Dave's Ideas

Open World Gaming Ideas

July 12, 2010

I suppose one of the most obvious ideas out there, is why hasn’t there been an open-world Grand Theft Auto-like game for Batman? I think all gamers would like to explore Gotham City in the Batmobile, and be able to roam the rooftops. Spider-Man and Hulk have enjoyed video games like these, Batman is due for one as well. This is a no-brainer game design that almost seems like Batman was always destined to be in.

Speaking of Grand Theft Auto, I think it’s time to look outside of the USA for locales. With New York, Miami, San Francisco, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles all represented in a GTA game, all the best American cities have been spoken for. Time to look at other car-friendly international cities. My top choices: Tokyo, Vancouver, London, Prague, Berlin, Moscow, Monaco, Hong Kong, and Dubai.

One thing I liked about previous entries in the GTA games were the ability to accrue funds from operating legit businesses, trying to establish street cred, and seizing gang territories, all of which helped the criminal dynamic.

I’d like to see that taken a step further in a more paranoid direction - having to deal with undercover police and snitches, sort of like the film The Departed. You’d have to keep tabs on your contacts by hiring Private Investigators, or following them yourself. Failure to stay on top of things would not only result in a surprise arrest, but a complete disruption in available missions and storyline too, as well as being taken down a few notches in the mafia corporate ladder.

And there should be consequences for repeat arrests/hospitalizations that reflect the crime/injuries. If you’re the FBI’s most-wanted, a slap on the wrist and a quit exit out of jail shouldn’t happen. I propose switching to a secondary protagonist, with the option of executing a jail-break or picking up where the prior character left off. And if your injuries are too severe, a prolonged stay in hospital would be in order, also necessitating playing as another character.

In order to help evade arrest, a GTA game should also take better advantage of the player customization system (clothing and appearance), and give the player new options like plastic surgery or fake ID documents. Any tool to help avoid capture.

And speaking of using multiple characters, I think this is something GTA should definitely consider. Why be one person rising to power, the standard recipe for a GTA game, when you could play an entire ensemble of characters that would contribute to a bigger story? You could be mafia soldier for one mission, a dirty cop the next, and so on. How about playing as cab driver who is forced to drive a hitman around town like that film Collateral? It opens up more story possibilities - as well as homages to so many films.

Rockstar should also consider using female protagonists. I think that also changes things up a great deal and adds many more layers.

Entry filed under: Cars, Transportation, Video Games. Tags: Automotive, Batman, Grand Theft Auto, Transportation, Video Games.