If there’s one truly noteworthy aspect players have noticed since Grand Theft Auto 6’s reveal, it’s the sheer variety in non-playable characters. Whether it’s on the beaches or through the streets of Vice City, this is Rockstar’s “most detailed and varied character population” ever, per Jamie-Lee Lloyd, senior art director for characters.’
Speaking to Dazed, Rockstar North co-studio head Rob Nelson spoke about how Miami and Florida, the real-world inspirations for Vice City and Leonida, have “perhaps one of the most diverse and interesting populations in the world.” Capturing that was a monumental task, right down to the clothes that they wear.
Stylist Jillian Carr, who’s worked with the studio since 2023 and is based in Miami, is responsible for the “fashion ecosystem” and how it conveys the “taste, lifestyle, affluence and individuality” of Vice City’s populace.
“Vice City is built around vanity. Between social media, celebrity culture and a constant flow of tourists, appearances carry significant weight, and trend cycles turn over quickly,” she said. So while you’ll find all kinds of people of different sizes, shapes and ages, their fashion can range from suits and “throwback Hawaiian shirts” to “muddy combat gear.” You’ll find those with tattoos, piercings and maybe even plastic surgery.
Bringing this all to life wasn’t easy. In fact, as Lloyd notes, the development team had to create “new tools and pipelines that enabled us to build the most detailed and varied character population we’ve ever created.” However, truly capturing that authenticity is a much wider-ranging effort.
“It’s the combination of how a character looks, moves, interacts and expresses themselves, brought together through collaboration across multiple teams.” That includes gameplay, animation, graphics designers, motion capture artists, voice actors, and so much more. Which would probably explain how the development team has more than doubled since the release of Red Dead Redemption 2.
Of course, the objective of all this effort is apparent as game writer Michael Wiafe hopes for “a landscape that players feel they’ve been dropped into and are made to endlessly roam around in.” Given how beneficial walks and general exercise can be in the game, that’s probably a good thing.
Launching on November 19th, Grand Theft Auto 6 will be available for Xbox Series X/S and PS5. An Extended Look premieres on August 27th via Netflix at 3 PM ET, so stay tuned for even more details.
