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How Rockstar Built New York City

nymag.com — As we're sure you're aware, this week sees the release of Grand Theft Auto IV. This time, the action is set in Liberty City, a living, breathing replica of New York. Dan Houser, Vice President of Rockstar Games and co-writer of GTA IV, spoke to Vulture about building a nuttier, dirtier Gotham.

Bury
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  • str3ama, on 05/04/2008, -21/+3"We went basically from about eight or nine stations in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas to eighteen different radio stations this time."
    There are complaints that the radio stations aren't as lively as previous games, and that some stations don't fit the time period.
    • GeekyGerge, on 05/04/2008, -2/+14Maybe it's my unvaried tastes in music, but many of the radio stations seem to sound the same.
    • Dunge, on 05/04/2008, -0/+2I was happy to see some hardcore there... but it's the kind of hardcore who really suck and make a bad appearance to good hardcore/metal music.
      • Coffeedemon, on 05/05/2008, -0/+1Of that genre I've only heard Agnostic Front and Sick of it All on the GTA Radio. They're both considered pretty much forerunners to hardcore you hear today and big parts of the "New York hardcore" sound. What were you expecting? I'm glad they didn't take a bunch of ***** from today and pass it off.
    • fjc8, on 05/04/2008, -0/+3I don't like the music content of the radio stations in GTA IV when compared to San Andreas or Vice City. I remember liking just about every station in Vice City, but I only can stand a few in GTA IV.
  • Kerath, on 05/04/2008, -2/+44"And then it was just Manhattan, then it expanded out...to Long Island with woods so you could go bury people."

    Haha, brilliant. Should've been the Pine Barrens, though.
    • Rotzooi, on 05/04/2008, -0/+10Pine Barrens?

      Paulie: He said the guy killed 16 Czechoslovakians, and he was an interior decorator.
      Christopher: Interior decorator? His apartment looked like *****!

      /had to
      • solid12345, on 05/04/2008, -0/+11Christopheri: Russians? They're not all bad.
        Paulie: How 'bout the Cuban Missile Crisis? ***** flew four nuclear missiles into Cuba, pointed them right at us.
        Christopher: That was real? I saw that movie, I thought it was *****.
    • KingGoonie, on 05/04/2008, -3/+4Why? Because the Sopranos? Pine Barrens isn't really wehre the bodies were buried ya know... just because HBO says it is doesnt mean its so.
      • awfulgrace, on 05/04/2008, -0/+3I'm sure there are some dead guys buried in the Barrens - but you're right, the sterotypical mob burialground is the Meadowlands, not the Pine Barrens.
      • Kerath, on 05/04/2008, -0/+1Hmm...the GTA series HAS always been about utmost verite...
    • salomejones, on 05/04/2008, -2/+1Its also nowhere near new york city, while queens actually is on long island itself. And so is brooklyn.
      • Kerath, on 05/04/2008, -0/+1I know. I live in Queens. It's just an homage.
    • Maver1c, on 05/04/2008, -2/+1As a long islander I am looking forward to getting this game even more..
  • colliewobbs, on 05/04/2008, -71/+3***** game, ***** makers, ***** fans....Wii fun for every1!!!
    • d4rken3rgy, on 05/04/2008, -14/+8oh yeah???really??if you dont like gta or rockstar or its fans,then why bother commenting here??
    • Zaggynl, on 05/04/2008, -20/+8lol consoles
      • itsthebrod, on 05/04/2008, -14/+25lol PC gamers... How are you enjoying GTAIV right now on that computer of yours? Oh that's right...
        • KingGoonie, on 05/04/2008, -10/+6PC gamers are geeks anyway, they just make comments like that because they are lonely and want people to talk to them, even if its arguing.
          • iticu, on 05/04/2008, -6/+4lol consoles
          • mca7, on 05/04/2008, -1/+11If you're going to put that stereotype on PC gamers, why can't we put one on console gamers?
        • RaggTopp, on 05/04/2008, -3/+5lol console gamers......how you guys enjoying your locks ups that you can't even change settings to fix?.....how about paying fordown loadable content.......you guys like being the beta testers for the PC version as usual right? You know...the PC version that costs LESS....has better graphics.....and more content......? Wait....what's that you say? You can't download or even create your own new cars? I'm sorry.........

