding new genre-defining features. One mechanic could be an improved weather system. It will rain sometimes, but what if it is more than that? When it rains, the roads are slippery, and fewer NPCs are walking around. If they are, they are sprinting through the rain to their car. Sometimes the weather would be more intense, like a hurricane that changes a part of the map for a while or a tornado that destroys houses and picks up items in the wind. Having weather like this outside of specific story missions would differentiate the game from other open-world experiences.
What would you like to see featured in Grand Theft Auto 6? Sound off in the comments.
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