There's something special that separates the ordinary from the incredible. It's hard to place your finger on it because it isn't really something you can explain, but you know it when you see it. This is the feeling you get when using most any Apple product and is what separates the iPhones, Macbooks, iPads and iPods from your Dells and HPs of the world. Steve Jobs really nailed it on the head in just about every keynote he gave -- these products really are magical.
The same could be said for my personal favorite game developer, Rockstar Games of Grand Theft Auto fame. You distinctly know it when you are playing a game out of of one of their ten worldwide studios. Again, it is hard to exactly place it, but when you play their games you feel that same magic that you find in Apple products. Sure, there are other games with great storylines, near-real graphics, and incredible physics simulations, but none quite have that "it" factor found in a Rockstar Games experience.
Rockstar's latest entry into the Grand Theft Auto universe is a revisitation of their take on Los Angelas -- San Andreas. The trailer is all of a minute and twenty-four seconds long, but you can feel the magic in every second. If you've played past GTA's, Red Dead Redemption, or L.A. Noire, you know what I'm talking about.
While it may be hard to place your finger on what makes both Apple products and Rockstar games so special, it isn't hard to find the common thread. It's all in the details. Apple (and especially Steve Jobs) is famous for paying close attention to the tiny details that nobody would ever notice, but that make all the difference. You find this same phenomenon within the games produced by Rockstar Games.
Go ahead and watch the trailer below several times, and pay attention to everything you are shown. Everything in the scene has meaning, everything has been thought out, and everything is put together in a way that tells a beautiful story by combining stunning graphics, pitch-perfect sounds, and award-winning storytelling. Rockstar has truly figured out the formula to the ultimate art form.