Grand Theft Auto IV is a single-player video game set in a fictional city based on New York City. The main character is Niko Bellic, a Serbian immigrant who arrives in Liberty City seeking the American dream. The open world gameplay allows players to complete missions to earn money and explore the city, interacting with characters and committing crimes. The realistic graphics and narrative storytelling aim to fully immerse players in the virtual world.

1. Case Study
Grand theft auto IV

2. GTA IV
Name
Main character
including
Age
rating
Company
in which
made the
gameConsole brand

3. 1) TERMINLOGY: GAME WORLD
Game world: Liberty city
Terrain: The terrain is set in a large scale map,
inspired by new york city. The terrain includes
rivers, pathways, highways, nature areas, The sky,
train tracks ( and subways) and simplistic roads.
You can also go inside of some of the buildings.
Architecture: The architecture consists of
many tall buildings and skyscrapers. Other
architecture includes road bridges, overhead
road signs, planes (that aren't accessible), an
airport, crashed ships and the subway.
Objects: There are many objects in the game
in which the character can pick up or get
inside. They include weapons, vehicles, inside
the train, food, other people in the game, the
mobile device, computers and beds.

4. TERMINOLOGY: MAIN CHARACTERS
PLAYER (playable)
Niko Bellic – A Serbian foreigner living in liberty city for the USA
dream, and fighting gangsters to gain money.
(NON PLAYABLE)
GOOD CHARACTERS
Roman Bellic – Cousins with Niko. Taxi manager. He often gets
himself into trouble, in which Niko needs to save him from
Little Jacob – good friends with Niko and Roman. He is an arms/
drug dealer and helps Niko in some missions. He has Jamaican
routes.
Packie (Patrick) – part of the Irish mob and helps Niko in missions
GIRLFREINDS
Michelle – She is Nikos girlfriend for a while, till she exposes herself
as an undercover agent
Kate – Irish descendent, and sisters of Packie.
ANTAGONIST
Dimitri – Russian descendant. He betrays Niko as he blames him for
a sinking ship.

5. INTERFERANCE
Vibrates when the
character is in danger
or when he has
crashed
Play Station 3
Xbox 360
Needs a mouse in order to
play
PC
Both need the
toggles to move
about

6. PERSPECTIVES & CUT SCENES
PERSPECTIVES
GTA 4 uses 3D graphics in the gameplay. You can move in a 360
degree axis, and move forward and backwards. The character
viewing is third person, so you (the Player) see your character
walking around and doing other actions. when entering a car,
you will control and view the car from the outside. With
context sensitive, there are computers in the game, and in
which are accessible. When they are accessed, the gameplay
turns into the desktop, making the computer the full view
when in use. The same for the phone. It pops out from the
side. When accessed, you have full control over it.
CUT SCENES:
The game follows on as a story dedicated to Niko Bellic and his
life. The game includes cut scenes before and after the missions
and sometimes in-between them. this is so the player feels
more involved with the story.

7. AVATAR
The character which the player can control in the game is Niko Bellic. With
him, we can swap the clothing and shoes he wears (depending if he is in a
shop). We can also run, walk, sprint, duck and hit with him. Also, when
approaching the car (or any other available vehicle) , we can hijack them and
steal the cars. With this, the player can now control the transportation. We
can turn left or right, accelerate/break and reverse. We can also honk the
horn and switch the radio stations in he car/boat/helicopter. When armed
with a weapon, the controls change as hitting isn't an option anymore.
Instead, hitting s swapped for shooting. You can aim the gun on someone or
something and shoot.
GAME TYPE
The game is a single player game that follows on from one single
story

8. NARRATIVE
The game starts with Niko arriving in Liberty city, trying to live the American dream with his
cousin roman. Niko is from eastern Europe and arrives in America , to live with Roman. Niko
ends up living in a dirty apartment. To get money, he works for Vlad Glebov to earn small doses
of money. He later ends up killing him after finding out he slept with his cousin’s girlfriend. After
doing that, they end up kidnapped by other gang members. One member called Dmitri hires
niko for a while, till he betrays him. Niko then goes on to meet new people like little Jacob, who
is a drug dealer and good friends with roman. Packie, who is part of the Irish gangster
community. They also come across many other friends. Niko also has a love life, in which he
runs into different women. He first dates Michelle for a while, and then Packies sister. Niko ends
up getting more money, leading him to getting nicer apartments around liberty city. After a few
more challenges of saving roman, robberies, car chases and murdering bad guys, it eventually
comes the day of Romans wedding. There are two ways this wedding goes. It could go with Kate
to be shot, or Kate not going leading roman to be shot. (Kate's death) Niko tracks down
Pegorino (who Niko betrayed) to kill him for justice. (Romans death) An assassin is sent by
Dimitri but kills roman. Niko finds Dimitri and executes him.
The map is an open world map. When Niko isn’t playing a mission, he is free to explore liberty
city. He can steal the cars he wants, go bowling (or any other activities) with roman or any of his
other friends. He can murder civilians to steal their money and kill police to steal their guns.

