gta
A montage detailing what happens when the player switches from one character to another. This montage shows the player switching from  to Michael.

A montage detailing what happens when the player switches from one character to another. This montage shows the player switching from Franklin to Michael.

The Switch Scenes (stylized as SWITCH Scenes in-game) are the small cutscenes that occur when the player switches from one playable character to another in free roam in Grand Theft Auto V. The cutscenes vary by player and circumstances going on in the game's storyline. Each character has a number of unique cutscenes.

Description

Animation of a player switching from Michael to Trevor.

Animation of a player switching from Michael to Trevor.

The player is free to switch between any of the available characters at any time they want in free roam, unless the player has a wanted level, or is in the middle of a mission.

When the player switches to a new character, the camera will switch to an overhead view of the playable character, then zoom out three times (or fewer, depending on the player's altitude above the map). The camera will then pan along the world map of San Andreas and stop over where the new character is located, and zoom in up to three times. After the final zoom, the overhead camera will transition into a brief cinematic showing what the character is doing currently, which will vary from character to character.

If the two characters that the player is moving are close to each other, the camera will not zoom out, but rather do a more direct switch instead. There would also be no starting cinematic. Note though, that this generally does not happen unless the player manually moves the two characters together.

Michael De Santa

Michael's switch scenes mostly seemed to be centred around his ruined home life or his self-loathing (or his success and steady lifestyle as the story progresses). Michael's switch scenes have the most variety as the storyline progresses, as some only appear at certain points in the storyline.

Post - Complications

Post - Father/Son

Post - Marriage Counseling

Post - Did Somebody Say Yoga?

Post - Caida Libre

Post - Reuniting the Family

Post - Legal Trouble

Unique Post-Mission Scenes

The player is automatically switched to Michael prior to completing the mission Hang Ten, in which he is in a phone conversation with Lester. Lester tells Michael that Trevor has taken over the Vanilla Unicorn. Michael agrees to meet there to plan the next mission.

Gallery

Franklin Clinton

Franklin has the least variety in his switch scenes, and even as the storyline progresses, the change is minimal, only reflecting his life in his new Vinewood Hills home.

Post - Complications

Post - Father/Son

Post - The Hotel Assassination

Post - I Fought the Law...

Post - Caida Libre

Unique Post-Mission Scenes

Gallery

Trevor Philips

Trevor's switch scenes are by far the most diverse of the three characters, and will vary all across San Andreas. He also has the most switch scenes of the three characters. Trevor's scenes tend to be more random and comedic compared to those of Michael and Franklin. Additionally, a recurring motif with Trevor is that he might be passed out drunk in a random location around the map. He will slouch over and wake himself up while looking around startled, before smashing the beer bottle he is holding and making a comment regarding his situation.

Post - Mr. Philips

Post - Nervous Ron

Post - Friends Reunited

Post - Caida Libre

Post - Paleto Score Setup

Post - Predator

Post - Hang Ten

Unique Post-Mission Scenes

Gallery

Video

Removed switch scenes

A number of switch scenes removed before the game's release can be found within its files. While many are either completed, nearly so, or offer some information on what was originally meant to happen during them, others consist of only the filename. Some details can be gathered by cross-referencing said filenames with the internal names given to missions.[1]

Michael De Santa

Franklin Clinton

Trevor Philips

Other scenes

The following scenes consist of nothing more than just the filename, with no other information about them currently existing.

Trivia

References

  1. Script data
    SCENE_Ma_MARTIN1
  2. Script data
    SCENE_M_MD_FIB2
  3. Script data
    SCENE_M4_HOUSEBED_b
  4. Script data
    SCENE_M_HOOKERCAR
  5. Script data
    SCENE_M_S_FAMILY4
  6. Script data
    SCENE_MA_FAMILY4_b
  7. Script data
    PR_SCENE_F_TAUNT
  8. Script data
    SCENE_F_LAMGRAFF
  9. Script data
    SCENE_F_DRAGRACE_A
  10. Script data
    SCENE_F_DRIVETHRU
  11. Script data
    SCENE_F_REC_CENTRE
  12. Script data
    SCENE_Ta_MARTIN1
  13. Script data
    SCENE_T6_BLOWSHITUP
  14. Script data
    SCENE_T6_DISPOSEBODY_A