Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

1374 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: How does media affect identity

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

Video games began modestly, in a primitive age that had a littile yellow dot scour a maze "eating" little white dots. Since then, video games have expanded exponentially. These games even spand genres, including action, adventure, sports, etc. In their progression, many video games have attempted to simualte really, emersing the gamer into this puesdo-reality. Although some attempts were unsuccessful in fully depicting reality, one game managed to bring this vision to fruition. The Grand Theft Auto series not only succeeded in producing this realistic, yet simualted environment, it changed the landscape of video games forever. Particularly, the Vice City installemnt, absorbs the visual and aural aspects of cinema, while drawing source material from an array of films to produce a simulated reality that emerses the gamer and accentuate the overall experience.

Vice City, in a sense, is not even a video game. It is an interactive movie. The opening credits are like those in a film, with opening action scenes accompanied with an original score. Vice City begins with a brief, introductory animated sequence that reveals the story and introduces the protanginist. Rockstar games, the producers of Vice City, went as far as to enlist real and reconizable actors to do the character voices. The protaginist in Vice City is a character named Tommy Vercetti. This character is voice by Ray Liotta. "What the public knows, in short, is not a star as a person, but rather the star as an image" (Robert C. Allen 607). Ray Liotta is a well known actor, whose star persona is associated with a ganster, mafiaoso image, as personified in the film, Goodfellas. Further, the animators for Vice City sketch the character of Tommy Vercetti to actually resemble Ray Liotta. The usage of Ray Liotta's voice and physical likeness takes Vice City from being a mere video game and transforms it into a cinematic, yet interactive experience. Essentially, the gamers have the ability to act on their homicidal whims and live the "gangster" life. Futhermore, Vice City has Gary Busey voice the character of Phil Cassidy; Luis Guzman voices the character of Ricardo Diaz; and David Paymer voices the character of Ken Roseburg. In Vice City, the character of Ken Roseburg, who is Tommy Vercetti's lawyer, would equate to a supporting actor role. The animators, who continue to...

... middle of paper ...

...the same simple nuiances of a real city. Furthermore, the radiostations spand a wide array of musical genres from hip hop to rock and roll to reggae. Flash 103.5 is a station found in Vice City that plays a fe songs found in the gangster film, Scarface. These songs include "Push It to the Limit", "Rush Rush", "She's on Fire", and "I'm Hot Tonight". With this attention to aural detail, Vice City no becomes the complete cinematic experience.

In conclusion, Vice City is a video game that absorbs many thematic elements from the cinema. The design of the landscape of Vice City has set the bar for the aesthetics of video games as well. A great deal of attention was given in the design of the buildings and streets. Even the pedestrians that rome the streets were scrutinized in an effort to bring a certain level of realism to the game. In acheiveing this virtual, and seemingly realistic environment, the gaming experience completely immerses the gamer. This game becomes one of legends with a cult following to match. In the recent installment of the Grand Theft Auto series, San Andreas, the creators raise the bar even to a further while continuing to use the cinema as source material.

Show More
Related

  • Nationalism In The Era Of Good Feelings

    869 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Nationalism(n.) - loyalty or devotion to a nation, especially an attitude, feeling, or belief characterize by a sense of national consciousness” (The War of 1812 and the Rise of Nationalism 1). Nationalism was a crucial part of America’s success during the War of 1812; nationalism was reflected in the post-war period through increased national pride, emphasis on national issues, increase in power and scope of the national government, and a growing sense of American identity (The War of 1812 and the Rise of Nationalism 1). The first to arise which was the driving force behind American victories against the British was nationalism. This nationalism was expressed in four ways; patriotism, political, economical and cultural. American patriotism

    Read More

  • The Farce of the American Dream in Hawkes’ Original Film, Scarface

    363 Words  | 1 Pages

    In film, many times the auteur often uses the medium to convey a moral or make a social commentary. In the case of Howard Hawkes’s original version of Scarface, there is more being portrayed through the characters then merely the story. Hawkes makes a statement about the façade of organized crime, and the farce of the American Dream.

    Read More

  • Gangs of New York

    1559 Words  | 4 Pages

    Cocks, Jay, Steven Zaillian, and Kenneth Lonergan. "Gangs Of New York Final Script." Web. .