9. SETTING
GTA IV takes place in a fake city called liberty city. (United States of America) The time is set
in the 21st century in its release year of 2008.
OBJECTIVE
The game consists of many objectives when completing missions. The main one would be to
defeat the enemy by killing them. There are other objectives for example chase the enemy, or
go to the certain location.
REWARDS
When completing a mission, Niko will earn some money. The prize varies when going in further
in on the game play. You get an new apartment depending on the mission you take. Cheats are
also received in the gameplay, so you can get new cars, or reduce the wanted level etc.
RULES OF A GAME
There are things in which apply to the game. If you jump off a high building, your health will
reduce highly. There is a certain height you can fly up to when in the helicopter. You cant sail too
far away from the map. At the beginning of the game, ¾ of the map is blocked. Passing it would
lead you to having all stars. Trains cant be stopped or hijacked. If you fail a mission, you have to
completely re-do it.

10. DIFFICULTY
There is no difficulty settings in the game
INVENTAGORY
In the game, you can save certain items you wish to keep. You save weapons when picking them
up. You lose them if the cops arrest you. You save cars in the two space parallel car spaces next
to the safe house. Cheats you dial are saved on a speed dial section on your phone. Outfits are
saved in the wardrobe in the safe house once purchased.
WINNING
The way you win on GTA is by completing the missions. You can also win items by collecting
what you find around the map. All your killing and carjacking sprees and your deaths are all
recorded in the menu. Your looses and wins in the missions you do and other information are
also recorded too.
BALANCED
Not much is balanced out in the game as skill aren't gained. But when in a mission, you may be
given a certain amount of people to kill, with no checkpoints. If the characters life is critically
low, there is usually a first aid bag for the character to gain health ah=gain, so they don’t die
near the end.

11. ADDICTION
Video game Addiction is where you cannot stop playing video games. It is a classified mental disorder, as of
2013. It can happen when the game offers a reward at the end of completing a level of it. You want to feel
the pleasure of winning something over and over again, causing you to non stop play a game until you finally
end up completing it. Also, you want to receive the profit from winning the game, so you don't stop until you
get your reward. One example of an addictive game would be candy crush. Its a game, that is really
addictive, as you are trying to reach a certain score to get to the next level. It gets addictive as mini
challenges happen inside of it. After a certain amount of turns, the game gives you a time out for about 20
minutes. This makes you more exited to play the game, once the time out is over, to make you go back for
more. Some of the symptoms it includes restlessness, migraine from eye strain, isolation, bad hygiene etc.
Also, the short term effects, can lead to sleep avoidance and not eating properly. Long term effects can lead
to financial and academic consequences. Video game addiction cam also lead to blood clots, from not
moving your leg. Video game addiction is a serious matter and can lead to dangerous consequences. In GTA
IV , it can get addicting, as you gain money from completing missions. With the missions, it gets addictive, as
you have to re do it if you fail it. This leads you to want to finish the level to move on.
. (2018). Video Game Addiction Symptoms, Causes and Effects.Available:
https://www.psychguides.com/guides/video-game-addiction-symptoms-causes-and-effects/.
Last accessed 25/02/2018

12. ARTISTIC STYLES
GTA 4 is one of the first in its franchise to have high definition
graphics. This lead there to be more detail in its graphics.
There is a lot of photorealism in this game, for example, the
detail in the cars and vehicles. When they crash, there are
scratches and broken glass on it. Also, the city itself looks
realistic, from the shine from the sun, and the detail on the
buildings. In the game, the characters have exaggeration
added to their appearance. In this case, it would be the lack
of detail in some of the features, like the lips and the ears.
They are the same colour as the rest of his face. Also, there is
a simplistic and un-detailed look on the faces, as nothing
much reflects of them, of you cant see the detail in his face.

13. GRAPHICSThe game is 3D non isometric, as you can move the view around.
CONCEPT ART
The game has concept art of its own. They
appear on the game cover too. They
mainly show art of the famous characters
and the transportation available in the
game. it basically shows the key features
of the game, but drawn out.

14. BACKGROUND
The background changes depending on the perspective of the
character. The player will see the areas of liberty city. They
may see buildings, the sea etc.
IN GAME INTERFERANCE
In the game play, there are things which appear on the screen
to provide information to the player. On the right hand side, it
tells you how much bullets you have and what gun you have.
Also, when wanted, the top right tells you the level you are at.
The bottom left shows you a map of the city and your lifespan.
It also shows you notifications of your text messages. The
bottom right shows the name of the location you are in and it
shows the phone too.

