Andy and I were talking about the cult film Koyaanisqatsi the other day, and it reminded me of why you should never underestimate game designers, Rockstar specifically.

Koyaanisqatsi was a 1982 cult documentary, as far as you can call a film without any dialog a documentary. It featured mostly time lapse and slow motion shots of urban scenery, in order to show the imbalance of modern living. A lot of filmmakers list it as a major influence, while a lot of film goers list it as a reason to claw their own faces off.

Around a month back, Rockstar released their teaser trailer to Grand Theft Auto IV, and it’s pretty much a direct lift from Koyaanisqatsi. They even used Philip Glass’ score from the original. It’s always good to know that even people who make games where you can run over hookers have a sense of culture. If you’re interested in seeing any of the original footage the trailer was based on, this clip has a good example of the time lapsey goodness, while this clip features the same track that was used in the trailer.