Grand Theft Auto IV as Educational Software

by Dr. Foo Chek Yang / IIT – GET
9 July 2008

 

Game Genre

Action-Adventure

  

Introduction

Grand Theft Auto IV (GTA IV) is the most recent iteration of a series of sandbox-styled action-adventure games. The game has been commercially very successful for its publisher, Rockstar Games, with 3.6 million copies of the game sold on the first day of release. The game has been released for Xbox 360 and PS3 so far.

The player takes the role of a Niko Bellic, a East European ex-army turned immigrant to the fictional city, Liberty City, an amalgamation of several real American cities. As Niko, a player will undertake missions for criminal organizations, including the Italian and Russian mafias. A number of missions involve violence, for example the assassination of a crime figure and his gang of cronies.

GTA IV has not been without its controversy, much of it revolving around the violent nature of its gameplay. As recently as 27 June 2008, Newsday.com reported of several teenagers going on a crime-spree in New Hyde Park in New York. When arrested, they told detectives that they were imitating scenes from Grand Theft Auto IV. Earlier iterations of the game series have also been named in lawsuits, some of which involved murders and lawyers claiming the accused had been influenced by these games.

  

Learning opportunities

That said, I do not think GTA IV is without educational merit. Without trivializing the seriousness of real-world urban violence vis-à-vis GTA IV’s in-game violence, there are still several aspects of the game that can form learning opportunities.

Cultural and social aspects. The game’s main character, Niko, interacts with a large cast of characters in the story. Each character is well-defined with their individual back story, interests, agenda and motivations. There are lengthy dialog sequences that take place between and during missions. While the game does not shy away from profanity spoken by characters or ‘adult’ themes in the game, there are nonetheless numerous and frequently fascinating insights revealed about the ‘American Dream’, and real-world issues like racism, organized crime, prostitution and drugs contained in each conversation. Simply by listening to the dialog and following the story, the player will become aware these themes that while are ‘mature’ are nonetheless very real aspects of modern society today.

Another aspect that facilitates such exposure is GTA IV’s inclusion of its very own in-game ‘Internet’. Niko can log onto a computer in one of Liberty City’s Internet cafes, and surf within a large range of web sites that are clever parodies of current Internet phenomenon. They include online dating, blogs and product and adult web sites.

Cause and effect. While violent actions form a large part of the game, the game does not disassociate performing violent actions from its effects. Much of this is possible through that the game is sandbox-styled i.e. the player is permitted to undertake a large range of actions when facing any given situation or challenge. But the player must bear the consequences for his choice of actions. For example, if Niko has to reach a destination in the shortest time possible, he can hire a cab and trust the cab driver to get him to the destination with the best road conditions possible. Alternatively, Niko can drive there himself. While driving, the player can abide by all traffic rules but this may delay his arrival. If he instead drives carelessly and ploughs into pedestrians accidentally or on purpose, or tries to get to his destination by speeding through traffic lights not in his favor, local authorities will be alerted and he will be pursued by the police. When pursued, he can attempt to outrun them, but this could in turn lead to more police alerted to his actions, which can make outrunning them collectively even harder. At every turn, players are forced to consider the implications of each action they perform.

Problem-solving and creativity. Another effect of the game’s sandbox-style nature is that there is frequently numerous ways to solve the problems posed in each game mission. The road network in Liberty City mimics that of a real city. For example, roads vary in width and condition. Traffic density changes depending on the city’s area, for example if it is heavily commercial, poor urban or high-class residential. When Niko needs to go from point A to B, the game often helpfully suggests and outlines a possible path to take. But the player is permitted to exercise his creativity and get to the destination by taking a different path or even employing different modes of transportation beyond that suggested by the mission. In addition, if Niko is tasked to take down a criminal leader inside a large building occupied by criminals, he can opt to run in with guns blazing and dispose of everyone inside. Alternatively, he can reconnoiter the area and look for some other quieter way in and only dispose of those he cannot stealthily get past.

GTA IV’s learning opportunities would not had been possible without two important aspects of the game: firstly, its inclusion of a strong and believable story that presents worldviews in a context that players will find engaging. Secondly, the large range of permissible actions that can be undertaken by Niko coupled with the game developers’ conscious design objective of letting players decide how they want to solve a problem.

  

Caveats (for parents)

Even with the potential learning opportunities noted above, parents of players should keep in mind that the game is not for minor audiences. Graphically there are other games which present blood shedding in more realistic fashion. However,  parents should still be aware that the adult themes and situations presented in this game include:

• Cop-violence and killing. The player could be required to steal police cars, and in one instance assassinate a ranking police officer (though this officer in the story line is corrupt). In other instances, the player may have to shoot down police helicopters in order to make good his escape.
• Kidnapping. The player kidnaps the daughter of a mafia boss, knocks her unconscious , and later dumps her in a car boot to move her around.
• Bank robbery. One of the key missions in the game include a bank heist, and escape from an extensive police cordon.
• Partial nudity.

  

Who should play the game

GTA IV is rated “M18” under Singapore’s Game Classification System. Only persons who are 18 or older are allowed to purchase the game. Older players are less impressionable than minors, and can better distinguish for themselves the positive and negative influences within the game.

  

Summarized learning and skills table

Analytical skills	Average
Resource planning	Low
Decision-making	Average
Problem-solving	High
Dexterity and agility	High
Game difficulty	Medium
Approximate time to complete	Long (50+ hours to complete)

 

Required equipment

Grand Theft Auto IV is published for the Xbox 360 and PS3 gaming consoles.

Official web site for the game: http://www.rockstargames.com/IV/