It's fair to say that Rockstar's extended gameplay reveal of Grand Theft Auto 6 on Netflix left most gamers in awe while almost undeniably sending the game's already sky-high hype into another stratosphere. Even beyond the incredible graphics, unique modifications to gameplay and a map that's expected to be one of the largest in gaming history, the intricate details of GTA 6 impressed some the most.
For the Rockstar co-studio head Rob Nelson, those small details and specifically aspects relating to non-player characters, appear to have been one aspect on a lengthy list that the company was locked in on while developing GTA 6. So much so that Nelson explained to IGN that while the Rockstar pushed interactions with NPCs "as far as we could" with Red
Dead Redemption 2, they've gone to a different level with Grand Theft Auto VI.
Rockstar's Rob Nelson explains how GTA 6 takes Red Dead Redemption feature to next level
Nelson said they've taken it "much further" with NPCs in GTA 6 than in Red Dead Redemption 2 and explained exactly how.
"While we pushed interaction with NPCs as far as we could for Red Dead Redemption 2, with this game we are taking it much further,” he explains. "The team has done an incredible job to create all of this crazy dialogue, and you can stand there and listen to them, but we’ve tried to find a balance where if you stand too close to a group, they should notice that you're eavesdropping."
"So, if you stand there and try to listen to the whole thing, they'll often turn around, notice you and go, ‘Oh hey, can I help you?’ Or if you follow people for too long and too close so that they can hear you, they’ll go, ‘Oh, hey.’ Then they may be aggressive, or they may just want to get away from you. When we first started these ideas back on Red Dead Redemption 2, we thought if we could get it working there in a more sparsely populated world, we imagined what it might feel like at scale in a modern world. So it was one of the scary but very worthwhile and fun challenges we took on with this game."
Nelson added even more fuel to the fire of excitement about this aspect, explaining that they spent an unbelievable amount of time and effort researching for the world inside the game. He described it as a "fleshed-out system."
"This NPC interaction system is one that is returning and evolved from Red Dead Redemption 2,” says Nelson. “In the past, we’ve had systems where you can speak to NPCs, in Red Dead Redemption 1 and GTA 5 there were basic systems for interacting, but the interactions were very simple. But with Red Dead Redemption 2, we were finally able to incorporate the ability to interact with NPCs as a more fleshed-out system."
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Rockstar explains the 1 feature GTA 6 takes even further than Red Dead Redemption 2
