Fans finally got to see their first look at Grand Theft Auto 6 this weekend, but not in a way that they wanted.
There are contents.
A user on the forums posted 90 videos from an early build of Grand Theft Auto 6. The clips were stolen in a network intrusion, and they were confirmed to be authentic by the company on Monday. According to the developer, the breach won't have a long-term effect on the project.
The leak of Grand Theft Auto 6 may not have much of an effect on the development of the game. The unfinished build has caused some people to complain. Some people have joked that the rough footage from the recently released Saints Row is better than the finished game. Developers are upset that their work is being critiqued by fans who may not understand what they are looking at. There are a lot of people who are interested in seeing how the sausage is made. Video game players want more transparency to help them understand how much work goes into a game.
There is a question that has lingered in my mind for the past 24 hours, what does anyone gain from seeing early footage of Grand Theft Auto 6?
The leak of Grand Theft Auto 6 is so shocking that players might be surprised. It is very rare for actual development footage of a game to come out early. Major developers tend to keep games of this scale locked up behind closed doors, only showing off carefully prepared trailers and Gameplay late in a game's development cycle Watching a game like Grand Theft Auto6 in its early stages is like watching Bigfoot walk into a store.
The most anticipated video game of all time is at the center of this moment. For the past decade, fans of the game have been looking for information on the sequel. It has created an obsessive culture that is always looking for leaks and inside information. While the game has received a lot of attention from the press and the internet, Rockstar Games has remained focused on the game. The game is in development, but it only came up for air once.
The years of anticipation have come to an end. Rather than getting introduced to the world of Grand Theft Auto 6 with a carefully assembled trailer, fans have now seen it through a series of rough vignettes. It doesn't affect the game's bottom line, but it does affect the reveal for better or worse
There is a fair amount of sympathy for the person who leaked the game. The leaks give players a chance to see what a game looks like when it is in development. Some people think that a leak like this could be avoided if players were given a peek behind the curtain more frequently.
There are some flaws in the argument. Developers don't owe anyone access that high. This type of transparency is not expected from any other artistic medium. There is no need for bands to release unmastered drums while they are making a new album. Cinephilics don't want to see dailies from film sets with actors standing in front of a green screen. Writers are not expected to publicly reveal early drafts of their novels. Pre-Alpha footage of a game should not be shared. The artistic process should be turned into something else to consume.
The gaming industry isn't completely secret about how games are created. The Game Developers Conference has several hourlong talks that detail how some of the biggest games came to be. You can see what goes into creating horses in Red Dead Redemption 2. It is easy for anyone to see how games are made at a high level.
When it comes to crafting, there is value in openness. It can help players understand how hard it is to make a game. Those resources can be found through talks, diaries, and more. Sometimes, the information can be delivered without players being taken along for every step of the journey.
There is more reason to keep it secret if the conversation is any indication. Some of the initial reaction to the footage is proof that, with a subset of players complaining about how the build looks.
There is a more practical reason for not being transparent. Players have a wish list of things they want to see in the game, but now have specific expectations. Two heroes hold up a fast food joint in one of the game's scenes. The sequence is reminiscent of a Hollywood holdup scene. If the scope of the giant open-world game balloons is left on the cutting room floor, what would that mean?
As a self-defense mechanism, being strategic about when and how a game is shown is more important than a marketing trick. It gives players a realistic sense of what they'll do in the game. It's a recipe for disaster when studios over promise. There was a negative reaction to 343 Industries abandoning the split-screen co-op in the game. It's not uncommon for features like that to be removed from games without players knowing.
In our latest dev update, members of the 343 Industries team discuss the studio's priorities, player experience goals, and offer details on what you can expect with #HaloInfinite in the coming months. https://t.co/C8jAYzZ3Jf pic.twitter.com/LSeEwE22Na
— Halo (@Halo) September 1, 2022
Grand Theft Auto 6 will be subject to more scrutiny when it comes out. Fans will compare the final game to the leaked videos and look at what has changed. It will be an informative experience for anyone who really wants to see how games are made, but it could be a nightmare for the company if the release changes between now and then.
This weekend's leak is fascinating as a piece of social media gossip, but that's all it's good for In a culture that is obsessed with inside information, there is no positive outcome. Developers walk out of it disappointed, a potentially exciting moment for fans has been deflated, and everyone now has a different expectation for the final product. It doesn't offer a reprieve from gaming's annoying hype cycle.
It can be hard to wait nearly a decade to see a new game, but patience is a virtue. Eating a tub of cookie dough before dinner is not a good way to ruin it.
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