When going out to a protest currently means that you’ll likely be fired at and knocked-out by clowns wearing police uniforms instead of squeaky red noses (really need to fix those uniforms), some gamers have found a creative way of ensuring that their voices are still heard, yet while maintaining their physical safety.
In news that likely has Take-Two Interactive frustrated as they’ve attempted more than once to remove all forms of external servers and mods being run within Grand Theft Auto 5, users have taken to roleplay servers to safely protest against police brutality in a format where they can safely respawn once the police-officers ‘feel threatened’.
In a picture linked to, dozens of GTA players stand outside of a police station in Los Santos (the digital knock-off of a real-life LA, complete with hookers) while other users RP as police officers.
Perhaps not entirely surprising, but it appears as though the users roleplaying as the police arse doing a far better job at controlling themselves, even as chat fills with text from George Floyd’s last words.
In spite of tear gas being readily available in Los Santos, there is none to be seen in use in the picture. Also notably absent are bloodstains, warfare vehicles being used against a peaceful protest, and the person that took the screenshot doesn’t seem to be targeted by overweight middle-aged men with riot gear.
Impressive stuff.
Reddit via /u/_o_h_n_o_
While we briefly mentioned this in an early snippet of humor, it’s important to note that this could not have happened if Rockstar (and Take-Two Interactive) didn’t capitulate to growing pressure from fans of the title to block mods.
Even as more mod authors end up being chased down by odd litigation threats because Rockstar doesn’t like what the mod entails, modding becomes an ever-increasing method that allows users to interact with worlds with far greater detail and freedom than developers would otherwise allow. If you’re looking for why the PC gaming community defends modding to their dying breath, look no further than this.
The irony that Grand Theft Auto, a franchise consistently disparaged by talking-heads as inciting violence and encouraging anarchy, is now being used by players to peacefully protest when physical protesting is fraught with dangers, is not lost on us.
Grand Theft Auto 5 has recently been in the news for being re-re-released for the upcoming PlayStation 5, which should be arriving this holiday window presuming that COVID-19 (or 2020 in general) doesn’t have any more curveballs to bean us with.