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Sunday 5 October, 2008
GTA:SA - Play 1
I have played other editions of Grand Theft Auto in the past, in particular Vice City, but I never got around to San Andreas. Getting started on the game was a bit tricky, as my computer has been broken as of late.
Fortunately, I got it up and running, and managed to get started on GTA. I even found a game controller to use, as I knew ahead of time that I am not nearly dexterous to play via keyboard.
I got started on the game, and realized right away that it follows the same rules as the other GTA games - you play a criminal, steal/injure/scam to get ahead in the game, and the game itself is chock full of racial, sexual, and cultural stereotypes. But it's fun, right?
One thing that stood out to me right away was the first cut scene. Carl, on his way home via taxi, is stopped by the cops, beat up, robbed, and blackmailed. What this said to me right away is that the 'code of ethics' in this world has to be questioned. Clearly, in an ethical world, this incident would not have happened. Carl had not done anything except get in a cab from the airport, so there was no good reason for the cops to stop him. Point being - one of the codes of ethics is violated in principle: The Social Contract theory. This theory requires that a society have rules and enforce them. Assuming that the GTA world's laws are based off our own, the laws are not enforced. In contrast, the enforcers actually BREAK them.
Taking this into consideration, it can be said that the 'society' of the GTA world doesn't actually exist. The 'law' is a front - there are no real laws, just people with their own agendas. The cops 'act' as cops, but they don't follow the laws set in place. (another example - they shoot first, ask questions later) However, people sharing similar views form into groups - the gangs, the police, the civilians - each are programmed to act a certain way within their own group, and a certain way to other groups.
Basically, there are 'micro-societies' in GTA. Sometimes they coexist, sometimes they don't. Carl, after the first cut scene, is forced to find his own 'society' to exist in - his home gang.
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