Rockstar Games learned a lot of lessons from Grand Theft Auto IV. Given that Grand Theft Auto V will be releasing when the current-generation is nearing the end of its life-cycle, not to mention a decade after the GTA IV, how has the developer’s knowledge of the Xbox 360 and PS3 matured in regards to the visual aspect?
In a recent interview with Buzzfeed, Rockstar North art director Aaron Garbut stated that, “Grand Theft Auto IV was our first headlong jump into current-gen consoles. We had a lot to learn in every aspect, not just technically but artistically and even in terms of production. As I mentioned earlier, I think we moved from effectively building a world out of some roads and boxes to a much, much more detailed creation.
“That first jump was really hard. Since then, though, we’ve had a lot more experience. We’re comfortable building assets at this level of detail and our coders are comfortable with the machines. We’ve pushed them much, much further than before.
“The main thing we wanted to achieve was to pull off this sense of scale. The way we don’t limit the draw distance and draw the lights so far back really emphasizes this. We have a load of tech just geared toward the countryside, from heat haze to cloud shadows, to the water to the advanced fog.
“On the streaming side we’re able to do so much more. That’s let us make the world not just a lot bigger but much more detailed than IV was. There’s just so much going on, not just on the backdrop of the world but in the life on the street.”
Grand Theft Auto V will release on September 17th for Xbox 360 and PS3, with rumours of a PC release fueled by recent comments from Nvidia.
