Thursday, May 15, 2008

Grand Theft Auto does some good

While driving today, I made a left turn from one divided street into a red light on another; this intersection has no stop bar painted in the road; many people run this red light after making the turn. For all I know, it may actually be legal to complete the turn if there's no white line in the road.

I saw a cop approaching the intersection, getting ready to turn drive away in the direction I came from. I chose to not run the light. Would I have continued driving if no cop? Maybe. Yes, the in-game police behavior in GTA reinforced my real-life driving behavior to obey the law.

Clearly, I will not leap out of my car, dash across a busy intersection, pull the cop out of his car, steal his shotgun ammo, then drive across three trees and into the bayou on my way to avoid crashing into a building. I am a normal, rational human being who respects the laws of our society by and large, civil disobedience notwithstanding.

Still, this is an interesting consequence of gameplay.

1 comment:

Jay said...

You didn't say you wouldn't pick up a hooker. Nasty. Of course in the game you don't have to visit the clinic either.