GTA Teamwork

Teamwork. This is the mantra of the future. Collaboration, small groups, meeting with others. Ideas like these permeate throughout our society these days. With the advent of technology and websites like YouTube, this has become the age of sharing. Everything seems to be interconnected. Friends from high school, who would have been strangers to you 20 years ago, are now friends of yours on Facebook. Didn't make it to your friend’s wedding in San Francisco? That's ok; they already uploaded all of their pictures online. This concept has even infused itself into the work world, where small teams are the focus of workplace productivity. With all of this teamwork going on, is it no surprise that Grand Theft Auto 5 has latched onto this idea and uses it for the premise of their game? GTA V is the first game of its kind in the GTA franchise. Instead of one sole protagonist, the game allows you to switch to two other characters at any one time. Knowing you have this ability is liberating as a player, mainly because you aren't forced to see things and experience things from one perspective. Three vastly different and unique characters for you to choose from in a diverse and dangerous city, full of activities and missions for you to play. Not only is the player allowed to switch between these characters, but they also collaborate on missions together in the game. Heists are a major factor in the GTA V single-player story. These heists require careful planning before their execution. Rockstar handles the concept of heists swimmingly in the game. The player isn't just worried about stealing the jewels. First, the player must choose his/her team for the heist. Again, this idea of teamwork comes into play. Players must choose which gunman is going to be the best for a particular heist. Will you choose the gunman who is worse at shooting? If you do, you might put the heist in jeopardy. However, the lower-level gunman will receive less of the cut if you complete the heist successfully, meaning more money for you. As well as selecting varying members for your crew, the action in the heists themselves requires vast amounts of teamwork. During the heists, the player is allowed to change perspectives from one character to another. They are in constant communication with each other, and this teamwork is what drives this game as unique as opposed to the rest of the GTA games. The other titles in the GTA series find a lone protagonist trying to survive in a harsh concrete jungle. Considering GTA is known for its satire and parody, maybe this design of a team-centric story and game is a sign of the times. I, for one, love the teamwork required in the game and can't wait to see what Rockstar is going to roll out next.