These days, launching a successful PC game means far more than just throwing it onto Steam and hoping for the best. As Minecraft, Team Fortress 2, and countless other games have shown, if you give players the freedom and the tools to create something of their own within a game, the title will most likely have a much longer shelf-life and a far more engaged community. The huge modding community of the PC version of Grand Theft Auto IV, while not officially supported by publisher Rockstar, has certainly had a hand in keeping the aging game alive.
With the upcoming PC version of GTA V, budding machinima directors and fans of horse-related mischief might not have to resort to tinkering with patches and configuration files in order to land the next viral hit on YouTube. In a new video (embedded below), Rockstar has outlined some of the features of Rockstar Editor, a new suite of video editing tools exclusive to the PC version of the game. In addition to the game automatically recording the last few moments of gameplay—useful for capturing an impromptu stunt or explosion—players will also be able to manually start and stop recording.
Once a clip is captured, players can head into an editor to trim and splice together clips in an interface that appears not too dissimilar to traditional editing tools like Final Cut and Adobe Premier. Text can be added, as can a custom soundtrack based on the songs from GTA V’s in-game radio stations. Players can also change the camera angle of a recorded clip, opening up all sorts of possibilities for cinematic-style shots. A variety of visual filters round out the options.
For those wanting to get a little more creative, GTA V will also feature a director mode, which lets players set up a scene from scratch. There will be a variety of characters (human or otherwise), locations, weather effects, and times of day to choose from, as well as gameplay modifications like explosive punches and low gravity (expect to see many a video on YouTube make use of that one). Direct uploads to YouTube and Rockstar Games Social Club will be supported.
The Rockstar Editor joins 60fps, 4K, and a city density slider on the list of PC-exclusive features. Fortunately, after many delays, there’s not much longer to wait: just make sure your PC can match Rockstar’s system requirements before plunking down your cash for a copy at tomorrow's launch.
