Since I'm currently playing San Andreas (the old PS2 version, not the re-release... whose release prompted me to dust off said game anyway, since I'd never quite finished it) I was wondering, how would you mess with history, in order to make the IRL United States resemble those depicted in the series? Since the places in which GTA is set are over the top parodies of real places, that wouldn't be hard to do, but the unhinged radio station hosts, the advertisements for products that'd be banned in any sane society, the fact that common criminals can wield bazookas and go toe to toe with the army, and so on... what would have to happen to the real USA to get such a mess of a place?
WI: How to make the IRL United States resemble their Grand Theft Auto version as much as possible?
- Thread starter Neoteros
- Start date
Two problems :
1. Religion
2. Morality
Zero chance ANY society, not just the USA would tolerate the amount of ridiculousness in the video games. The only way I can think it's possible is if anarchism is embranced
1. Religion
2. Morality
Zero chance ANY society, not just the USA would tolerate the amount of ridiculousness in the video games. The only way I can think it's possible is if anarchism is embranced
*insert post saying how religious and moral systems can and have encouraged violence against those who refuse to conform* (Guilty as charged, I would definitely make a post like that without the sarcasm!)
*insert multiple replies from anarchists of all sorts saying that they don't go around shooting people for shit and giggles*
GTA is basically the video game version of South Park.
It does follow our history except name have been changed.
It does follow our history except name have been changed.
The situation(s) in certain parts of the Western Hemisphere to the South of the U.S. makes me wonder a bit about how far things can go off the rails in more or less western oriented societies.
Granted the root causes behind the violence and the character of the violence are rather different, but criminals going toe to toe with the local Armed forces seems to happen on occasion. I've seen "police" and or armed forces personnel essentially acting as police with belt fed automatic weapons on patrol in places.
I suppose in fairness the US and Canada have deployed at least parts of their armed forces on occasion for domestic law enforcement related issues (but it seems far less common to me than in some locations to the south of the US border and actual pitched battles between criminals and the armed forces in the US and Canada seem extremely rare if not entirely un heard of in modern times ?)
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Or the Australian-American War is a product of right-wing paranoia in the games.Not exactly.
In the series' continuity, the United States is at war with Australia (for some reason).
Australian-American War
The Australian-American War was a fictional war fought between the United States of America and Australia, mentioned in Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Grand Theft Auto IV and Grand Theft Auto V. Owing to the conflict being mentioned in games...gta.fandom.com
Though, according to the wiki, it seems like the war with Australia is supposed to be a stand in for the 2003 war in Iraq, but got picked up by other games because of how ridiculous it sounded.
There's no indication it occurred there. It may not have happened at all in this universe. It's just the stuff of jokes.
Whatever it is, it's purely satire and the only time Americans and Australians fought was in the Battle of Brisbane.
You need to wank organized crime in order for them to compete with the police and make the US have a militarized police that keeps excalating it's use of force against criminals(similar to the 1-6 star system) but is unwilling to "waste time" going after criminals that avoided being captured long enough, in short only concerned with keeping order not with bringing criminals to trial
In short:
Make the US like the most unstable areas of latin america
Take a page from Colombia, Mexico and Brazil's drug cartel dominated areas
In short:
Make the US like the most unstable areas of latin america
Take a page from Colombia, Mexico and Brazil's drug cartel dominated areas
The United States somehow ends up as a corrupt borderline failed state like some of the worse off parts of South America.
So you want to see how we create a USA, where criminal and police elements are armed to the teeth, morally bankrupt companies market products toward people to their own detriment for profit, unhinged lunatics rant on the radio/television and corruption and greed burn at the highest echelons of power and everyone pretends like everything is fine and great with no genuine self-reflection of the situation ever? I dont think that's possible...
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Surprised how the issue of US government in GTA universe isn't emphasized much here besides the issue of militarized police and the like. The US government (GTA wiki link) there is literally just more of a friendly face of the organized crime and corporations running the scene - being highly corrupt, incompetent, or downright malignant. Essentially, the US here is a living example of what conspiracy theorists (and popular media) fear it should be, and is.
Just an example in GTA V - its literal equivalent of in-universe version of the CIA (IAA) and FBI (FIB) have an inter-service rivalry that would make IJA/IJN look friendly and civil, so desperate enough to get their funding to the point that they've to shoot out each other to get the hostage they wanted, and one of them considered doing a bio-weapon version of Operation Northwoods by releasing a major neuro-toxin in a major metropolitan area. We can probably safely assume there could be a Waco-siege equivalent and worse that's gonna be handled safely and efficiently by the FIB there somewhere. Not to mention Merryweather and other US PMC/mercs literally given the green flag to operate on US soil, and we know how that badly went in GTA V.
