I really want to see this take off and become something big in the GTA scene, so I'd like to offer up some introspective on how to maybe stimulate player engagement on the bottom line. I want to preface by saying I'm not trying to be critical or pessimistic, I have a vested interest in this succeeding overall and would like to contribute further down the line from both an IC and OOC perspective.
I think mechanic grinding is happening to an extent because things are a little confusing as to how to take off and get started as a citizen, and one of the first things I think we should address is a car. Cars are, in my opinion, the most basic and fundamental aspect of the GTA gameplay loop in general. It's a big map, and traveling takes time, and yes there are taxis and whatnot - but nothing really compares to the freedom of a personal vehicle to get around the huge map that is San Andreas.
I mentioned a loan or payment system of sorts earlier, to make a way for people to purchase a basic vehicle (no Pegasi super cars or anything ridiculous of course) because I think just having something as simple as this for most people will MASSIVELY boost the drive to engage because you can go anywhere and do anything at that point. It enables you to move around the world and get to places where the action is happening without having to order a taxi or struggle to find an alternative means of transportation. There are some drawbacks to state/game governed loans, but I'm not talking cash money in your hands - just the ability to finance a purchase for something like a car that you pay back over time so that we don't have to flood liquid cash into the player hands and destabilize the economy. Maybe you even have to do a few jobs at first to prove to the bank that you've got income, and also to prevent people from being able to make throwaways and immediately hit the ground running.
The only thing that's felt really frustrating from a player perspective to me, on the level of citizen engagement, has been this issue itself. Getting around has been somewhat of a pain and has discouraged me to a point from playing on anything other than my EMS character. I'd like to go around and engage with people but it feels off putting when I'm somehow the only guy in a city full of crazy psychotic locals who can't afford a basic car to get around and do things with. Maybe things like taxis do encourage more development and interaction - but they can still serve a purpose. The other day I rescued someone with a taxi who was stranded because their car had been totaled and they needed transportation, and during the course of our conversation we formed a new working relationship, so I don't think those sorts of interactions would go away completely with most every player owning a car.
I might be blowing this a bit out of proportion, but I want to make clear I'm not throwing a fit or trying to complain. I'm just trying to point out something that I think may be detrimental to player retention on a larger scale. Those moments in between interactions when I'm walking around looking for things to happen feel uninteresting, and I'm usually prompted to switch over to my EMS where I know I can get some immediate gratification. For players without this option, they might stop playing - and you could argue that maybe players who lose interest that quickly aren't the kind of people we're looking for - but maybe just because they get bored quickly doesn't mean they couldn't stir up some interesting roleplay for others.
Either way, the early economy is the main thing I'm talking about addressing. I think leaving depth and exploration up in the air is good and makes things interesting for new players, because there's stuff to explore and uncover as you go. Half of the intrigue to me in HL2RP, when I was first starting out, was just how mysterious and huge the world felt. But that rapid early development wasn't as necessary because the map was a fraction of a size, and you could find people around every corner hustling and bustling and doing their thing - so all you had to do was engage, and you were off to the races. In a map as huge as GTA V's it's not that simple - you have to look for it, and I think making sure players have as many ways to do that as possible is vital. I'm really trying not to ramble here, so I hope I'm making some sort of sense right now.
An argument could be made that maybe you should just put more time into figuring it out and engaging, but some people have more restricted schedules and not as much free time to play. People who don't have a lot of time are going to inevitably lose interest when they are faced with a system that inherently requires a lot of time to just get the bare minimum. I know, a little bit of effort could probably get you to where you want to be - but making it easier to get things started can only be beneficial. I really think that just having a little jumpstart could kick things off and get you into gear to start doing all of these other things, and developing your character/making a story. Making it so that this system can't be abused to bring you into infinite wealth and prosperity is obviously important - getting started should be simple, making a fortune is where you have to invest a bit of your time.
I've got a lot of word vomit here, so some feedback could be of great use. I want my positions to be challenged outright - pick it apart, dissect it, see if it's bullshit or maybe has something to it. At the end of the day I'm looking for ways that could optimize the early citizen experience, so flaws need to be eliminated in order to create a system that would not only work but not be vulnerable to exploitation or failing outright.
It's 3AM and I don't know who I am anymore. Thank you for reading, or not reading. I don't know.