          Yeah.....waiting till Oct is gona suck........except unlike console gamers PC gamers have this ability called patience.
          • itsthebrod, on 05/04/2008, -2/+2I don't think I've ever seen a comment where every single sentence was fundamentally incorrect. You sir, are an idiot. Enjoy waiting half a year to play GTA IV without any additional content that us "console players" will get.
          • RaggTopp, on 05/04/2008, -3/+1lol horse armor noob
        • jameshighmore, on 05/04/2008, -1/+2lol itsthebrod... How about you shut up?
          • itsthebrod, on 05/04/2008, -2/+1My, that was a constructive and beneficial comment. You must have an IQ of over 9000! BTW you look really faggy in your picture.
          • RaggTopp, on 05/04/2008, -1/+3hey itsthebrod.....put your shovel down......
    • Dunge, on 05/04/2008, -0/+1sarcasm I hope
    • colliewobbs, on 05/04/2008, -7/+0Screw you guys! your all absolute geeks. wii is way better then any of this rubbish! case closed!
    • robot1122, on 05/04/2008, -0/+2Dude, chill out. You're giving the wii a bad rep. I love the wii as much as the next guy, but you're trying to compare two totally different things here. The wii is cool and the rest of the consoles are just as cool, in their own respect. Oh, and btw, GTA 4 rocks!
  • limezor2, on 05/04/2008, -9/+4Sometimes I think the radio stations sound more realistic than Niko and friends.
  • ligyron, on 05/04/2008, -17/+2Go MrBabyMan!
  • MorphicMusic, on 05/04/2008, -34/+2DIGG is for real news, so why is this senseless game at the top of the pile all the time?
    • chukd, on 05/04/2008, -2/+15Let me get this straight, Digg is for real news. I have to ask why is "UFO or flying human???" on your favorite lists. Was that "real news"?
      • noseeme, on 05/04/2008, -0/+5Ka-PWNED!
        • MorphicMusic, on 05/13/2008, -0/+1This is the same game it was 7 years ago, DIGG some real news, please.
    • KargeOfTylenol, on 05/04/2008, -1/+6Oh, Oh did you see what I just did there? I looked at another article instead of wasting precious time bitching about how....never mind it's not worth my time.
      • MorphicMusic, on 05/13/2008, -0/+1it's not one article, it is 1000s dude
    • AvidPreatorian, on 05/04/2008, -0/+3Digg didn't used to have douces like you cluttering our comment system. Don't like the title and subject of the submission? Don't click on it ya dumbass.
      • MorphicMusic, on 05/13/2008, -0/+1thanks for calling me a dumbass, and by the way, this is the same game it was 7 years ago and I don't know why it's at the top of the pile...it's wack and gamers need to get a life.
  • INDOAZZ, on 05/04/2008, -2/+7New York City!! Get a rope.
  • SoupNoZi, on 05/04/2008, -18/+4I feel like i'm the only one that thinks this game is bad =/
    • bhavinp, on 05/04/2008, -7/+1I don't know whether to digg you up or digg you down.
    • itsthebrod, on 05/04/2008, -1/+6Pretty much.
    • KingGoonie, on 05/04/2008, -4/+5For the first hour or so I wasn't feeling it, then once I got used to it I was hooked again. Is it as great as everyone says, like 10 out of 10? No. Is it 9 out of 10? yes.

      Thats my opinion. Also they need to fix the driving, I don't know if they thought they made it more realistic, but they made it less.
      • itsthebrod, on 05/04/2008, -0/+11The driving itself is more realistic but a lot, LOT more difficult... No more handbraking and turning on a dime.
        • KingGoonie, on 05/04/2008, -2/+2Its not realistic that it takes you 20 feet to come to a complete stop when your not even going 50 mph... that happens with every car regardless of type. Unless every car in the game needs new brakes? Its alot less realistic, cars do not take a city block to stop if their going the speed limit.
        • Dunge, on 05/04/2008, -0/+2At 50mph you will stop in less than a second.... you just don't realize you are driving that fast. Plus with a good car I manage to turn corners at high speed... go practice in a rally game first lol
  • Motocompo, on 05/04/2008, -11/+4This should be entitled, "How a Legendary Game was Built"
  • KingGoonie, on 05/04/2008, -8/+2Except without Staten Island its not truly NYC...