These videos basically sum up how the US government operates as a whole there.
Back to the point. To make IRL US resemble as much as their GTA versions, just basically make phenomenons and exaggerated headlines of the news mostly true to what it is, get the US morally as bankrupt as possible, even to the point religion, safety standards (which are almost nil in GTA universe) and the like's affected, and wank crimes all across the US, from simple graft and corruption, to literal deep/shadow state, and organized to unorganized crimes alike. It might need an ASB-intervention for that, but an alternate timeline is still an alternate timeline.
On the other hand, if you want the cool and advanced tech stuff... well... the US basically gets luck and runs their economy so well (despite all the stuff happening in the background) to the point they'd be way more advanced and the like in this timeline. But maybe only the richest, luckiest and best would get them, not to mention society here as a whole is just... US satire reality-wank.
Just an example in GTA V - its literal equivalent of in-universe version of the CIA (IAA) and FBI (FIB) have an inter-service rivalry that would make IJA/IJN look friendly and civil, so desperate enough to get their funding to the point that they've to shoot out each other to get the hostage they wanted, and one of them considered doing a bio-weapon version of Operation Northwoods by releasing a major neuro-toxin in a major metropolitan area. We can probably safely assume there could be a Waco-siege equivalent and worse that's gonna be handled safely and efficiently by the FIB there somewhere. Not to mention Merryweather and other US PMC/mercs literally given the green flag to operate on US soil, and we know how that badly went in GTA V.
These videos basically sum up how the US government operates as a whole there.
Back to the point. To make IRL US resemble as much as their GTA versions, just basically make phenomenons and exaggerated headlines of the news mostly true to what it is, get the US morally as bankrupt as possible, even to the point religion, safety standards (which are almost nil in GTA universe) and the like's affected, and wank crimes all across the US, from simple graft and corruption, to literal deep/shadow state, and organized to unorganized crimes alike. It might need an ASB-intervention for that, but an alternate timeline is still an alternate timeline.
On the other hand, if you want the cool and advanced tech stuff... well... the US basically gets luck and runs their economy so well (despite all the stuff happening in the background) to the point they'd be way more advanced and the like in this timeline. But maybe only the richest, luckiest and best would get them, not to mention society here as a whole is just... US satire reality-wank.
Surprisingly, the US in the GTA-verse has religion and morality that's as bankrupt as expected. Maybe in this TTL the counter-culture and certain other cultural events have a much, much more stronger impact to the point we get to the GTA-verse society full of shenanigans.
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Outside of edgy 14 year olds, I'm pretty sure no actual anarchists want a society resembling that of GTA.
There was a GTA style game series called True Crime and Sleeping Dogs which are great and excellent games. Sleeping Dogs is a great game and a realistic portrayal at Hong Kong politics.
I played both and oh man they're really underrated. At least you get to play cops and the like this time. Shame their devs closed down, thus leaving Sleeping Dogs without a sequel (which I imagine if made, would be way different today... considering the current state of Hong Kongers today). Well - GTA is meant to be a satire in the first place for some harmless fun or is it?
Square Enix still owns the IP and a feature film is confirmed to be in development
I think Rockstar openly acknowledged that GTA is a satire of American culture and the American dream. It’s supposed to portray American corruption and degeneracy at the highest level to poke at the American “dream”.
I remember I got True Crime: Streets of LA back then in 2003. This game introduced me to gangster rap.
I mistaken it for GTA because of it's an open-world game. It has been called reverse GTA due to being in the role of a cop. Unlike GTA though, True Crime is more into those Hong Kong-style of police movies. There is humor but its not a satire.
Props though that Sleeping Dogs is set in Hong Kong.
Well yes Rockstar did. The whole GTA especially the HD Universe is a "take-that" to the American politics, culture, and lifestyle. It puts it the same as level of satire as South Park. Both the political left and the political right are poked upon equally.
Anarchism?
As in the community owned and operated,we live together or we die alone
encouraging worker co-ops and housing co-ops, mutual aid, collectivize farming
Be the brash idiotic run and shoot blow up jump out of exploding planes
That's anarchism to you?
You clearly do not know enough about the philosophy and political thought. would you like some more information on it? I am genuinely open about it
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I was playing GTA IV off and on while living in New York, and while using the game as a way to vent about how I was utterly miserable with my entire life by causing chaos across the city I was struck by how the game showed both my childish innocence and denial about my situation (Roman) and my growing anger, cynicism, and sobriety about the city and the US in general (Niko).