The BBC uses GTA 6 previews, where Jason and Lucia's bond grows through outings and small gestures, to revive a debate: is flirting with a game character cheating?
Sources bbc.com
Rockstar has hinted that Jason and Lucia do not have to become a full-on couple, but that their bond can grow outside the main story, the BBC reports in a piece by Jim Reed. Shopping, bars, restaurants, working out together, holding hands, replying fast to texts: small interactions would build the relationship. The broadcaster says it restarts a debate almost as old as gaming.
In September, YouGov put the question to more than 4,000 British adults, the BBC writes. About 6% would call it cheating and another 19% would "not be okay with it". Women were considerably more likely than men to take a dim view. Alli Franco, a Texan with over a million TikTok followers, says that if a partner is insecure about a fictional character, "there needs to be some serious reflection", likening it to a crush on a TV star.
Games have long let players bond with non-player characters: marrying villagers in Harvest Moon in 1996, emotional storylines in Final Fantasy VII, romance in Baldur's Gate II, families in The Sims. The BBC's point is that those were scripted in advance. GTA 6 seems to let the relationship react to open-world choices. Arienne Ferchaud, an associate professor at Florida State University, says "the more sophisticated games get, the less likely it is that players get pulled out of the experience".
Worth remembering: the relationship is between two characters you control, Jason and Lucia, not a virtual partner built to replace anyone. We track what Rockstar has said in the journal, and we already covered the detail work Bloomberg described and Lucia set against Arthur Morgan and Niko Bellic.
Read also GTA 6 will make Jason and Lucia sweat realistically, Bloomberg's Schreier says
The BBC looks ahead: Nvidia, Ubisoft and others are testing generative-AI characters that remember past encounters. Ferchaud calls that "a stronger illusion" rather than a meaningful connection. Nothing says GTA 6 uses it, and nothing of the kind has been announced.
Nothing new about the game itself: the BBC comments on previews, not an announcement. But a general news outlet devoting a piece to Jason and Lucia shows how big the wait is before November 19. The couple debate needs no controller to exist.
Sources bbc.com
By Chloé · GTAVIFRANCE newsroom
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