San Andreas’ map was revolutionary. It was detailed, full of character, and, of course, it was huge. Expectations were high for what would come next. If Rockstar could create a map like San Andreas on the PS2, what could they do in the future with better hardware, more manpower, and more money?
What they did do was somewhat unexpected. GTA 4 and 5’s maps were much more detailed than their PS2 predecessors. They both had strong and distinctive tones. But in terms of scale, GTA 4 was smaller, and GTA 5—though technically larger—felt smaller to many GTA fans.
GTA 5 felt smaller for several reasons. The countryside, for instance, consisted of a desert surrounded by bare-topped mountains. There was very little to break lines of sight in the country and create a sense of remoteness.
This wouldn’t be an issue if there were good reasons to travel to the countryside outside missions. San Andreas provided a reason in the form of cities to travel between. In San Andreas, rural areas served as borderlands between the cities–distinct areas that simulated going on a long cross-country journey and accentuated the density of the urban areas.
GTA 5, however, only has one city. Nothing worthwhile lies to the north of the rural regions. Every journey into the countryside must end with the player turning back to the only city on the map.
To be clear, I am not saying that cities are superior to rural areas in real life. GTA is an urban sandbox—a game centred on driving and NPC interactions. GTA thrives in spaces with high road densities. That’s where most of the cars, missions, stunt jumps, services, NPCs, and properties are. That’s where most players in GTA Online spend their time.
The main advantage of rural areas is that they bring variety to a map. After spending so much time in a city, it is nice to immerse yourself in the atmosphere of the country and drive offroad or on long, winding, relatively empty roads to shake up the gameplay experience and atmosphere.
But time in the GTA countryside will always be short-lived. Eventually, players will want to return to the city.
The best way to integrate rural areas is how San Andreas did it—by having them serve as transitionary spaces—places you passed through on your way to the next urban area. Rural areas should enhance a map’s sense of scale and density, not draw attention to its smallness and emptiness.
GTA 5 does not provide any significant urban destination north of the map. Outside missions, there is little reason to leave Los Santos. Everything the countryside offers, Los Santos has in greater quantity and density. Other than Trevor’s trailer, there are no properties to save your game at. The largest secondary urban area, Paleto Bay, offers nothing to make the long journey to it worthwhile. Journeys into the country in free roam have to be done for the sake of it. Every rural excursion inevitably ends with turning around and going back to Los Santos.
GTA 5 lacks a sense of ‘arriving’ anywhere at the end of a long country journey. Sandy Shores and Paleto Bay stack up poorly against the mighty Los Santos. Los Santos is like a black hole–no matter how far you travel from it, its presence is always felt. Los Santos’ significance is excessive. Without any major urban areas to compete for the player’s attention, the entire island is marred by Los Santos’ shadow.
If Rockstar makes the same mistake with GTA 6, it will be exasperating to say the least. Without at least one major urban area besides Vice City, GTA 6’s map will likely give the same impression of smallness GTA 5’s map does.
Considering GTA 6 may be the only new GTA we get for fifteen years, another map that exudes a sense of smallness would be hard to excuse, especially since Rockstar has had so long to learn from the feedback they received from San Andreas and GTA 5. Surely, twenty years on from San Andreas, Rockstar can at least match what they did back then?
The most popular GTA 6 map projection floating around presents multiple large cities with rural areas in between. This map is often presented as accurate, but it is actually mostly guesswork.
Map predictions based solely on what has been verified through the leaks and trailer are far more limited (see picture above). They show only a bit of Vice City, some urban development in the northwest corner, and fog of war everywhere else.
For the time being, it is hard to say whether Rockstar will give GTA fans the multi-city map they’ve been clamouring for since San Andreas set our standards so high. We have only glimpses, nothing conclusive.
It won’t be long until we find out for sure. The shadow of San Andreas looms large.