'GTA Paisley' game is capturing imaginations

The National

04-06-2025

Richard Gellalty was blown away when a video of gameplay posted by his girlfriend, the musician Linzi Clark, went viral on TikTok, receiving more than 30k likes and over 1000 comments.
The clip showed a man in a hi-vis jacket running around a deserted Neilston Road at night in the pouring rain, to an atmospheric and ambient soundtrack.
Many of those commenting celebrated similarities with the iconic Grand Theft Auto series, created in Dundee and Edinburgh by Rockstar Games, but set in fictional versions of cities in the United States.
In the finished version the graphic designer says that gamers will be able to use 'a mouse/keyboard or controller to freely run around and interact' with characters and objects in order to uncover mysteries surrounding the town.
Whether the project can become a playable third person game by next year depends on funding. At the time of writing, £3623 has been pledged through crowdfunding. Another £8377 is required by June 11 for the 34-year-old to receive any of the money, as Kickstarter funding is 'all or nothing'.
Gellalty, who is known professionally as Bovine, needs help from fans to make the project a reality.
Haddows features in the game (Image: Bovine) 'Anyone interested can share the Kickstarter link and encourage others to share it," he said. "The priority is getting as many people seeing the project and making it easy for them to decide if they like it enough to donate.'
The self-taught developer learned how to use graphics and game software programs like Blender, Unreal Engine and GIMP in order to recreate his hometown of Paisley.
This time-consuming task involves creating an entire 3D world with characters, soundtrack, story and puzzle development.
Bovine says that the exterior or interior of one building 'starts to look acceptable with a few days' work, acceptable being white cubes that loosely resemble a building, and within a week it's mostly there.'
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The artist has confirmed that the game's name will be 'Crystal Garden' after the much loved restaurant on Neilston Road. The takeaway will feature as a sanctuary for the main playable character, who his creator describes as 'a builder putting up high flats by himself, in the rain no less'.
Further details on the story and character interaction are Kickstarter-dependent. Bovine wants to devote time to writing dialogue and would like to source local talent for voice acting, saying: 'It's a balance but I think it would add a lot to it if done right'.
Different opportunities for involvement in the game's final form are accessible for those who donate. For example, £80 can get supporters a short clip of their voice featured as a response when the character uses a buzzer entry system.
While it will need to be something that works in the game, Bovine says that the person speaking will have creative control of what they say 'within reason".
(Image: Bovine) Bovine says that many have reacted positively online to the game being set in the 2000s.
He believes that 3D worlds can trigger nostalgia more effectively than films, images and music due to the 'added interactive element' and that he'd 'like to show the game to people who know the area but have lost a connection with it'.
One Instagram user described a clip of gameplay in the Lagoon Leisure Centre as 'haunting", saying the footage reminded them of "the mad wave noise" and smell of the chips served in the café.
On whether the game will satirise Scottish society in the way that GTA satirises the USA, the developer states that satire 'goes hand in hand with mimicking reality', acknowledging that GTA's creators 'are obviously tenured experts at it'.
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Elaborating further, he says that a lot of logos and trademarks will need to be changed, and shop names 'remade for the in-game world' which 'could potentially have nods to the real world equivalent in a similar way to GTA'.
Alongside GTA, Bovine says Crystal Gardens will be inspired by multiple game universes. In particular, the Broken Sword series, which focuses on ancient mysteries and conspiracies.
Other inspirations include Oddworld, Tomb Raider, Resident Evil, Courier Crisis, Namco Museum, and Men In Black.
The synopsis on the Kickstarter hints at supernatural themes, but Bovine has confirmed the game will be 'probably more comically scary than serious', involving 'underground exploration'.
Check out the Kickstarter for further details on the game and what content financial backers can access.