Youre working with the same hardware you used to make GTA IV, which you began work on nearly a decade ago. How has your knowledge of the current generation matured from back then until now, particularly when it comes to depicting a massive open world? Were there visual things that you couldnt do in GTA IV but wanted to (and do in GTA V)? Are there visual tricks specific to the new setting that you couldnt do in GTA IV but are now able to?
AG: 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, weve had a lot more experience. Were comfortable building assets at this level of detail and our coders are comfortable with the machines. Weve 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 dont 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 were able to do so much more. Thats let us make the world not just a lot bigger but much more detailed than IV was. Theres just so much going on, not just on the backdrop of the world but in the life on the street.
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