Blaine County

Lore & Background

The team opted to condense the city and countryside into an area players could comfortably traverse to capture 'the essence of what's really there in a city, but in a far smaller area'. Research trips included visits to California's rural regions; art director Aaron Garbut recalled a visit with Dan Houser to Bombay Beach that inspired them to set Trevor Philips' initial story against the Salton Sea. The team wanted a large world without open, empty areas and populated the countryside with wildlife to avoid a 'hollow' feel. Lead producer Leslie Benzies noted this design choice allowed for fixed-wing aircraft, omitted from Grand Theft Auto IV due to its smaller scale. Houser explained, 'We wanted somewhere big [to let players] fly properly'. The central story theme is the 'pursuit of the almighty dollar', with missions following characters executing heists to accrue wealth.

In Their Own Story

The narrative structure relies on three interconnected stories that intertwine through missions, a fundamental change from previous single-protagonist setups. Lead producer Leslie Benzies stated the team made this multiple-character formula 'integral to the structure of the gameplay as well as the narrative'. Dan Houser opined that Grand Theft Auto V is their 'strongest plotted game because the characters are so intertwined' and that the meeting points between story trajectories are 'very exciting'. The open world includes vast tracts of countryside where Trevor Philips begins his initial story against the Salton Sea. This setting was chosen after field research revealed specific inspirations, such as the visit to Bombay Beach. The design allows players to fly fixed-wing aircraft in a space large enough that Garbut estimated it could fit San Andreas, Grand Theft Auto IV, and Red Dead Redemption's worlds combined inside.

Reader's Guide

Blaine County is defined by open highways, arid deserts, and coastal cliffs, contrasting with Los Santos. The team studied virtual globe models, census data, and documentaries to reproduce the region's geographical spread. Google Maps projections of Los Angeles were used specifically to help design Los Santos' road networks, while field trips informed the rural areas. The world covers 49 square miles (130 km2), a scale achieved by condensing Southern California's countryside into a detailed play space. To accommodate this size and avoid empty areas, the team overhauled the proprietary Rockstar Advanced Game Engine (RAGE) to increase its draw distance rendering capabilities. This upgrade permitted the re-introduction of fixed-wing aircraft. Players can traverse these diverse biomes using vehicles suited for both road and air travel.

Did You Know?

• The game's world covers exactly 49 square miles (130 km2), which is about an eightieth of Los Angeles County.
• Art director Aaron Garbut recalled a field trip to Bombay Beach with Dan Houser that directly inspired setting Trevor Philips' initial story against the Salton Sea.
• The team conducted research trips capturing around 250,000 photographs and many hours of video footage across Southern California.
• Fixed-wing aircraft were re-introduced in this title because the large open world permitted players to 'fly properly', unlike the smaller scale of Grand Theft Auto IV.