- 1. Case study of development and key features of GTA IV
developed by Rockstar North
2. 3. GTA IV Intro
- GENRE: Sand box style action adventure game
- Simultaneously released on PS3 and XBOX 360 on 29 thApril
2008.
4. Background
- Game is set in redesigned rendition of Liberty City, a
fictional city based heavily on modern day New York City.
- Follows Niko Bellic, a war veteran from an unspecified country
in Eastern Europe. He comes to the United States in search of the
American Dream but quickly becomes entangled in a seedy underworld
of gangs, crime, and corruption.
5. 6. Continued
- Like other games in the series,GTA IVis composed of elements
from driving games and third-person shooters, and features
"open-world" gameplay that gives playersmore control over their
playing experience .
7. Development of game
- Grand Theft Auto IVsees a shift in the series to a more
realistic and detailed style and tone, partly a result of the
transition to consoles which offeredhigh-definition graphicsand
thenew and improved capabilities of such consoles.
8. 9. 10. 11. 12. Commercial success
- First game of the series to be released on 7 thgen
console.
- A major commercial and critical success, it broke industry
records with sales of around 3.7 million units on its first day of
release and grossing more than $500 million in revenue in the first
week, from an estimated 6 million units sold worldwide.
- To date over 17 million copies have been sold
13. Gameplay
- The core gameplay consists of giving the player a large, open
environment in which to move around.
- On foot, the player's character is capable of walking, running,
swimming, climbing and jumping, as well as using weapons and basic
hand-to-hand combat.
- Players can steal and drive a variety of vehicles, including
automobiles, boats, helicopters, and motorcycles
14. Gameplay
- Open,non-linear environmentallows players to explore and choose
how they wish to play the game.
- Although storyline missions are necessary to progress through
the game and unlock certain parts of the map and content, they are
not required, as players can complete them at their own leisure.
When not taking on a storyline mission, players can free-roam,
giving them the ability to do activities.
15. Gameplay
- For the first time in the series,Grand Theft Auto IV features
"morality choices" at several points throughout the game. The game
has two different endings, which are determined by deciding which
of the two missions to complete. The player can choose between a
revenge mission or a deal mission, each leads to a different
ending.
16. P roduction of game
- Unlike previous games in the series, the voice actors ofGrand
Theft Auto IVdo not include notable and high-profile celebrities,
instead opting for lesser known actors.
17. Production of game
- The Bullet physics engine along with the Euphoria animation
system causesNiko to react differently to every bike crash, instead
of using a predefined animation . Niko can lose health or die if he
crashes or smashes through the windscreen of cars during high speed
collisions. Unlike previous games, vehicles will not explode if
they are flipped over, however they may catch fire and eventually
explode if the engine is repeatedly damaged via collisions, or if
the vehicle is damaged via firearms. Explosions can sometimes
render nearby vehicles unusable, or cause them to catch fire. Car
engines can also break down, rendering them unable to start.
18. Production of the game
- If Niko is injured, he can recover health by eating, drinking
soda, sleeping, using medical kits, using his mobile phone to call
for paramedics, calling one of his girlfriends for medical advice,
or using the services of a prostitute.
19. Production of game
- GTA IVis the first console game in the series to feature
anonline multiplayer mode, which contains fifteen game types.
20. Multiplayer functions
- The multiplayer supports up to 16 players (32 players in the PC
version)
- Team based gameplay modes include:
- Team Deathmatch, where 28 teams compete to accumulate the most
kills in a traditional deathmatch
- Team Mafiya Work, in which 28 teams compete to complete
contract work for the "mafia", such as escorting/killing targets or
stealing cars
- Team Car Jack City where 28 teams compete to steal cars and
earn money for keeping them undamaged.
21. 22. Features
- Several high-profile DJs host the various radio stations within
the game such as Iggy Pop and Juliette Lewis.
- Katt Williams and Ricky Gervais also have their likenesses and
comedy depicted in an in-game comedy club.
- Numerous other comedians, including Jim Norton, Patrice Oneal,
Rick Shapiro, and Robert Kelly, appeared on the radio and/or as
characters in-game.
23. Features
- Like previous games in theGrand Theft Autoseries,Grand Theft
Auto IVfeatures a soundtrack that can be heard through radio
stations while the player is in a vehicle. Liberty City is serviced
by 18 radio stations, three of which are talk radio stations.
- The other stations feature music from a large range of genres.
There are notable inclusions to the game's soundtrack, such as
tracks from Genesis, David Bowie, Bob Marley , The Who, Queen,
Black Sabbath, Nas, Kanye West, and Barry White.
- The theme song (intro music) ofGrand Theft Auto IVis "Soviet
Connection" composed by Michael Hunter, who also composed the theme
forGrand Theft Auto: San Andreas .
24. 25. Features
- Following a partnership between Rockstar Games and Amazon.com,
players are able to purchase real world MP3s throughGTA IV'sin-game
mobile phone. Players are able to mark radio songs that they like
by dialing ZIT-555-0100 on Niko's phone. They will then receive a
text message providing the name of the song and the artist. If a
player is registered on Rockstar's 'Social Club' website he or she
will also receive a real world e-mail with a link to an Amazon.com
playlist where all of the player's marked songs will be listed and
available to purchase
26. Features
- The Rockstar Games Social Club is a web site that displays the
gameplay statistics of registered users and feature competitions
and awards based on player activity within the game.
27. Critical Reception
- Grand Theft Auto IVhas received nearly universal acclaim from
video game critics. Ahead of its worldwide release, most
publications were not sent copies of the game. Instead, reviewers
had to play the game on Rockstar premises or in booked hotel
rooms
- The May 2008 issue ofOfficial Xbox Magazine(UK) published the
firstGrand Theft Auto IVreview, giving the game the maximum score
of 10/10. The magazine also stated that the game has an " amazingly
realistic world; stunning action set pieces; genuinely engrossing
storyline; hugely entertaining multiplayer ;"
28. Critical Reception
- Xbox World 360gave the game a 98% rating, the highest it has
ever given to any game, mentioning the game was "everything we were
entitled to expect, and yet somehow impossibly more.
29. UK Success
- United Kingdom the Xbox 360 version sold 514,000 copies and the
PlayStation 3 version sold 413,000, according to Chart-Track.
- Over13 millionunits of Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto IV have
been shipped as of 31 January 2009.
- As of June 2010 17 millions copies have been sold.
30. Episodic Content
- Grand Theft Auto: Episodes From Liberty Cityis a stand alone
game with each of the episode included listed above.
31. Further developments
- The Lost and Damned, The Ballad of Gay Tony and Grand Theft
Auto: Episodes from Liberty City are released for PC and
PlayStation 3
32. Exam Advice
- Requires knowledge of the features of the game.
- How the game uses next generation technology in the game
play.
- What is the game play experience for the consumer.
- How does the game appeal to the consumer.
33. Past questions
- Discuss the ways in which media products are produced and
distributed to audiences within a media area which you have studied
( January 2009 )
- Discuss the issues raised by an institutions need to target a
specific audience within the media industry you have studied. (
Exemplar question new spec )