While Grand Theft Auto 6 might seem like a maximalist game thanks to Rockstar Games adding in many elements in its chase for realism, plenty of ideas were still left out. In an interview with Famitsu (via GamesRadar), Rockstar North co-studio head Rob Nelson has revealed that one of the ideas that didn’t make it past the cutting room floor was a mechanic that involved restocking the protagonists’ refrigerator with groceries.
Nelson spoke about how players would have been able to head out to buy groceries at various stores and store them in the fridge so that these items could be accessed later. Ultimately, however, it was left out of the game so that things wouldn’t get too complicated for players.
“At one point during development, we were experimenting with a system that would allow you to buy groceries to restock the fridge. We had specifications for stores with groceries that you could buy and take home, and the fridge could be replenished. However, because this would have complicated the mechanics, we had to simplify it.”
Grand Theft Auto 6 is still going to feature plenty of gameplay mechanics that revolve around realism, however, like its driving system and navigation, and even car-jacking. However, Rockstar wanted to still keep things balanced to ensure that realism never overtakes the ease of play.
“We are always trying to find the right balance between realism and ease of play. Rather than just going to the fridge to grab a snack or visiting a restaurant just to roleplay, we want to give meaning to each action.”
Co-studio head Aaron Garbut had also recently spoken about how the development team worked hard on the game, leading to its Los Angeles studio even having “art-directed each individual” NPC that players might encounter. Along with this, each room also has plenty of attention to detail. This was done by the team using real-world rooms to figure out their interior decorating.
“Who’s sitting where, what they’re drinking, the marks that are left on the table. The pictures on the wall will have the people that are in that room, with their tattoos on their arms and their family behind them. That whole thing has been made, and built, and photographed, and placed in this random room in a random building in a huge city, in a world.”
As we get closer to the November 19th release date of the game, Nelson has revealed that the title has been in some sort of development stage for over a decade, with processes having begun all the way back in 2015. “We develop on very long cycles,” he said. “The game’s been in development since 2015, so the idea is gestating for a long time.”
This long development cycle also overlapped with the studio working on Red Dead Redemption 2, which likely played a major role in bringing over many of the Western’s ideas for realistic gameplay to Grand Theft Auto 6.
For more on the upcoming game, here are 25 details hidden in last week’s 27-minute Extended Look showcase.
