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Never before has a video game inspired real travel – an enthusiastic departure from the comfort of the couch, seeking a new world: until now.  Been spending much time in Liberty City? So have I, but I just couldn’t get enough, so I boarded a plane bound for the real McCoy: New York City.  I can attest to Liberty City’s eerily uncanny resemblance to New York with steadfast confidence.  At times it was borderline creepy walking through what resembled a real life edition of Liberty City, despite being aware that New York came long before – yet as a first time visitor to this extravagant metropolis, the experience was reminiscent of Liberty City quite literally set in stone.

Armed with some maps (although I knew my way around based on Liberty City’s layout; more on that later), a digital SLR camera (New York’s overzealous display of riches calls on my inner shutter bug), and a few American greenbacks; I set out on my journey.

This piece isn’t meant to focus on the obvious similarities: the Statue of Liberty, the MetLife building, Central Park.  Instead, I’ll highlight a few of the lesser-known intricacies of the city I observed, and how they relate to Rockstar’s coded city.  I’m sure New York locals have familiarized themselves with the relationship between New York and Liberty City – but in two short days, I was able to absorb much of the reality that is New York, connect it to Liberty City, and enhance my appreciation for Rockstar’s fully-realized creation.

1. Subway Signage Typeface

New York’s MTA employs the use of the 1957 font Helvetica for sign text, accompanied by a colour coded visual representation of each subway line.  While Liberty City’s subway system doesn’t use the Helvetica typeface (perhaps a licensing issue; the royalty on a popular font can be astronomical), it uses a Sans Serif type set in a similar vein.  Bearing unmistakable resemblance however, is the colour coded indicators.  The sign is also layed out in a similar way. (Fig 1)

 Fig 1

2. Times Square Center Piller

Yeah, we know, it’s obvious that Star Junction is Rockstar’s take on Times Square – but did you ever check out the ads on the center pillar?  In the real New York, a large Coca Cola (Fig 2) ad dominates the landscape, with a NYPD station (Fig 3) at the foot, directly in front of an US Army recruitment center (Fig 4) covered in lights that form in American flag (Fig 5).  Similarly, in Liberty City, you’ll see a large Sprunk ad (the game’s take on Sprite – of the same family of Coke), an LCPD police station, and a neon US flag.  It’s quite the homage! 

Fig 4

Fig 5

3. Tolls and Charges

Coming over the expressway into Queens, I remarked “this is a toll bridge with a 5 dollar toll in Liberty City.”  With even price considered, I was greeted with a line of toll booths and a sign that said “toll $5″ – blew my mind (unfortunately no photo).  As for taxi cabs, in Grand Theft Auto IV, you will notice when Niko enters a taxi, the sign says “initial fare $2.50″ – guess what the initial fair is in a real New York taxi? (Fig 6) Yup – $2.50!

Fig 6

4. Police Presence

I thought Grand Theft Auto IV exaggerated police for the fun of the game, but there really are police everywhere.  Each street has cruisers, each subway station has uniformed officers, and many back alleys have cop cars sitting in them at the ready. (Fig 7)

Fig 7

5. Other things

There are a handful of other details I noticed.  For example, I encountered a weird feeling when crossing the Brooklyn Bridge (Fig 8 ) from Brooklyn to Manhattan.  The first time I ran from the police in Grand Theft Auto IV was trying to enter Algonquin unlawfully. I hopped off of the bridge and swam to a pier, where I stole a parked car from under an expressway.  It exists! (Fig 9)

Fig 8

Fig 9

After crossing the bridge, I was able to navigate south to Chinatown and Little Italy without a map, despite having never visited the city, purely attributable to the knowledge I acquired in Grand Theft Auto IV. I’m sure there any many subtleties I have missed, but I sure discovered a few interesting ones. 

Oh, and one more thing: the most authentic New York taxi experience can be had in Liberty City by entering a cab and pressing ‘X’ to hurry.

My favourite game rocking Times Square