    And the radio stations are ok, but not as good as last 2 games, and as someone who lives in the city... I have to agree with someone who said earlier it doesn't fit the time period and they are kinda unrealistic. Don't get me wrong I wish there was a 100% Bob Marley channel... But where is the z100? The PLJ? Yes they suck (hell all commercial radio sucks.. get satellite!) But hello Z100 is probably the most listened to radio station in the entire country... actually I believe its confirmed that it was... like where are the top 40 stations that make up the bulk of what NYC people listen to (unfortunately). Last I checked there was no Russian music station, I understand it fits the character, but come on...
    • itsthebrod, on 05/04/2008, -4/+16Nobody gives a flying ***** how true-to-New-York the radio stations in the game are. Sorry to burst your bubble.
      • KingGoonie, on 05/04/2008, -10/+3Um... actually yes they do, I have heard lots of complaints about he music stations... and for a game that is trying to be oh so true to live, it does not succeed at all in that regard. So sorry.
        • HolyChimp, on 05/04/2008, -2/+4You're right, they really went for true to life, that's why my kill count currently stands at 878, which I believe is about right for immigrants in New York...
          Not to mention my 38 deaths!
        • itsthebrod, on 05/04/2008, -2/+3No, no they don't. The population of New York City is 8,274,527. The population of the world is 6,602,224,175. That means that 0.1% of the world that could play GTA IV would care about having accurate radio stations. If this was a real NYC simulation perhaps they would've changed the genre a bit.
        • KingGoonie, on 05/04/2008, -4/+3um... you do realize this whole article is about how they wanted to make liberty city basically a carbon copy of NYC... hence the non-realistic radio stations comment.
          • Icebox3, on 05/04/2008, -0/+3Did you even read the article? They state how they didn't want to make Liberty City a carbon copy of NYC.
    • mikephimikephi, on 05/04/2008, -0/+6Local 87.7FM in Brooklyn is a Russian radio station and I believe there are a few others.
      I live in Manhattan but I still know that *****, lift your game.
      • KingGoonie, on 05/04/2008, -3/+1Again, what I said below... Hardly anyone knows about it... where are the stations that resemble the real big NY stations?!?! Maybe theres a 97 and a KTU wanna be, but what abou tthe others?
    • spider418, on 05/04/2008, -1/+3> Last I checked there was no Russian music station
      Check 88.7 FM.
      • KingGoonie, on 05/04/2008, -4/+1Where is the all spanish station in GTA then, since thats much more popular?
        • mikephimikephi, on 05/04/2008, -0/+1Tune to the station 'San Juan Sounds'
          I think it is one of the best in the game.
        • KingGoonie, on 05/04/2008, -1/+1But tis not a true spanish station like that one with that idiot we have here, I mean literally spanish speaking.
          • mikephimikephi, on 05/04/2008, -0/+1I just had a total brain freeze. You mean the one with 'MEGA' written on the side of every bus in the city, right?
          • itsthebrod, on 05/04/2008, -0/+2You want an all-Spanish-speaking radio station within GTA? What are you, a ***** idiot?
  • BurningSky, on 05/04/2008, -4/+2I can't wait to play this. I live in New Jersey, so I want to see how accurate it is..!
  • italics, on 05/04/2008, -1/+37It's insane how meticulously they captured each neighborhood. Dukes feels like Queens and Algonquin definitely feels like Manhattan. There's nothing better than stealing a $100k car from a snub ***** in SoHo.
    • KingGoonie, on 05/04/2008, -0/+4I would say most poeple who live in SoHo don't have cars.
      • eryximachus, on 05/05/2008, -0/+1True, but Soho is right by the Holland tunnel. Lots of Jersey plates.

