A lot of players like using unconventional ways to experience a different life.
When Takayuki first got into video games, it was the same for him.
In video games, you can play any role you can imagine.
And GTA 5 probably counts as playing a role that isn't exactly legal.
People always need an outlet to vent. Video games are one of the gentlest outlets.
The more you play, the happier you get—you can forget a lot of unpleasant things.
So Takayuki poured that idea into GTA 5, letting this world carry its mission: to satisfy players.
This father felt a kind of "crossing the line" he'd never felt before—things he'd never dared to do in real life, he could experience in the game.
At the same time, he was a mentally sound person. A mere video game still couldn't completely overturn his values.
In the game, Mike successfully made a bucket of money. His life looked like it was finally turning for the better. No one discovered that the robbery was their doing, and it all ended happily.
But the plot obviously wouldn't develop in such a flat, peaceful way—otherwise the game would lose its drive.
Then the third character appeared.
He looked filthy and unkempt.
He lived in a trailer out in the wilderness, doing something indecent with an equally unkempt woman.
The father immediately recognized who this character was.
Wasn't this the only guy who got away from the North Yankton robbery?
He couldn't believe he'd ended up like this.
With that much money, shouldn't he be living a pretty good life? Like Mike—Mike had a decent life.
The father felt he didn't really like this character. His name was Trevor, right? Dirty, sloppy, no sense of restraint—he didn't want to play as someone like that.
But the story demanded he go through it.
And that sequence made him feel a faint discomfort with the game.
In the middle of doing that indecent act, Trevor suddenly saw an interview on TV.
It was an interview with the security guards after Mike and the others' robbery.
And the guard said a line Mike liked to say:
"Life's already full of things. Why don't we just forget about this, huh?"
Trevor went blank when he saw it. Then he walked up to the TV and started acting half-crazed.
He looked… happy?
The father thought to himself: seeing that an old friend was still alive—Trevor was thrilled.
At that moment, he disliked Trevor a little less.
At least Trevor was someone who valued loyalty, even if he was sloppy…
Still… that look really wasn't appealing.
But the father couldn't help feeling a little envious. If he had a friend like that, he'd probably be happy.
A friend you could truly open your heart to.
Trevor was so excited that Mike was alive that he even forgot what he'd been doing with the woman, and couldn't wait to see his old buddy.
This was where the third character's gameplay truly began.
Early on, the only thing Trevor wanted was to go into the city to find Mike. He had countless questions for him—why he hadn't shown his face for so many years, why he never told anyone he was still alive.
Along the way, Trevor was irritable, like a powder keg that could explode at any moment.
But this middle-aged father could sense it—deep down, Trevor still had a bit of softness.
And as he played, the father gradually understood what this character's appeal really was.
It was pure catharsis—pure, shameless satisfaction.
Because Trevor's personality was explosive, it felt completely "reasonable" for him to do more outrageous things.
Up until now, the game's overall tone had been somewhat restrained.
The first two protagonists lived in the city, so they were inevitably bound by urban rules and constraints.
But Trevor didn't care.
He lived out in the wild in the first place.
It reminded the father of the Nomad in Cyberpunk 2077.
When you played that role, most of what you did was fight other nomads.
Trevor had that same flavor.
And the more he played, the more satisfying it became.
After a chain of missions, Trevor finally set off on the road to the city to find Mike.
Then the story returned to the city's main plotline, back inside "order" again—which, strangely, made the father feel a little uncomfortable.
He started craving the feeling of going crazy like Trevor.
Now he no longer hated that sloppy Trevor.
Because at the very least, Trevor was a friend worth having—someone who could be ecstatic that a buddy he hadn't seen in over ten years was suddenly alive, and who would even abandon his current life just to go find him.
"Dad, I'm hungry."
Just then, his younger son walked into the study, complaining.
The father immediately raised his head and looked out the window—only to realize it was already dark.
He had played for an entire day without noticing.
"Where's Mom?" he asked.
"Mom doesn't want to cook."
"Alright." The father sighed helplessly, gave the computer an unwilling glance, then stood up and went toward the kitchen.
His wife was already home.
In the past, she would've come over and hugged him affectionately.
But now she was indifferent. Life was slowly grinding away the feelings they used to have.
He had tried some ways to fix it, but the results were minimal.
Marriage and love really were heart-wrenching.
If he knew Chinese literature, he'd probably resonate strongly with the novel Fortress Besieged.
As a stay-at-home dad type, he was decent at cooking. He quickly made dinner for the family, and everyone gathered together.
The older son clearly couldn't let go of video games. The father had to call him firmly several times before he finally got up from the sofa and came to eat.
After the family said a pre-meal prayer, they started eating.
But the whole meal was dull and flat.
Even a normally thick-skinned man could feel how lifeless the atmosphere was.
No ripples at all.
Was his wife feeling the same thing—so numb that she didn't even have interest in talking to him anymore?
And then he thought of Trevor again.
Sometimes… going crazy once might be a good thing.
Huh?
The father suddenly froze mid-bite.
He'd moved so noticeably that his wife and kids all saw it and looked at him in confusion.
"Wife… kids… how about we… do something crazy?"
"Hubby, are you losing your mind?"
Even though his wife's words sounded like doubt, her eyes looked different.
Something crazy? What kind of crazy?
It was as if, deep down, she was expecting something.