„I was a lonely and unhappy man.” Rockstar Games legend explains why GTA 4 is such a dark game

During a conversation with Lex Fridman, Rockstar Games co-founder Dan Houser revealed that the dark atmosphere of Grand Theft Auto IV largely reflects his own emotional state during the game's development. Turns out, working on one of the darkest installments of the series happened to coincide with a pretty turbulent time in the creator's personal life.

The creator mentioned that uncertainty followed him both in his personal and professional life. Rockstar Games was still feeling the effects of the infamous Hot Coffee scandal from the GTA: San Andreas era. The whole scandal started when people found a hidden mini-game in the 2004 release that let CJ get it on with some of the female characters. This led to lawsuits, a grilling in the US Congress, and the game being pulled from shelves.

The script for the fourth installment of the series was developed in an atmosphere of anxiety and reflection. Houser wanted to capture the "dark side of New York" while also telling the story of the immigrant experience, although—as he admitted himself—he is not sure how accurately he portrayed this phenomenon in the context of 2008.

The writing process was not typically office-based—the co-founder of Rockstar Games spent a lot of time on the city's streets, talking to people, and even accompanying the New York police on patrols.

During the same interview, Houser also shared some interesting facts about the creation of Red Dead Redemption and other Rockstar Games projects, and explained why, in his opinion, some iconic video game franchises—such as GTA or Fallout—are inextricably linked to the United States.

Grand Theft Auto IV

April 29, 2008

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• Rockstar Games
• Dan Houser
• GTA / Grand Theft Auto (franchise)
• interviews