Myths and Easter eggs
San Andreas is distinct from the first two PlayStation 2 GTA games in its easter eggs and player-propagated myths. Shortly after the release of the game, several message boards sprouted claims of alleged Bigfoot sightings, and a several alleged photographs (
http://www.freewebs.com/bluehell/monkeymanphotos.htm) were released, all of which have now all been proven to have been either faked or the result of mistaken identity. After the initial claim, many other people came to its defense, and many fan communities were divided on the claim's truth.
The mysterious mapThere is a "restricted area" in the desert at the Area 69 military base, which is a parody of the real world Area 51. This led to more speculation in the fan community about UFOs and aliens. A large map of San Andreas, found in Mike Toreno's home and in a diner called the "Li'l Probe Inn," has markers scattered randomly across the state. Fans initially thought the map was a key to the UFO appearances; however, Rockstar claims the map means nothing.
Another rumor, the so-called ghost cars, brought much hope to the fan base. Ghost cars are cars that spawn in a regular position and have damage that cannot be repaired, unlike normal cars. There is also a "ghost car" in the remote Back o Beyond region which rolls downhill without any visible driver. Coincidentally, the location of the ghost cars coincides with one of the markers on the Toreno map.
Weeks after the myths had begun, and search teams formed, an e-mail message (
http://gta-sa.abeeda.com/viewtopic.p...light=mouthoff) was received from "Mouthoff@rockstargames.com" and posted on several fan forums. Many questioned the authenticity of the letter, but upon further inspection, it did indeed seem to be from Rockstar Games.
After the initial letter, it is assumed that the address received many letters from fans, as it soon switched to an automated response system. The first automated return letters had a minor typo in it which led many fans to believe it was not an official Rockstar employee. Shortly after these claims were made the address owner soon issued a new return letter that validated new claims, but denied some of the ones in previous letters. This pattern continued, and some speculate that it is just a plot of Rockstar to create more publicity among the fan community.
The most important claim of the letter was that Bigfoot was false, and is not present in the game. Having been the shining light of the many search teams, many fans were dismayed. However, the letter mentioned that there was something in the woods.
Many rumours of a "piggsy" (from Rockstar's Manhunt) or Leatherface-type character (from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) soon sprung up. Many of these claims were unsupported by video or picture evidence, and soon lost credibility with the community. The most popular picture of a masked man holding a chainsaw in one hand turned out to be nothing more than a picture of the main character wearing a gimp suit and a hockey mask.
The letters also detailed the idea of UFO landings in the game's desert. Though this is often thought to be plausible by fans, no reports or claims have been made. There are also flying orbs that frequent the San Andreas skies. Many fans claim these to be Rockstar's implementation of UFOs, while others claim that it is just a quickly-made rendering of an airplane, minimalized to save game memory. It is easy to catch up with these orbs and see a close up in a plane. Rockstar has not said anything about the orbs, and its intentions with them are still unclear.
Some fans soon found objects within the game's textures (
http://gta-sa.abeeda.com/viewtopic.p...light=dinosaur), such as deer and what they claim to be dinosaur skins. This would support one of the early claims that fans made in the very beginning of the game, of animals in the woods and an appearance of a dinosaur. Oddly enough, with the disproof of bigfoot, many of these people took back their claims, saying that they may have been mistaken.
There are also the commonplace Rockstar Easter eggs, such as hits at competitor games, or the classic signs. These and other myths in the game have brought a new level of life to the GTA games. Many fans have stated the new level of reality of the game. Currently many search parties sites (
http://gta-sa.abeeda.com/index.php) are on the web with further information.
Like all GTA games on the PS2, San Andreas contains an "underworld", an in-game limbo popularly dubbed "Oblivion", or "Blue Hell", though it is not always blue. The name Hell part is derived from the fact that if you go in unprepared, you will most likely find yourself falling for some time before you reappear above the city. Many objects have been found within "Blue Hell", such an incomplete model of Liberty City from Grand Theft Auto 3, and secret interior spaces.
Many in-game pedestrians die in what seem to be bizarre suicides, although these may be due to oversights in the scripting of the pedestrians' movement rather than intentional Easter eggs. For example, a photographer will take a picture and then drown themselves. In what some call a hint at DMA's Lemmings, pedestrians will sometimes appear on a ledge and walk off to their deaths.
A corporate building called "ZomboTech" in San Fierro is a joking reference to the Umbrella Corporation from the Resident Evil franchise. This has started unconfirmed rumours of zombies late at night in San Fierro. Another popular but unconfirmed myth is that CJ's mother and other ghosts may appear in photos taken in graveyards. Though no ghosts have been proven to exist in the game, there are "ghostly" occurances. For example, the cemetery in Los Santos mysteriously becomes covered in graffiti at night. The graffiti ("Grove Street 4 Life") disappears once the sun comes up.
The January 2005 issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly included a story on the San Andreas rumors. The CEO of Rockstar, Terry Donovan, denied the existence of Bigfoot: "There is no Bigfoot, just like in real life." Rockstar also denied the existence of CJ's mother's ghost, as well as miscellaneous rumors. In the next issue of EGM, a subscriber sent in a photograph of such a mythical creature appearing on his game in the countryside. The magazine called the creature a Yeti instead of Bigfoot.
Following the Epsilon Program website and related "clues", players have been looking over San Andreas for the Epslion cult and its meeting locations. They have found pedestrians who talk about Kifflom (the Epsilon Program's "deity") in San Andreas, such as a barber and backpackers. It has yet to be proven that these comments are intended for any purpose other than adding flavor to pedestrian dialogue.
And one of the biggest easter eggs in the game is located on top of the Gant Bridge in San Fierro which is based off of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. On one of the top beams located on the south side of the bridge is a sign that says 'There are no Easter Eggs up here. Go away.'