    Read More

  • Companionship In Of Mice And Men By John Steinbeck

    1099 Words  | 3 Pages

    Although she has a husband, she did not like him. She flirts with every worker at the barn, she told them that she was lonely because she wanted some company and Curley was not at home most of the time. In this novel Curley’s wife seems to make trouble for the other guys at the barn because she’s always flirting with them and that make Curley very jealous. When he gets all jealous he gets mad at the other farmers. One day when Curley’s wife stopped by in Crooks’ bunk she found Lennie and she started to flirting with him and Crooks wanted her to leave them alone. Curley’s wife was not afraid of Crooks because he was black and she told him all she had to do was yell rap and he would be dead. Later on in the book Lennie was all alone with his died pup when Curley’s wife thought it was a perfect time to come talk to him since all the other man were playing house shoe. She persuaded Lennie into talk to her, Lennie didn’t want to because George told him not to take her.“George says I ain’t to have nothing to do with you—talk to you or nothing” (Steinbeck 43). This shows the power of having someone who supports

    Read More

  • Manifest Destiny: The Drive of Westward Expansion

    1062 Words  | 3 Pages

    It was the starting point of hatred between the Mexicans and the Americans, which would develop into the Mexican American War. The Compromise of 1850 resolved the war it was a five bill package that lessened the confrontation between slave and free states. The compromise established California as a free state, New Mexico and Utah as territories with the question of slavery to be set by popular sovereignty, settled a boundary between Texas and Mexico, terminated slave trade in Washington, D.C., and made it easier for southerners to get back their slaves. The Texas problem however, would grow into a revolution led, without any help from the American army. The Mexicans end up being defeated and Texas is declared independent in 1836 but due to slavery Texas was taken over until 1844. Some positive annexation on Texas was that since it was a large state it provided land for raising large cattle farms and had access to the gulf. The negative effects were that it was another slave

    Read More

  • Nationalism in Europe in the 19th century

    879 Words  | 2 Pages

    Nationalism is way of thinking both political and socially to create a community united by: history, ethnicity, religions, common culture, and language. Numerous effects occurred while establishing a Nationalist community, some effects were a long term impact on Nationalism, and other was short term impacts on Nationalism.

    Read More

  • Book Review: Policing Gangs in America

    1721 Words  | 4 Pages

    The first chapter of Policing Gangs in America is entitled, “Studying the Police Response to Gangs.” The primary purpose of the chapter is to establish how police agencies; Inglewood, Las Vegas, Albuquerque and Phoenix in specific, respond to gang problems in their respective areas. This chapter served as an introduction, giving a brief history of gang-related policing, how the public and media see the gang problem, research studies done regarding gangs and the recent declaration to shift away from suppression-oriented strategies as a result of overly aggressive actions toward citizens. Examples of this misconduct are given in the forms of gang units from Las Vegas, Chicago and Houston.

    Read More

  • Violence and Video Games

    1976 Words  | 4 Pages

    In February of 2009, 60 minutes did a special on video games leading to murder. In the article Rebecca Leung, discusses a shooting that occurred in Fayette Alabama on June 7, 2003. A mentally disturbed young man by the name of Devon Moore shot and killed two police officers, a dispatch officer, and stole a police cruiser. The Attorney Jack Thompson blames the video game Grand Theft Auto as having trained Devon Moore to carry out the murder. Thompson has consistently criticizes violent video games, and has brought forth a lawsuit against the producers of the video game. Thompson says, "What we're saying is that Devin Moore was, in effect, trained to do what he did. He was given a murder simulator.” Thompson argues that Moore had played the game for hundreds of hours and if he had not been “trained by the game.” He would not have committed these ...

    Read More

  • Nationalism and Democracy

    1179 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...powerful forces in binding people together, nationalism is a powerful force capable of inducing people to act collectively, share burdens, and even make sacrifices for the nation’s common good. As a result, it promotes the stability of democracies.

    Read More

  • Supply Chain Integration on United Postal Services (UPS)

    626 Words  | 2 Pages

    Founded in 1907 as a messenger company, United Parcel Service has grown into a world renowned provider of specialized transportation and logistics services. This multi-billion corporation enables and manages the flow of goods, information, and funds to over 200 countries and territories around the globe (UPS.com, 2013). Air, freight, oceanic is just a few of the modes that UPS uses to move the flow of goods around the globe. The company structure of UPS entails operations in three segments: U.S. Domestic Package operations, International Package operations, and Supply Chain & Freight operations. It’s just about an everyday occurrence to see an brown UPS truck on the road as we go about our everyday lives, the U.S. Domestic Package operations are comprised of delivery of documents, packages, and letters around the United States. The International Package operation delivers specifically outside the United States. Providing deliveries to the world’s major business hubs up to three times a day, UPS can deliver packages to at the best time possible for their customers. UPS has teamed up with the U.S. Commercial Service, an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce, to help customers get started exporting or increase their sales to new global markets (UPS.com, 2013). Partnering within a supply chain can prove to be very important in the success of the overall supply chain. Communication within a supply chain that flows freely between partners reduces in-efficiencies such as excess inventory (bullwhip effect), and lost profits. The Supply Chain & Freight operation within UPS entails forwarding and contract logistics operations and UPS Freight. As a freight forwarder they organize shipments from various sources to their final p...