        In all honesty, the entire west side has become infested with subhuman filth from that vile state.
    • spykez, on 05/04/2008, -0/+5There's this sign in Dukes that's the exact replica of the one in Queens that I see everyday. Should've seen my expression when I was driving down in the game and saw it, the whole game feels so realistic.
  • pzwhite125, on 05/04/2008, -11/+5http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IfOd9G32qA
    That's how.
    • scrag10, on 05/04/2008, -0/+4Rockstar... Rock and Roll. ok you got me. +1
  • Niubai, on 05/04/2008, -1/+15After all the GTA hype (well deserved) I'm really, really waiting for Mafia 2. Mafia was such a great and immersive game with a great history. I have high hopes in the sequel.
    • jer2eydevil88, on 05/04/2008, -0/+1I have that game for PC and loved playing it... Recently when I went to install it on my new rig I found it has so many problems in Vista that it was unplayable. You know what... I am now going to go on Amazon and buy it for Xbox and hope it works on the 360...

      Thanks for reminding me.
      • aspen, on 05/05/2008, -0/+1Maybe you should pass on the console version. According to wikipedia the port wasn't done by the original developers and the game can be nearly unplayable.
        • jer2eydevil88, on 05/16/2008, -0/+1Wish I had stayed away from the console version... Bought it for $3 off Amazon and it isn't even supported by the 360 emulation so if I want to play it I have to do so by finding an original xbox :-(
  • KingGoonie, on 05/04/2008, -9/+3"We didn't want to offend anyone in Staten Island, but you get the same suburban neighborhoods in Jersey, plus some factories and stuff."''

    Um... Bronx and Queens might as well be the same damn area... and part Brooklyn too in ways.

    The guys at Rockstar make great games but really are idiots when they come to knowledge of the city. And seriously... so far Dukes, Bohan, Broker... the same damn thing. Only Alderney so far is a little different, so lets drop the "si and nj are same but nj has factory's nonsense" Because SI is more known for the mafia then any other place outside of Sicily... and this is a crime game. Just because Sopranos took placy in NJ doesn't mean its all of a sudden the mafia capital. Nor because an area is called Little Italy, since there are a helluva lot more Italians then Staten Island then anywhere outside of Italy itself.

