Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas myths

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Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is distinct from the first two sixth generation Grand Theft Auto games in its player-propagated myths. Shortly after the release of the game, several message boards sprouted claims of alleged Bigfoot sightings, and several alleged photographs were released, all of which have been proven to be faked.

Contents 1 Bigfoot 2 Mysterious map 3 Ghost cars 4 Plane crashes 5 UFOs 6 Chainsaw killer 7 Unexplained textures 8 Debunking the myths 9 References

[edit] Bigfoot

One of the bigger myths that arose when San Andreas was released was the one that suggested Bigfoot was roaming around in the forests^{[citation needed]}, in particular Back o' Beyond which is a wooded, mainly deserted area. Many screen shots appeared on the web showing something that could be Bigfoot, but Rockstar addressed the rumor saying that there is no Bigfoot in the game, and in an article in Electronic Gaming Monthly January 2005 edition, Rockstar CEO Terry Donovan is quoted as saying "There is no Bigfoot, just like in real life".^[1].

[edit] Mysterious map

A large map of San Andreas, found in Mike Toreno's home and in a diner called the "Lil Probe Inn" (a reference to "The Little A'le'Inn", which is located in the tiny town Rachel, Nevada), has markers scattered randomly across the state. Fans initially thought the map was a key to the UFO appearances^{[citation needed]}; however, Rockstar Games claims the map means nothing^{[citation needed]}. One spot on the map also is pointed in the forest areas of San Fierro, causing some fans to believe that the infamous Bigfoot was hiding here. Some fans have claimed that if the player goes to each spot on the map, a ghost car will be seen(see below). This, however, is not likely, as one spot is located where the Area 69 military base is, and there are no Ghost Cars known to spawn there. Some of the locations are of easter eggs and unusual things such as the body bags or the Glendales.

[edit] Ghost cars

The ghost cars were infamous, and brought hope to the fanbase that other rumors would prove true. They are cars without visible drivers, moving with damage that isn't repairable. They do not take damage like other cars, staying intact until they eventually explode. They cannot be taken to Transfender Mod shops either, and for some reason, their radios are almost always set to PLAYBACK FM. The most well known ghost car can be found in the remote forest region of Back O' Beyond in Flint County. It is a damaged Glendale, which spawns at the top of a hill and rolls down. Other damaged Glendales and Sadlers can be found throughout countryside areas all over San Andreas. For example, one may also be found in Valle Ocultado next to a motel. Some cars spawn on hills which explains why they seem to be moving without drivers. Two ghost Glendales are found in the trailer park lot area across the street from the lil Probe Inn.

These ghost cars are not actually regular Sadlers or Glendales, in fact, they are different vehicles. In the GTA3.IMG file (which contains all of the Textures and Models in the game), one can browse the index and see the files, which are named "GLENSHIT" and "SADLSHIT", respectively. They are named as such due to the condition of the vehicles. Some say these vehicles are most likely created to simulate abandoned vehicles throughout San Andreas. However, they are intended to be 'helpers' - vehicles for users that are lost in the San Andreas countryside.

[edit] Plane crashes

Several planes crash occasionally throughout San Andreas. Those that occur most often are in high altitude areas, but can occur anywhere. A video released in 2005 shows a player on a quad bike, doing a routine stunt intended for a stunt video, exiting a ramp (off a cliff, opposite the dam) and being hit by a "Ghost Plane" not even a second after the jump starts. He survives the crash and falls straight into the dam with his parachute open.^[2]. A magazine interview with a Rockstar development member indicates that the crashes may be due to the planes spawning at an incorrect angle and thus flying into the ground instead of straight^{[citation needed]}. Another player says that he was on his bike in Muholland when a huge plane crashed in front of him.

[edit] UFOs

Several purported UFOs appear to fly past the lowland and disappear seconds after. The "UFOs" supposedly have blinking lights of several different colors. Rockstar has said, however, that these UFO sightings are merely bad airplane lighting effects^{[citation needed]}. There are also floating balls of light in the game, but these are so the snapshots (required for completion) can be taken at night.

