Chapter 1004: Three Storylines
As the plot steadily advances, the full panorama of Los Santos, the distinct fates of the three protagonists, and the diverse supporting characters—all of this is skillfully laid out before the players.
Many players unfamiliar with GTA might initially view this game as a pure power fantasy. Start with a dog, steal cars to get around. Buy once, play for a year, no money needed for gear. Bro, come to GTA and fight me!
In Chen Mo’s previous world, many players first encountered GTA through *San Andreas*. Back then, there was no Chinese localization, so middle and high school students would just joyride, run over innocent pedestrians, or use cheat codes to spawn a tank and rampage through the streets. Even with that, plenty of people had a blast, treating GTA like a typical mindless action game.
Indeed, one of GTA’s major selling points is letting players do illegal things in-game that they can’t in real life. But that’s far from the whole story—in fact, it’s just a small part of the game’s depth and gameplay.
Many middle and high school students, after learning a bit of English or looking up guides, suddenly realized, “Wait, this game actually has missions?!”
Then, once they started doing missions, a whole new world opened up. They found the game was nothing like what they’d been playing before! The missions were wildly varied: assassinations, street races, shootouts, driving a car with a bomb rigged underneath that required maintaining high speed for a long time to disarm, piloting a remote-controlled helicopter to cause chaos... Beyond that, players could buy various properties on the map, like bars and nightclubs, which generated passive income. With that money, they could buy more properties, better guns, better cars...
By the time GTA 5 came around, not only were these existing features richer and more diverse, but the game’s narrative was also polished to a finer edge.
Three protagonists come together due to various special circumstances. These three have helped paparazzi, driven tow trucks, worked as film producers, stolen planes, wiped out gangs, stopped trains, taken on the FIB, and robbed the Federal Reserve...
Their fates intertwine, and their different identities, statuses, and personalities reflect the current state of various social classes in the Land of the Beacon. This game is essentially a deep dissection of that society—beneath the seemingly absurd plot lies a profound social reality.
Of course, Zou Zhuo hasn’t reached that point yet. He’s still immersed in the early, finely crafted storylines.
GTA has three protagonists, and how to tell their stories well is a key challenge in the early game. If the pacing of the plot isn’t handled right, players might develop a preference for one over the others. But GTA’s goal is to make players love each of these three characters, and to weave their stories together in a smooth, fluid rhythm—clearly no easy task.
From the very first prologue, the protagonists’ fates are tightly linked.
In the prologue, Michael plays the rat, faking his death to secure a comfortable, worry-free life of wealth.
Franklin sneaks into Michael’s house to steal a car for Simeon, but gets a beating from Michael, and the two become acquainted.
Michael faces a severe midlife crisis and is forced to return to his old ways, with Franklin gradually becoming his capable partner.
The jewelry store heist exposes Michael, prompting Trevor to start searching for him.
As the three storylines gradually converge, scattered personal missions reveal the characters’ personalities and the dilemmas they face.
Franklin is a Black man from the bottom rung of the Land of the Beacon’s society. He yearns to rise above, to own a mansion like Michael, and he sees crime as his path to achieving that value. He starts by stealing cars for Simeon, but after Michael takes him under his wing, he devotes himself wholeheartedly to bigger criminal ventures.
Michael represents the midlife crisis. Though he enjoys a carefree rich life through the witness protection program, his wife cheats on him relentlessly—first with a tennis coach, then a yoga instructor. His son stays home playing games and even sells off his yacht; calling him a basement dweller would insult basement dwellers. His daughter is dead set on becoming a star, even getting mixed up with shady characters.
Old Trev is more straightforward than the other two—he’s purely about causing destruction. He values his friends and has a sincere side, but there’s no denying he’s a madman who’ll kill someone’s whole family over a minor disagreement. So, Trevor’s problem is probably that no one truly sees him as a friend—not even Michael, who secretly views Old Trev as a threat and wishes he were dead.
Strictly speaking, none of these three are traditionally likable protagonists.
Franklin is a not-so-handsome Black man.
Michael is a potbellied middle-aged guy.
Old Trev is a bald, middle-aged psychopathic killer.
Relying on good looks to win players over is out of the question, so this puts extra pressure on character development.
As players dive deeper into the story, they start finding these three protagonists quite endearing. Especially from a first-person perspective, players habitually immerse themselves in the characters. When they put themselves in the characters’ shoes, they better understand their actions.
When Zou Zhuo first reached Trevor’s storyline, he was completely stunned. “This guy is a protagonist too?!”
Michael puts it perfectly: “I’m no saint, but if you saw Trevor, you’d think I’m as pure as an angel.”
When Old Trev sees the news about Michael’s jewelry store heist on TV, he’s in the middle of sleeping with someone else’s girlfriend. Then Johnny shows up, and Trevor not only takes his girlfriend but goes after him too... Then, while comforting Johnny and hugging him, Trevor suddenly grabs his neck, shoves him to the ground, and stomps his head repeatedly until his brains are splattered.
Killing Johnny isn’t enough—he wipes out all nearby gang members connected to him, all because Johnny said to Trevor, “You motherfucker.”
This segment is practically a textbook depiction of a psychopath, because you can never guess what Old Trev will do next. First-time players are often baffled: “Can a crazy murderer like this really be a protagonist?”
But as the game goes on, players discover Trevor’s unique charm. He doesn’t back down or compromise like Michael. Whether it’s an official or a gangster, anyone who dares cross him gets a gun taken straight to their hideout for a massacre. He’s fiercely loyal and gives his all to those he cares about.
Trevor is an unrepentant villain, yet many players end up loving this lunatic. It’s no exaggeration to say this is a monumental success in character creation.