When you create artistic content of any sort, you should only aim for being happy with the work yourself. If you are motivated by the external rewards and responses your work may bring, then you’re missing the truly fulfilling joy of creating for yourself. that being said, any artist would hope that their work would find a receptive audience and have their art remain as a part of the audience’s life experiences long after their inital contact with it. I realized today that I have that kind of connection with “Grand Theft Auto: Vice City”.
Out of nowhere during the middle of the day, I was awash in a memory of driving down one of the streets in the game. No specific event was attached to the memory, just the enjoyable sensation of having fun and being happy. The creators of the game were successful in crafting a world that I immersed myself in and found entertainment and escapism in, time and time again. From their fantastic radio stations to the lighting effects as the sun set over the palm trees, they hit the mark and left me reminiscing for an entirely illusory landscape.
Chris Loblaw, Author 