Highlights
- GTA 6’s Vice City promises a stunning modern upgrade, embracing Florida culture with unique side activities and a satirical touch.
- The game may feature the Kennedy Space Center, allowing players to hijack high-propulsion spacecraft for absurd and interactive gameplay.
- GTA 6’s open-world design continues the series’ tradition of embracing ridiculousness and absurdity, offering players unique and gratifying experiences.
Grand Theft Auto 6 is slated to come out next year, and naturally, it’s already one of the most highly anticipated game releases ever. GTA 6‘s reveal trailer shined a light on its protagonists, stunning modern rendition of Vice City, and narrative premise, giving players a glimpse of its tone and general story foundations.
Plenty of ink has been spilled about GTA 6‘s plot, multiplayer component, and gameplay mechanics, with speculation generally running rampant. But perhaps more important than any of these individual points is how Vice City functions as an open-world. With players returning to the fictional city after so many years, and with GTA 4 and GTA 5 launching in the interim, it’s safe to say that GTA 6‘s Vice City is going to be a considerable upgrade from its 2002 counterpart, much like how GTA 5‘s rendition of San Andreas was an evolution of the titular 2004 game. With this in mind, and considering Vice City’s Floridian influences, there’s a wealth of opportunity for inventive open-world design.
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GTA 6 Could Take Inspiration from the Kennedy Space Center
It goes without saying that GTA 6 will feature unique side activities, many of which will no doubt be informed by perceptions of real-world Florida culture. Given GTA‘s satirical nature, players can expect to bump into alligator-related conundrums and plenty of ‘Florida-man’ antics, but the panhandle state isn’t all gators and eccentric locals.
One of Florida’s greatest points of pride is the Kennedy Space Center, located in Cape Canaveral. A major NASA spaceport, the KSC is a key venue for astronomical research and shuttle launches, utilized by both government agencies and private corporations like SpaceX. For many, the KSC is a testament to human ingenuity and scientific ambition, but GTA‘s over-the-top charm means that this iconic location can be featured in a decidedly less sober way.
Going Beyond Planes and Helicopters in GTA 6
If Rockstar wants to elevate GTA‘s infamous open-world activities, then the Kennedy Space Center may provide one golden opportunity: the chance to hijack high-propulsion spacecraft. Of course, this would be a completely ridiculous inclusion—it’s not like spacecraft are left unattended on launch pads for anyone to climb into, for one thing—but GTA 6‘s wild tone looks more in line with GTA 5 than GTA 4. That is to say, it may benefit from leaning into absurdity, if this benefits its unique open-world gameplay.
The Kennedy Space Center also launches cutting-edge, high-speed jets, which could also perhaps be stolen by players.
Such an idea would be mostly hinged on novelty, to be sure, as a full-blown trip into outer space may be a bit too far-fetched even for Grand Theft Auto. But it would work well as an open-world gimmick: open-world appeal is usually predicated on the ever-present notion of ‘go anywhere, do anything,’ so allowing players to fulfill the absurd fantasy of hopping into a rocket and flying it for a few minutes would add meaningful, gratifying interactivity to GTA6‘s version of Vice City. Even if players can only pilot these spacecraft for a few minutes before being shot down, it would be an interesting way to reward those looking to take the risk and experiment with the open-world sandbox, while fleshing out the game’s map via the real-world Cape Canaveral influence.
Again, Grand Theft Auto has never been about realism. Even GTA 4, the series’ most grounded entry, is totally implausible in many ways, showing a satirical reflection of the American dream instead of relying on verisimilitude. Simply put, if GTA 6 is going to be ridiculous and unbelievable, as is the series’ custom, then it should go all the way, and some spacecraft shenanigans would be a setting-appropriate way to do just that.