GTA 5 Mission Details, Character Switching, and Open-World Heists Revealed

Dutch gaming website GameKings managed to get some face time with Rockstar Games' Dan Houser to talk about Grand Theft Auto V. They've posted up their findings on a video to describe all they learned about the game during their trip to the studio.

GTA fans have since translated the video feature into English, with some new details about the game and some clarifications about what the press saw at an event recently held by the studio.

According to the feature, Houser confirmed that the scene in which press members who witnessed a gameplay demo of GTA V can see Michael sitting by the pool isn't a cutscene, but a playable section of the game. Likewise, the mission showcased to the press was real gameplay, and not a scripted sequence. Neither of these scenes have been shown to the public as of yet, and should not be confused with the game's second trailer.

Each character approaches a mission through different means. For example, Michael and Trevor approach the mission by helicopter, while Franklin gets there on his motorbike.

The game's switching mechanism gives players an indicator for each and every protagonist on the zoomed out map, which you can switch between. It switches between the game's three protagonists, Michael, Franklin and Trevor. The system is unscripted, so you'll be able to switch to these characters throughout the game. This differs from Heavy Rain's linear narrative, which forces players into the roles of the different protagonists throughout the story.

In line with GTA V's free-form gameplay, players will be able to perform heists and hijackings by following armored vans (displayed as money symbols on the map) and take the money for themselves. It's not too different from Red Dead Redemption in that sense.

Both Michael and Trevor are former bankrobbers with criminal pasts, and the much younger Franklin sees them as anti-role models.

Rockstar is said to have done a lot of research on the LAPD, and San Quentin State Prison. Presumably, these real life places will have analogues within Los Santos.

You can watch the original video at GameKings if you can understand the language.