The Architecture Of Grand Theft Auto V | Video Essay

GTAV’s Los Santos, like most American cities, makes you spend a lot of time in your car. But because you don’t need to have any regard for signs, pedestrians or the law, you have the time and space to look around, identify buildings and place mental waypoints, subconsciously or otherwise. The game encourages virtual cartography, in a way.

One of the tenets of a great video game city is the feeling of immersion, that the city has it’s own personality and architecture. Los Angeles is a monument to the philosophy coined by architecture critic Reyner Banham which he calls: “doing your thing”.

Anyone who has had hands on experience with the franchise can tell you that this phrase wholly envelops the gaming style of GTA players. Whether you want to steal a jet, rob a store or scale a mountain in a lorry, Los Santos is a city that encourages you to “do your thing” in the most extreme way.

This video essay from Thinky Boxes explains the interesting story behind Grand Theft Auto's diverse and extremely-detailed architecture.