This year the 51st NYFF brought something totally amazing to its infant convergence program with Rockstar Games and Grand Theft Auto V on board as a sponsor and major participant. This nicely coincided with the much anticipated online release of GTAV. This was indeed a once in a lifetime opportunity with Rockstar sending their top game makers including celebrities to participate in two panels and a major concert. The convergence program focuses on the intersection of technology and storytelling and none have done this as successfully as Rockstar Games with $1 Billion dollars in the first 3 days of GTAV’s release just twelve years after the very first release of the open world game GTA which critics said would never win awards. GTAV is everything the creators dreamed of, now made possible with advanced technology, skilled storytelling and a team of creative expertise.

Panel No. 1 Visit Los Santos and Blaine County: The World of Grand Theft Auto V 60 min Panel

Ably moderated by Adam Sessler (Executive Producer of @Rev3Games). Guests included Dan Houser (co-founder of Rockstar and Vice President of creativity), Jennifer Kolbe (Vice President of publishing), Rob Nelson (Art Director) and Rod Edge (Director of Performance Capture), with special guest Lazlo Jones (voice actor).

The panel opened with some minutes of live gameplay on a 30 foot screen showing detailed images and manoeuvres via helicopter through the terrain of the highly sophisticated urban landscapes of Los Santos, which is modeled after modern day California. Villains, police and the three GTAV stars, Trevor Phillips (psychopathic criminal), Michael de Santa (retired criminal) and Franklin Clinton (street hustler and gang member) were all introduced in real time action as the world filled in with completely realistic sounds, visuals and choices at the players’ command. The three main characters are all looking for a second chance to make it big in the world of Los Santos and Blaine County, a western metropolis in the sunset of its glory where nothing is sacred.

Sessler described GTAV as “the kind of game you’ll be thinking about 30 years from now”, and I’m pretty sure anyone who has played the game would agree. The single biggest change and challenge that Rockstar made was the inclusion of additional characters. Initially there was one main character, with the option of switching between different characters on certain missions. But as they worked on the story, it became more and more evident that adding in different characters and different perspectives allowed the telling of a very different story to what they have done so far, while still maintaining the thematic core. It opened a vast arena of choices which would allow a player to choose many different gaming experiences from simply enjoying a golf game to running with each of the main characters. Rich vs poor, have vs have nots, red state vs blue states. It also allowed them to run wild with the characters they created. Trevor, for all the fun he is, cannot anchor an entire game on his own, but he can add to the experience.