BBC investigates the making of GTA V

Grand Theft Auto is a name more synonymous with the BBFC than the BBC, such has been its relationship with the censors since it first facilitated mass gaming homicide on a citywide scale in 1997. Now, however, Blighty’s fave broadcasting house is producing a behind-the-scenes documentary about the franchise and its creator Rockstar, as part of the ‘Make It Digital’ initiative.

Likely to air as a 90-minute special, the show follows franchise creators Rockstar North, and focuses on the making of GTA V in particular. It won’t be GTA’s first television appearance 18 years of controversy over the games’ violent and sexual content have earned them plenty of screen time. At one point the moral outrage at GTA: San Andreas’ ‘hot coffee’ mod reached such fever pitch that it seemed Michael Moore himself might fancy pointing a camera at the Housers.

It hopes to be an Inspiration to a new generation of coders.

However, the tone of this Beeb-commissioned doc tells the story of the media outcries and the struggles with the censors from the creator’s perspective. It will focus on the series as a technical achievement a testament to British game development which, it hopes, will inspire a new generation of coders and creators who might one day surpass Rockstar’s achievements.

The BBC’s ‘Make It Digital’ campaign is set to extend across the channel’s programming, so expect a toe-curling amount of shoehorned coding sequences in Doctor Who and doxing plotlines in Eastenders.

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