    So for a crime game, Staten Island makes much more sense.
    • RockStrongo1, on 05/04/2008, -0/+5But the focus of this story is Russian and Baltic mobs. What does that have to do with where the italians are?
      • KingGoonie, on 05/04/2008, -5/+1Staten Island has the largest population of Russan and Baltic immigrants in the city outside of Brooklyn... maybe even more then Brooklyn actually... talk a walk on the south beach boardwalk.
    • mikephimikephi, on 05/04/2008, -0/+6But Staten Island is so boring.
      Here's the pepsi challenge: ride the ferry over there and find me something to do.
      • KingGoonie, on 05/04/2008, -6/+1Lot more to do there then Queens or Bronx... those boros stopped becoming relevant a decade ago, whereas Staten Island is the big up and comer.
  • SillyDigger, on 05/04/2008, -0/+7I wish they would stop pulling game play videos off sites like youtube. I understand why they did it when people were uploading videos of the game before it was released but now its just pointless.
  • noseeme, on 05/04/2008, -0/+2The layout is somewhat similar, and some important landmarks are there. Other than that, it's very different, and there are far fewer buildings. To be fair, I don't think anyone was expecting it to be an accurate replica. The detail at the street level is really great, unprecedented for a sandbox game of this magnitude.
    • rezist, on 05/04/2008, -0/+2Far fewer buildings? My neighborhood is one block in the game... it's missing a borough, the game has some landmarks and a few textures the represent facades of common buildings in certain areas. I'm not saying it isn't a great game but NYC it is not.
      • eryximachus, on 05/05/2008, -0/+1I love how they have grand army plaza and the central branch of the Brooklyn Public Library - but Prospect Park is like the size of Ft. Green Park. And where the hell is Park Slope? It's like 2 blocks, and none of the really magnificent mansions.
  • OriginJM, on 05/04/2008, -8/+3Grand Theft Auto 4 has been blamed for so many different crimes and murders, it's good to see an article that doesn't have to do with "Little gerald raped his schoolteacher with a pineapple AND WE BLAME GTA4 BLARGGGGHHHHHH" and so on. The game is amazing.
    • dafragsta, on 05/04/2008, -0/+4uuuh.. it's only been out for 6 days. It hasn't been specifically blamed for any crimes. There might be an inflated moral outrage over GTA4, but there hasn't been enough time for Jack Thompson to even get his pants on yet.
  • sat0shi, on 05/04/2008, -6/+1My only complaint is that the graphics aren't as smooth as Burnout... Although, I know a lot more is going on in GTA4, but still...
    • dagamer34, on 05/04/2008, -0/+5Graphics aren't as smooth because in dynamic games like this, you can't be pushing the console 100% of the time. You never know when you need to stick 20 cops around you because you robbed and killed a guy.
  • csonjeow, on 05/04/2008, -4/+24These comments suck...
    • rezist, on 05/04/2008, -8/+1No, no they don't. The game is is not a 10. People are right to voice their criticisms, the game represents a few landmarks of the city and some neighborhoods crammed into single "blocks." The lighting is great but it hardly lives up to the reviews.
      • ATLien74, on 05/04/2008, -0/+3You're insane. This game is great!
        • rezist, on 05/05/2008, -0/+1How many times can you play the same game though? I stay with sony mainly for MGS/RE/GTA... those are the three main games I look forward to. MGO Beta was alright... this game is a graphical improvement on the versions of old, all I'm saying is that I hope MGS4 and RE5 puch the bar further than this game did.
  • hendriks, on 05/04/2008, -3/+3Is anyone else having problems with GTA IV freezing up the PS3 on a regular basis? Afterwards I have to do a manual reset (physical unplug) and deletion of gamesaves before it will even start up again. All other games work just fine on my PS3. Rockstar WTF??
  • Dunge, on 05/04/2008, -3/+16"Yeah, ***** all this stuff about casual gaming. I think people still want games that are groundbreaking. "
    Yeah I love this guy!
    • KingGoonie, on 05/04/2008, -3/+9what an idiot that guy is. Casual games can be groundbreaking as well.

      And anyone else think GTA isn't really all that groundbreaking? Great game, added alot... but tis still very similar to older games...
      • YellowSnowDemon, on 05/04/2008, -0/+6It's groundbreaking in terms of storytelling. Video games with good direction are rare.
        • KingGoonie, on 05/04/2008, -2/+2Don't you find some of the cutscenes too much though? Particularly the first few with Brucie I'm like yea yea yea shut the hell up already your not the main plot... Actually I think its only that he annoys me because he seems to talk so damn much. But yea I started putting the controller down and then picking it up when the scenes are over, like I don't even realize I'm doing it anymore lol... like the scene is over and I get told to go somehwere and am like "oh wow... it was like I was just watching a movie plot lol, i forgot I was even playing..."
          • YellowSnowDemon, on 05/04/2008, -0/+2Yeah, Brucie is pretty over the top. I know people IRL that are almost exactly like him though, so I can relate, I guess.
      • keithburgun, on 05/04/2008, -5/+1Absolutely right KingGoonie on both parts.
      • BingoPower, on 05/05/2008, -1/+1I believe it *is* groundbreaking. Whilst it may not have the size of GTA SA, most of SA was just repetition and blank space. So the fact the actualy world is smaller is irrelevant in my opinion. And it still doesn't feel small to me.

        The detail that has been lovingly crafted in to this game is immense. Gone is "generic" damage to cars... the scratches are right where they should be, the remains of that ped you rear-ended in to a wall is dripping down appropriately. The missions are fun, there's really nothing to dislike about this.

        So why is it groundbreaking? It does so much so very well, and so much better than anything else before it. It'll take something really serious to one-up GTA IV.
        • YellowSnowDemon, on 05/05/2008, -1/+1Like a control scheme that isn't from the mid-90's. :3
    • Riggs, on 05/04/2008, -1/+3Yeah, the whole casual gaming thing is so overrated. It's the hardcore games that set the standard that push the gaming industry to its limits.
  • rtilford, on 05/04/2008, -0/+7i would like to see some more about how they made the game. What software did they use? How many staff helped make it?
  • YellowSnowDemon, on 05/04/2008, -1/+10Stop bitching about GTA IV graphics. The game looks great, and it suits the artstyle well.
  • babylonian, on 05/04/2008, -10/+3Opening with "***** casual gaming" is a pretty ignorant and idiotic thing to do. Peggle and Bookworm Adventures are some of the most engaging and engrossing games I've played over the past few years. They both certainly held my attention longer than San Andreas.

