Bully, also known as Canis Canem Edit in the PAL region releases, is a third person action-adventure video game developed by the now defunct Rockstar Vancouver, and published by Rockstar Games. It was released on 17 October 2006 for the PlayStation 2.
A remastered version titled Bully: Scholarship Edition was developed in association with Mad Doc Software (later rebranded as Rockstar New England) for the Xbox 360, Wii and PC.
The game was ported to mobile devices by War Drum Studios (current Grove Street Games) as Bully: Anniversary Edition, released on 8 December 2016 for iOS and Android. Bully: Scholarship Edition was released by Rockstar Vancouver, with Mad Doc Software (now known as Rockstar New England) involved with the development.
Synopsis
The plot of the game revolves around 15-year-old protagonist Jimmy Hopkins and his adventures at Bullworth Academy, a prestigious prep school in the town of Bullworth in New England.
GTA+ Games Library
As of August 20, 2024, both Bully and Bully: Scholarship Edition are available for Grand Theft Auto Online players with a GTA+ Membership, included with other classic Rockstar Games titles in the GTA+ Games Library. Bully: Anniversary Edition is due to be made available for compatible iOS and Android devices.
References to Grand Theft Auto
The vehicle models found in the Shop class in Bully are remodeled and retextured versions of the original Regina and Stallion models from Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, respectively. Both models were reused by Rockstar Vancouver as background props in Bully, serving as references/Easter eggs towards Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. The vehicles are not named in-game.
- The "Stallion" model features a similar flame pattern as the Diablo Stallion from Grand Theft Auto III, although it lacks a hood-mounted supercharger.
- The "Regina" model is also seen in the background in the Shop class.
- Both vehicles reuse the unadorned "VC615" license plate texture from Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, one of which uses the original high quality source texture for the license plate with legible numbers, confirming they are reused assets.
- Both models also appeared in The Warriors, a movie-based game developed by Rockstar Toronto, used for the game's scenario.[2]
As with Rockstar's other productions such as Max Payne 3, leftover strings of vehicle-related data from Grand Theft Auto: Vice City can be found in the handling data files in Bully, indicating Rockstar Vancouver built the handling data for the in-game vehicles on top of the original handling.cfg file from Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.
References to Bully in Grand Theft Auto
- Footage of Bullworth Academy (not mentioned by name) used in the trailer for Bully: Scholarship Edition is briefly reused in a segment of CNT in Grand Theft Auto IV, depicting one of the many unnamed boarding schools which Jill Von Crastenburg attended at some point.
- A short segment of the Prefects' theme can be heard during the Benefactor Surano commercial on Weazel.
- The movie Sequel II played at the Astro Theaters and featuring Billy Blue as an actor may or may not be a reference to Sequel: The Movie, which was advertised at the movie theater in Bully.
- A hoodlum found in Strawberry sometimes wears a shirt with "HOPKINS" labelled on the back.
- The coat of arms of the Bullworth Academy was stylized and featured in Canis Canem Edit[3], a painting by Mathew Morse at The Diamond Casino & Resort. The painting's name is taken from the academy's motto, which means "Dog Eat Dog" in Latin.
- The "Conveyor" livery[4] for the Mammoth Avenger, TM-02 Khanjali, HVY APC and V-65 Molotok shows an unedited Bullworth Academy coat of arms among other Rockstar Games Easter eggs including IV, Manhunt, Midnight Club: Los Angeles and Rockstar Presents: Table Tennis.
- The unreleased "Knuckleduster Sport" livery for the Grotti Itali GTO Stinger TT also shows an unedited Bullworth Academy coat of arms if observed closely.
- In Grand Theft Auto Online, the Jack O’ Lanterns collectibles and the Horror Pumpkin mask reward may be a reference to the Pumpkin collectibles and reward in Bully.
Cancelled Sequel
A sequel was planned for Bully, but was cancelled during its production in the early 2010s. Shawn Lee, the soundtrack composer of Bully, suggested he would make a return for the sequel. After the release of Grand Theft Auto V, Dan Houser told Polygon that he was interested in writing for the Bully sequel.
Due to Rockstar Vancouver leading the active development of Max Payne 3, the associate Rockstar developer studio for Bully: Scholarship Edition, Rockstar New England, acted as the primary developer for the game's sequel. The team was ultimately reallocated to Max Payne 3 production, Rockstar Games' priority at the time, and other projects.[5]
In July 2012, Rockstar Vancouver's 35 employees were relocated to either Rockstar Toronto or other Rockstar Games studios, after Rockstar Vancouver studio was closed and merged into Rockstar Toronto.
External Links
References
- ↑ "Bully Now Included with GTA+" - Rockstar Newswire
- ↑ Website(12/21/2024)https://www.igcd.net/game.php?id=486048
IGCD.net: Vehicles/Cars list for The Warriors - ↑
- ↑
- ↑ "The Version Of Bully 2 You'll Never Get To Play" - GameInformer, 30 December 2021 (Archived)
