immersion vs realism, where should rockstar draw the line for gta 6?

Been thinking about this a lot lately with all the fuel talk. People keep saying they want GTA 6 to be realistic, but I don't think realism and immersion are the same thing at all.

Take the gas example. You're mid mission, car runs out of fuel, you can't get to a station, you get shot and fail. That's realistic, sure. But is it fun? Is it immersive? For me it would just be annoying. Overly realistic mechanics can actually yank me out of the experience instead of pulling me in.

On the flip side, something totally unrealistic can still feel immersive if it's consistent with the game world. GTA has always had that. You can flip a car back over by pushing it, you can survive a 50 foot fall if you land in water, whatever. It works because the game commits to its own rules.

I'd love to see some realistic touches like having to fuel up, but I can't picture how Rockstar would do it without it becoming a chore. Same with NPC behavior, dynamic world events, interiors, everyday activities, driving physics, consequences, a more persistent world. All of that could boost immersion, but only if it serves the gameplay. The moment it becomes tedious, it's a problem.

Remember when GTA Online first made you pay around $15k every time you died? It definitely made people more cautious and act a bit more realistically. But if you had to pay that every time a griefer killed you, it would have been outrageous. There's a line between consequence and punishment.

So where do you think Rockstar should draw that line for GTA 6, and which realistic features would actually make the game more immersive for you instead of just getting in the way?

Source: r/GTA6 · Curated content.

Running out of gas halfway up Mount Kalaga sounds like a nightmare (especially north of Ambrosia). I'm all for immersive interiors and hidden spots off the Grassrivers, but if I'm trekking east to Port Gellhorn for fuel mid-chase, that's not immersion. That's a chore. Keep the map dense and explorable. At least Los Santos never made me pump gas before a heist.

That's not immersion. That's a chore.

Exactly. I'd rather have smarter cop AI than another meter to manage.

Don't kill the Flash FM vibe just to make me pump gas mid-chase. Needle drops need flow!

ok so the whole point of Leonida being this massive state with Mount Kalaga and the Grassrivers is that a fuel mechanic would make crossing it actual homework. i'm just hoping the Extended Look on the 27th shows traversal that feels good without forcing some gas station tour. give me backroads and radio over micromanagement any day!