    I'm loving GTAIV so far though. Still, that one line made him come across as kind of a douchebag.
    • pault107, on 05/04/2008, -1/+3I thought that was an amazing opening.
  • JavertHolmes, on 05/04/2008, -5/+2Locks up on my PS2.
    • Ridikul, on 05/04/2008, -0/+3It's not out for PS2?
    • GamerSDG, on 05/05/2008, -0/+1thats why it locks up, maybe you should try to put it in a ps3
  • solid12345, on 05/04/2008, -0/+18I wish we'd get a 3d remake of GTA: London 1969
  • spacebuddy, on 05/04/2008, -6/+3The graphics are great in this game, running HDMI on a 47 " 1080p
    • Jerryskid02, on 05/05/2008, -0/+3Compensating for...something are we?
  • Licurgo, on 05/04/2008, -7/+1i finish this game and no happy ending,endings for niko :-(
  • coleyslaw, on 05/04/2008, -1/+1one pixel at a time
    ?
  • pault107, on 05/04/2008, -4/+2"An English guy living over here, who thinks he's a real hot shot, but he's a complete phony, which is why he's come to New York. If he gets pushed when he's on his cell phone, he runs away from you."

    Nice stereotype. In my (English) town if you push someone you'd get stabbed. I haven't been to New York though, so maybe the English guys there are more pussy as they're more likely to be business men.
  • spinaltap87, on 05/04/2008, -2/+1AS WE'RE SURE YOU'RE AWARE....subliminal messaging...DO SOMETHING people
  • KibblesnBitts, on 05/04/2008, -2/+12Wow, as a New Jerseyan, I am honored that my state is just staten island "plus some factories and stuff."
    • BingoPower, on 05/05/2008, -0/+8Be happy with that appraisal. The rest of us think your state is just *****.
    • AlKo, on 05/05/2008, -0/+1Where are the mobster mansions in NJ suburbia? It would have been funny if you could go and bury people in the Meadowlands, just like the Hoffa urban legend.
  • Loornadune, on 05/04/2008, -2/+1"We’re not going release a large number of games. They’re going to have the production values of movies."

    I lol'd
  • nicko68, on 05/04/2008, -7/+1Blah blah blah GTAIV game of the year 10/10 who cares?
  • honestpen, on 05/04/2008, -1/+5Gotham is NOT New York. Everyone knows that Arkham asylum is an HP Lovecraft reference and that it actually refers to the now shut down Danvers Mental Institutions in Danvers, Massachusetts.

    BOSTON IS GOTHAM.
  • nrox653, on 05/05/2008, -1/+1Oh god how many GTA IV related topics are on the gaming section? 2 million?
  • nwoantibody, on 05/05/2008, -0/+1Playstation 4 will bring a helmet that makes you smell the ***** from the back-streets and putrid fumes from the sewers in GTAVI.
  • Procure, on 05/05/2008, -0/+1Best line: "If you don’t like any violent content in your entertainment, then I apologize because I do."

    agreed
  • draftingtableX, on 05/05/2008, -1/+3The best comment in that article: "There is nothing in the game you would not see in a TV show, or a movie a hundred times over, so I don’t understand what the conversation is about." The conversation mentioned in Dan Houser's response, regarding whether video games of this stripe have a negative impact on kids's development, centers around the fact that people cannot engage in tv shows or movies in the same way as a roleplaying game. The verdict's still out as to whether it affects people in a negative way, but his reply is colossally ignorant.
  • Prathik89, on 05/05/2008, -1/+1This was on Digg and websites ages ago. This is just getting dugg cause of MrBabyMan.
  • LackJudgement, on 05/05/2008, -0/+0They built this city on rock and roll!
  •  

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