Lots of things are wrong with the Grand Theft Auto franchise – violence, sexism, and so on – but I think it’s still pretty cool that the GTA 5 universe has wildlife running (and swimming) around. A YouTuber recorded the CGI wildlife and created a tribute to the Attenborough “grandeur of nature”-style documentary.
It’s not all scientifically accurate, but then again, it’s not meant to be. It does raise an interesting question, though – is building nature, as contrived as it may be, into video game universes a possible mechanism for doing some guerrilla-style science/nature education? If kids aren’t going outside to experience nature themselves, can we give them a bit of nature from within their CGI gaming universes?