A possible presence of living extraterrestrials in the game comes during the mission "Stowaway," in the form of a group of "Men in Black." Encountered onboard a cargo plane, these black-suited characters (clearly based on a popular urban legend/UFO conspiracy theory) proceed to attack the player and shout out numerous utterances signifying their contempt for the inferior human race ("Carbon-based buffoon", "You evolved from shrews!" and more).

There are also numerous reports of what are supposedly UFO sightings on the radio station "WCTR". On certain parts of the news on this station, the anchorwoman mentions "Strange lights seen over the desert." Sometimes, when listening to K-DST, Tommy 'the Nightmare' Smith is joking about the UFOs, saying things like "Who would travel 5000 light years to hang out with YOU?". While dating Barbara, a female police officer, she occasionally will remind CJ about a plane crash by the Big Ear satellite dish. The claims of UFO sightings on the radio stations may be referring to the jet pack in the game, which is being tested over Area 69.

[edit] Chainsaw killer

Many rumors of a mysterious killer, such as Piggsy (from Rockstar's Manhunt) or Leatherface-type character (from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) soon sprung up. Though they would be consistent with Rockstar's previous in-game references to past video games and movies (e.g. Scarface references in GTA: Vice City), many of these claims were unsupported by video or picture evidence, and soon lost credibility with the community. The most popular picture of a masked man holding a chainsaw in one hand turned out to be nothing more than a picture of CJ wearing a gimp suit and an ice hockey mask, taken by a gang member.^[3]

[edit] Unexplained textures

Some fans soon found objects within the game's textures, such as deer and what they claim to be dinosaur skin^{[citation needed]}. This would support one of the early claims that fans made in the very beginning of the game, of animals in the woods and of an appearance by a dinosaur. Oddly enough, with the disproof of Bigfoot, many of these people took back their claims, saying that they may have been mistaken. However, it should be noted that in computer games occasionally textures can be misplaced by addons or sheer glitches, and so these oddities may have happened. It is also rumored that Rockstar were originally going to add animals to the forests of the 'badlands', but complaints from animal activists forced them not to.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Debunking the myths

Weeks after the myths had begun, and search teams formed, an e-mail message was received from "Mouthoff@rockstargames.com" and was posted on several fan forums. Many questioned the authenticity of the letter, but upon further inspection, it did indeed seem to be from Rockstar Games.

After the initial letter, it is assumed that the address received many letters from fans, as it soon switched to an automated response system. The first automated return letters had a minor typo in it which led many fans to believe it was not an official Rockstar employee^{[citation needed]}. Shortly after these claims were made the address owner soon issued a new return letter that validated new claims, but denied some of the ones in previous letters. This pattern continued, and some speculate that it is just a plot of Rockstar to create more publicity among the fan community.

The most important claim of the letter was that Bigfoot was false, and is not present in the game. Having been the shining light of the many search teams, many fans were dismayed. However, the letter mentioned that there was something in the woods. The letters also detailed the idea of UFO landings in the game's desert. Though this is often thought to be plausible by fans, no reports or claims have been made. The flying orbs that frequent the San Andreas skies are claimed by many fans to be Rockstar's implementation of UFOs, although in reality Rockstar used the same style to animate commercial air traffic (bright lights, contrails, etc) but forgot to modify the names of the aircraft. This leads to mass-less 'airplanes', with active running lights, flying in the sky.

Writing to the Mouthoff address concerning any of these rumors will now result in the following response:

"Thanks for the e-mail. I believe everything there is to be found in San Andreas has been discovered. There are no monsters, chainsaw killers, UFOs or anything of the sort. That was all a bunch of baseless speculation on Internet message boards.

Cheers,

Rockstar Games"

The January 2005 issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly included a story on the San Andreas rumors. The CEO of Rockstar, Terry Donovan, denied the existence of Bigfoot. Rockstar also denied the existence of CJ's mother's ghost, as well as miscellaneous rumors. In the next issue of EGM, a subscriber sent in a photograph of such a mythical creature appearing on his game in the countryside.

[edit] References

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