Serious Games for Immersive Cultural Training: Creating a Living World
by Marjorie A. Zielke, Monica J. Evans, Frank Dufour, Timothy Van Christopher, Jumanne K. Donahue, Phillip Johnson, Erin B. Jennings, Brent S. Friedman, Phonesury L. Ounekeo, and Ricardo Flores
In Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto IV (GTA IV), the in-world juke box plays songs remixed for Liberty City, the fictional, yet very real feeling, place where protagonist Niko Bellic pursues ethically questionable missions with lingering moral angst. Virtual nonplayer characters (NPCs) use umbrellas when it rains. Low-income neighborhoods have cracked and broken streets with eroding asphalt. Various brands of cars handle differently, and the driver's body reacts accordingly when slamming on the brakes. The publisher uses its own RAGE (Rockstar Advanced Game Engine) software and incorporates the Euphoria engine from NaturalMotion to create a living world where gamers care not only about the character but also about Liberty City.
