Future games must have multiple protagonists, says GTA parent publisher

i would rather have one well written protagonist than 3 cliches anyday still im pretty psyched for the new GTA since its bringing back the rpg elements and customization that made GTA san andreas great

I think that playing as 3 characters could be very interesting and unique. If you dislike playing as one character you could simply switch to any one you like to play as. However, this idea may also take away from the immersion of the game. I always find that games that take you out of a characters story and introduces you to another as annoying because it interrupts the story of the character you are immersed in. If they write a story that smoothly transitions from character to character without interrupting the immersion and experience of the game, it could work. Rockstar needs to focus on how to get the player to think of the 3 characters as one, or part of the same group.

Really what past games have shown is that future games must be open world games. Truly open, Bethesda/GTA open.... I can't think of a single truly open world game that has failed.  Also mass customization is what gamers want.  All in all the less restrictions the better the game.   Story and number of protagonist is just a bonus.

If only RPGs, tactical shooters and many other genres didn't do that already...

Blargharbla bla ...

In short: A CEO of a publishing company thinking he knows things about game development while caressing himself by self praise for things he is not responsible for.

Future games don't need whatever you think it needs....it just needs to be good...

depends on the story of the game 

While I'm excited about GTA V, I much rather prefer the ability to create the character and have the story catered to that character by way of optional story paths. RockStar may be taking on a huge undertaking trying too much. Gamers may not get attached or relate to either of the three. It will be interesting to see how they split time between the protagonists and develop each story line.

No. 

Don't try to go down the road of sonic games.

I find the idea of having a multiple protagonists is ok because for the fact that it can help create the story, base on characters personality  and style because if you guys notice the character we will be play as seen how their all different and if you take a look at RE6 that is a good example of having multiple protagonists

I want my character and I to feel as one. As a gamer, I do not agree on there opinion about  multiple protagonists.

That's pretty innovative. Almost as innovative as Super Mario Bros. 2 (which had four characters so clearly they must have had more inspiration.)

Why are they claiming GTAV is the first game with multiple protagonists?
Donkey Kong 64 comes to mind as do countless others.

best game in this yer 

Multiple protagonists reminds me of Heavy Rain.If each protagonist has their own story missions, that need to be completed together for a new set of story missions to open up, i'm down with that. I hope they take some pages out of Saint's Row when it comes to side missions utilizing an otherwise story-less zone.

Multiple protagonists = innovation? This is why Squaresoft should had released Seiken Densetsu 3 worldwide in the first place. Now these ppl claim to be first to an innovation that already exist.

I wonder if they are talking about games like Resident Evil 2? Remember you could play all the way throught with chris then come back and play all the way through with Ada Wong with the other side of the story.  And Both Charactors had 2 differant play throughs each. I never understood why other game developers didn't try this method of game play??

Even after correcting their statement, their claims are so moronic.

"This is going to be the first video game where you can shift seamlessly among three protagonists and if you think about it, one of the complicated factors in a video game has been the first person has to play all the emotional roles in the story; the good guy, the bad guy, the victim, the policeman, the cop, the hero," Zelnick said. "And, for the first time, you're going to be able to have three protagonists and that will actually drive the story forward." 

If you ignore that Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Aztkaban let you switch freely between three characters.

 And every RPG with three or more party members.

This might be a largely non-false statement.

And that's only because they specified three.

 Oh, also Day of the Tentacle (and Maniac Mansion IIRC) let's you freely switch between three characters.

Other than that, acting as if multiple characters is this new huge innovative thing that totally hasn't been around for decades even if you ignore certain genres in which control of them is rather far removed (birds eye or further, NO TOP DOWN, BIRD'S EYE). You still have adventure games from the 90's to contend with.

Of course if they wanted to specify third person action games, then there are still plenty of games with three or more protagonists, and Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance has them beat by a year with the switching between protagonists on the fly, each protagonist with a different part of the story deal. (If it's just switching between characters/party members or such the Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Ring of Fates has DDD beat by some three-five years before that again).

It's cool if they're gonna do something new to the franchise, but falsifiable claims of firsthood aren't exactly a good idea.

Because some people were around in the 90's (or even earlier) and remember stuff that wasn't that special back then isn't that special right now. And multiple protagonists are NOT a new idea never implemented in gaming before, not even third person action games.

Neither is switching between them freely.

'Must' is a pretty heavy word. Right, because the film industry is clearly failing from lack of a progressive mindset in using singular protagonists...

-___-

Innovation isn't simply what you write, it's how you write.

Just stop teasing me and release this game already, even for my wedding I wasn't this anxious

Multiple protagonist, multiple stories, multiple themes, multiple places, etc.

Future games must be MULTIPLE

Saying that future games should have multiple protagonists like they did in GTAV is simply idiotic.

Not that i have anything against multiple protagonists, but imo it's not necessarily the best solution, trying to give a general direction like they did is absurd 'cause it depends on the story of the game: some games will be cool with multiple protagonists while others will be cool with just one.

What really matter is if the story and the character(s) are good, their number is secondary, if not irrelevant.

oh I forgot to mention these videos are dust ...

getting to know the character you're playing should be interesting , it seems more involved to me ? like action speak louder than words sort of thing , I could be and probably am bias towards the splitting because I think I will prefer one character over the others , but , not given it a chance I won't shed any tears over it , it's not wrong to introduce new concepts as long as they don't reach to outdo themselves ? to me SRTT did that and to each his own " I QUIT " ! .... really really really looking forward to GTAV really !

I'd prefer 1 deep, likeable protagonist over 3 cliched ones I don't give a rat's ass about.

will the game length be split into 3 parts?

I don't see the big improvement that having multiple protagonists is. There's nothing with having one solid, interesting, well developed character at the lead. I'd take 1 excellent protagonist over 5 mediocre protagonists any day of the week.

If each of GTA V's protagonists manage to prove their worth, then, fine. Why should every game in future have to do the same thing? I'd rather developers/publishers follow their own creative direction and came up with their own new and interesting story ideas, rather than follow some bullshit unwritten law that says a game must have X, Y and Z in it.

'Future games need to be made by techland'

This is kinda off subject, but is Alan Wake worth buying? It's 90% off on steam right now but i'm not a huge fan of the horror genre. I watched a review but i'm not convinced.

Take two must think we are not very smart, they haven't done the Gta franchise any favors. Vice city was the best bar none and that was before Take Two turned up. San Andres was a good game too, but you could tell some of the magic was starting to vanish. Then GTA 4 comes and its clear the franchise has completely changed for the worse.

The guy below thinks multiple protagonist means more plot and multiple endings but i beg to differ, it will just mean the game feels more like a soap opera rather than a cinematic movie. 

I like to feel invested in my character, like what i am doing is making a difference for my character. Having to worry about so many characters means we will feel no attachment to any of them. It would be better if you choose your character instead, this will also increase replay value.

The way they are doing multiple protagonists means the game will play out chapter based, it wont be as sand box anymore.

This isnt the first time Take Two has said silly thing.s They also cliam MMo dont work in USA.  Are they for real? i mean have they not heard of WOW? The mmo model is the true way forward in games. Being able to play a game where actual real people inhabit also is the future.

I agree. Multiple protagonist. More plot. Multiple Endings. Love video games. Period.