The Meaning and Culture of Grand Theft Auto: Critical Essays

by Nate Garrelts

The immensely popular Grand Theft Auto game series has inspired a range of reactions among players and commentators, and a hot debate in the popular media. These essays from diverse theoretical perspectives expand the discussion by focusing scholarly analysis on the games, particularly Grand Theft Auto III (GTA3), Grand Theft Vice City ( and Grand Theft San Andreas (

Part One of the book discusses the fears, lawsuits, legislative proposals, and other public reactions to Grand Theft Auto, detailing the conflict between the developers of adult oriented games and various new forms of censorship. Depictions of race and violence, the pleasure of the carnivalistic gameplay, and the significance of sociopolitical satire in the series are all important elements in this controversy. It is argued that the general perception of digital changed fundamentally following the release of Grand Theft Auto III. The second section of the book approaches the games as they might be studied absent of the controversy. These essays study why and how players meaningfully play Grand Theft Auto games, reflecting on the elements of daily life that are represented in the games. They discuss the connection between game space and real space and the many ways that players mediate the symbols in a game with their minds, computers, and controllers.

Genres: Video Games, Gaming

380 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 5, 2006

Reviews

[dejah_thoris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am old enough to remember the controversy over the killing the hooker cheat, but I do not remember any coverage on the Hot Coffee mini-game, so I had to look up examples of that module. Most of the nascent game analysis has held up over time, especially for those of us who stopped playing when these games debuted. The expected essays on race and violence are included, but I really enjoyed reading Higgin's "Play Fighting: Understanding Violence in Grand Theft Auto III", which is how I used GTA:VC as a teenager. The remarks on the GTA series being the first sandbox environment were also revealing, especially now that we have games like Minecraft. For that dimension, Welch's "Everyday Play: Cruising for Leisure in San Andreas" describing how GTA:SA can be used as a tourist environment is very interesting. Finally, Parry's "Playing with Style: Negotiating Digital Games Studies" brings up many broader issues in how game studies is defined and serves as a good way to close the book. Yes, this collection is a bit outdated, but not knowing much about how digital game studies has evolved since its publication in 2006, it still serves as a good primer for the significant issues surrounding the GTA franchise.