Building an open world like that of GTA VI does not simply mean assembling maps, vehicles and missions. Rockstar Games adopts an approach based on development cycles, integrating playable sections and checking them repeatedly while the various departments continue to work on the project. Revealing it was Rob Nelson, head of Rockstar North's development and co-director, in an interview with Love Magazine. The process begins with asset creation, system implementation and content definition in different development areas. These elements do not remain isolated until the final stages: the team gathers them through eight-week milestones, dedicated to agreed portions of the game. At the end of each cycle, developers analyze what works, collect observations and decide on what aspects to focus on next milestone. This process is repeated for years, with continuous corrections of course, always keeping the general direction on the experience that the game must transmit. The long experience of the senior team is fundamental. Many of the main figures have been working together for a long time and fully know their responsibilities and goals. In such a vast work, this continuity allows to simultaneously advance technology, writing, animations and construction of the world without losing the overall vision. The size of the production emerges from the quantity of elements that populate Leonida: hundreds of vehicles, over 150 animal species and a very varied crowd. Numbers that connect to the details of the live world of GTA VI, but that do not explain the work necessary to make credible every corner of the map. A significant part is dedicated to creating non-playing characters. Rockstar created in Los Angeles an entire team of screenwriters specializing in the dialogues of passersby, who work closely with a local production team responsible for turning those jokes into thousands of distinct inhabitants. James Horton, head of open world writing, explains that there are no shortcuts to achieve such a vast and consistent environment. The priority is to provide the right people with sufficient time and resources so that every detail can also be found when the player decides to observe it closely. The goal is to create a natural flow of voices while running along a crowded road, with overlapping conversations. If the player stops listening to a single exchange, this moment must be convincing. The quantity meets artisanal care, consistent with the choice of developing GTA VI without the use of content generated by AI. VERDETTO: MISTO Il ciclo di sviluppo descritto da Rockstar è un approccio che, in teoria, dovrebbe garantire un GTA VI maturo e dettagliato. L’idea di iterare su cicli di otto settimane, validando costantemente le sezioni create, è interessante, soprattutto considerando la scala del progetto – Leonida con centinaia di veicoli e oltre 150 specie animali. Tuttavia, l'enfatizzazione sulla continuità del team senior e sull'assenza di "scorciatoie" rischia di sollevare qualche preoccupazione. Un ciclo così lungo, se strettamente legato al successo, potrebbe anche nascondere un rischio: una eccessiva fedeltà alle prime scelte, rallentando l’innovazione o la correzione di problemi emergenti nel corso del tempo. Il coinvolgimento di sceneggiatori specializzati nei dialoghi dei passanti e il focus sulla coerenza dell'ambiente suggeriscono un’attenzione ai dettagli che è encomiabile, ma restano da vedere se questo si tradurrà in un'esperienza di gioco veramente dinamica e reattiva alle azioni del giocatore. La dipendenza da un flusso di lavoro iterativo, senza un quadro chiaro delle metriche di valutazione a breve termine, potrebbe portare a una “ricchezza” eccessiva a scapito dell’equilibrio e della giocabilità.
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