GTA 5 Voice Cast Includes Real Gang Members to Bring 'Authenticity' to Characters
The upcoming Grand Theft Auto 5 game went all out to get an authentic feel to it by getting real gang members to voice the game's many gangs.
"When we record all these ambient characters that are in the world we go towards authenticity," game producer Lazlow Jones told WGN. "So in the game, part of the element of the story is that there's rival gangs."
"There's black gangs, there's Latino gangs, and we recruited a guy who gets gang members, like actual gang members, real gang members. I mean, El Salvadorian gang dudes with amazing tattoos and one of which literally had gotten out of prison the day before. And we brought these guys in to record the gang characters because you know, you don't want a goofy LA actor who went to a fancy school trying to be a hard gang member. There's nothing worse than that," he continued.
Jones said finding the most "terrifying" people and convincing them to record was the goal from the get go, according to VideoGamer.com.
"And they look at the lines and they say, 'I wouldn't say that. If I was upset at another gang, I wouldn't say that'. So... say what you would say. Authenticity, you know?" he explained. "There's a lot of sessions that we would have where we would just throw the script on the floor and be like, this thing we wrote is irrelevant, let's just work out something real."
Jones did not specify what celebrities were involved with the game, but did confirm there were many.
The game will launch on September 17 for the PS3 and Xbox 360 with new information expected to be announced at 5pm tonight.
The GTA franchise has always been mired in controversy for its violent content, and its portrayal of drug use and prostitution as storylines to the game. Despite these concerns, the games continue to be among the most popular of any series out there.