    Read More

  • Oedipus the King: Not Guilty of Any Crime

    517 Words  | 2 Pages

    Since Oedipus had no knowledge of his birth parents, he cannot be accused of knowingly fulfilling the prophecy. He had no understanding of Laius as his birth father upon killing him. One might say that Oedipus is then guilty of murder regardless, but if he had killed in self defense, that cannot be true. Likewise, if Oedipus had no understanding of Jocasta as his birth mother, then he cannot be guilty of incest. Neither can he be guilty of defiling Laius’s marriage bed, as he did not know that Jocasta was the wife of the man he had murdered.

    Read More

  • Higinbotham

    2044 Words  | 5 Pages

    Higinbotham created this game to help add excitement to his lab. Hundreds of visitors lined up to play Higinbotham's electronic tennis game. People who played his video game saw a two-dimensional, side view of a tennis court on the oscilloscope screen, a device used to view movements back and forth, which used a cathode ray tube similar to a black and white television tube. The ball was a brightly lit moving dot, which left trails as in bounced to altering sides of the net; players served and volleyed using controllers with buttons and rotating dials (First). Higinbotham’s creation inspired others to start creating video games. Video games have evolved in tremendous ways. There have been millions of games created in the last fifty years. For example, Grand Theft Auto, created by David Jones and Mike Daily in 1997, is one of the most popular video game series among teenagers. The free-form structure of the game allows players to do anything they want in the city, but also rewards players for creating havoc such has running down pedestrians and completing missions (Graphics). Grand Theft Auto has increased the amount of sex, drugs, and violence contained throughout the game. Now, not only are there fun and peaceful video games such as sports games like Madden, Fifia, and many others, but there are also games that promote the player to cause extreme violent

    Read More

  • Rationalism And Nationalism Essay

    760 Words  | 2 Pages

    Nationalism is self identification with one’s country. Nationalism is similar to religion in that it gives a person their self worth and sense of community. One source describe nationalism as as a bond and “awareness shared by a group” who feel “attached to not only the land, but also the culture, language, and history the people share (Brown). Nationalism is accompanied by loyalty and devotion of the people to a nation. Nationalist find great gratification in their history and traditions. With this sometimes comes the feeling that their nation is special and set apart from other nations, creating an atmosphere of superiority. Furthermore, through out history, the idea of nationalism has been the driving force behind those wanting to overthrow governments that are thought to be oppressive

    Read More

  • Natural Gas Essay

    1276 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...ns and material necessary that need to be consumed during the business processes. The biggest part of this activity is contract and orders related to natural gas supply, purchase and modernization of pipelines, and machinery required for maintain good condition of pipelines. Company needs to predict when and what amount of natural gas needs to be transferred to meet consumer demand. Another important task of procurement is purchase of compressors required for steady flow of natural gas to end customers and the maintenance equipment required to ensure high efficiency and dependable. It is required for the company to properly plan all supply orders to lower variable costs and increase profits. Each activity level requires supply of specific materials unique for the processes and operations, which shows that procurement is present in every single stage of value chain.

    Read More

  • Movies And Video Games

    711 Words  | 2 Pages

    Both mediums of mass entertainment, movies and video games, can severely impact the audience that is engaged in them. Video games require much more involvement of the player because the player of the game controls the avatars every move. Many games such as Call of Duty, Assassins Creed, or Grand Theft Auto involve extreme violence, in which the player is killing other players to achieve objectives or points. From a narrative role, videogames offer many different options in terms of gameplay and the overall outcome at the end of the game. According to Darren Franich, “Videogames have become more “filmlike,” with more realistic characters and complex plotting,” (Franich, 2011). Video games affect the younger generation immensely, which is important to recognize because the younger generations are the ones causing the most problems within society. There are kids as young a ten years old playing violent video games for excessive hours, daily. According to a recen...

    Read More

More about Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

Open Document