15. 2) AUDIO
The soundtrack used in the game, whilst loading is quite mysterious and calm. It isn’t violent,
but it fits in with the gangster style theme. It does fit in with the game, as it fits in with mystery,
you don’t know what will happen next in the game. With the sound effects, there are many.
There are shooting noises for the guns and blowing up sounds from the bombs and rocket
launcher, the car has there separate engine noises depending on the car type (race car, SUV,
truck, standard etc.). There are walking and running and punching sounds. These add character
to the game play. With the non diegetic sounds, there are bling noises when you pick up a
weapon or money. This is so you are aware that you have picked up something new. The phone,
which pops up from the side when accessed, makes its own side effects too. It makes beeps
when pressing buttons, and it has its dial tone and it also has custom ring tones in which you
can pick for yourself. This is so that you can choose what is right for you in the game.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqE8M2ZnFL8
099psp. (2009). Grand Theft Auto 4 Theme Song. Available:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqE8M2ZnFL8 . Last accessed 25/02/2018.

16. 3) REPRESENTING GENREGenre: Action-adventure game
The games genre is classed as Action and adventure. It does link with the genre. The first reason
is the action. The game is jam pact with action, as it involves shooting and harming others. You
can also ram down people with cars .Through the action, you get more weapons the more you
get into the game. The game has more violent missions the higher the missions are, as some
involve killing or hurting others and there are some gun fights in some missions. With the
adventure side, you have this city that you can explore in your own time. You can drive around
the city and go inside some of the buildings. Some of the missions may include going from one
end to the other of the city. As the game progresses, you unlock new areas of the map. You start
off in one area. After a few missions, you unlock the next, then the next.

17. 4) COMPARING GRAPHICSGTA IV vs. GTA V
GTA V is a later version of the GTA franchise, coming
out in 2013
The Car: there is more shine to the car in GTA V, as it is
more visible against the light.
The sky: in GTA V, the sky has a more natural look to it.
The reason is because it reflects its light to the ground
and the buildings of the game, making it more
naturalistic. GTA IV sky is just there, and doesn't reflect
its light as well as GTA V, as the floor doesn't have the
same colour as the sky.
The floor: there is more detail on the floor in GTA V.
The road markings are more sharper and clearer. In
GTAI V, it is more flat and less noticeable.
The characters: If you compare to the two, GTA V has
more detail in the facial areas, as there are more
wrinkles and more lighting added in the colour. The
skin tone looks more naturalistic too. In GTA IV, the
nose is a bit more flatter, and more flat headed.
IV V

18. 5) CONSOLE
Platforms: Play station 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft windows.
The game engine used in Grand theft auto is Rockstar
Advanced Game Engine (AKA RAGE). Offline, the game is a one
player game, so only requires one console. There are cheat
codes available on the game too. You only have to access the
phone and put in the right phone number. Once accessed,
your cheat will happen/appear. There are many controls on
the consol, for example r3 is movement of character, x is
running, square is jump, triangle is hijack, l1 is pick up, r2 is
shoot etc.
Graphic cards:
An intel core 2 processor, 1.5GB of memory, 16GB of free hard
drive space and a video card of 256MB Is what Rockstar
recommends.
Chris Tapsell. (11/02/2017). GTA 4 cheats - cars, wanted level,
helicopter, guns, Lost and Damned and Gay Tony
codes. Available: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2017-02-
13-gta-4-cheat-codes. Last accessed 26/02/2017.
.. (09/03/2011). PC System Requirements for GTAIV. Available:
https://support.rockstargames.com/hc/en-us/articles/200144866-PC-
System-Requirements-for-GTA-IV. Last accessed 26/02/2017.

19. 6)SCREENSHOTS
This is the front cover for the game. The whole of
the cover is a gather of concept art. This makes it
look more neat and exiting, as the images show
key features of the game. It looks neat, as it shows
the characters appearances more clearer, as the
game character features are quite flat. The logo
marks the middle of the cover. This is like a spider
diagram , with the brand in the middle, and the
inclusive game around it. The front colour has
quite dark colours. This fits in with the dark and
violent theme the gameplay includes. The cover
shows Nikko Bellic on the top, who is the main
character. He has an aggressive look. The cover
presents him to be a serious man.

20. These two screenshots shows the gameplay of the game. As you can see on the left, what surrounds
the character. You can see the terrain, being a road and pavements on the side. You can see the cars in
which he can steal by choice. The character can also choose to just move forward too. These choices
are for the player to choose, to show what kind of person Niko Bellic is, a brawny and dicey person.
You can see in the background the scenery that surrounds the character on the left. There are
buildings and a cloudy sky. The buildings are visible to show to the player that the map is big, and
there are a lot of areas in the distant to also visit. On the right hand side, you can see action take
place. After shooting a car for so long, it will explode. This is to add to the action genre, by making
the criminal offence from Niko seem more serious. Plus, it makes it seem realistic of a car exploding
after the engine being shot. You can also see how close the Third person view this is so its more easier
to aim from a POV. You can also see on the bottom of the image is a map. This flashes if you are
wanted, so you know where the police is, and where you are.