GTA, Humor, and Protagonists - Wordplay and the Discourse of Video Games - page 93

One key that makes the design of Niko work within the game is that he
is clearly constructed as 'other.' Throughout the game, particularly in the
opening moments, both Niko and other surrounding characters stress that
he is “just of the boat,” a brand new immigrant to Liberty City. Similar
patterns are continued in other entries into the series, most notably in GTA:
Chinatown Wars , where Huang Lee is also referenced as “just of the boat”
to seek redemption for his family. This narrative technique allows the game
and player to make anything of the protagonists, ef ectively constructing a
blank slate upon which to signify. The problem, however, is that assigning
all of these activities to an 'other' frees players to place anything they do
onto a character that is fundamentally not them. Gamers note some of the
benefi ts of a character like Niko in evaluating an expansion to GTA IV ,
GTA: The Lost and Damned . The game “is not one of Rockstar's stronger
of ering. Johnny's [the protagonist] is not a likeable guy . . . He's just an
ass as is everyone else in The Lost [Johnny's biker gang].” 45 In specifi c com-
parison to Niko, GTA IV 's main character “is a lot more than just a guy
with a funny accent. Niko's journey is one of a lonely immigrant looking
for companionship in a strange city. Though he does bad things, he never
comes of as a bad guy. The same can't be said for Johnny.” 46 Johnny grew
up Liberty City, which leaves less room to imagine him as a character for-
eign to his environment or for players to identify with him from a distance;
he is more of a fi xed product who started his development close to home.
As a result, Johnny “seems to lack the depth or confl icting feelings that
other central characters of the GTA IV franchise” 47 possess. This may be a
more disturbing legacy of the series than the sex or violence. To enable the
cognitive distance to develop the narrative of GTA in an intriguing manner,
it seems that GTA needs to make the protagonist either a featureless blob
or a confl icted other. This aspect of design prevents the game from asking
too many harsh questions about contemporary society so that the focus of
gamers can be placed on humor and immersion.
The contents of reviews about GTA are quite dif erent from mainstream,
non-gamer discourse about the game. Wordplay shows that GTA of ers
gamers an intriguing package that draws them into a complex world, but
can solidify problematic assumptions about the other.
LEARNING FROM VIOLENCE:
THE CASE OF GRAND THEFT AUTO
The GTA series is particularly interesting as a case study because the games
are among the biggest sellers in the video game industry and among the
most frequently discussed by those who do not play games. As a result, they
of er a useful opportunity to apply wordplay. Perhaps the most interesting
facet of GTA is that the elements of the game that are particularly polar-
izing, the sex and violence, are often left out of the evaluation of the game