Rockstar Says GTA VI Has Around 600,000 NPC Animations

Rockstar Games says it created around 600,000 animations for non-player characters in Grand Theft Auto VI, a system the studio says will help pedestrians react to players and their surroundings with greater variety. Rob Nelson, co-head of Rockstar North, described the animation work in an interview about the game’s development. One report characterized the total as more than 600,000, while another described it as around 600,000. Both accounts trace to Nelson’s remarks, rather than independent testing of the game. Nelson said characters will have individual personality traits and that their responses can depend on player behavior, nearby vehicles, weather and time of day. The animation system is intended to reflect those differences. He described questions the development team considered, including which characters might become aggressive or reach for a weapon. The game is set in the fictional state of Leonida, which includes Vice City. Rockstar has also described procedural systems for populating the world and filling spaces with characters. How the reported systems will work in the finished game has not been independently demonstrated in the material reviewed. Nelson also...