The Châteaux Marmont is one of those nondescript hotels that you need to know where it is to find. Fortunately, it’s across the street from larger than life Rocky and Bullwinkle statues, so my cab driver was able to drop me right at the entrance, which happens to be a steep cobblestoned driveway that leads to a glass door.

Once inside I wait for the Rockstar folks to collect me at the front desk. They lead me back to the driveway and through a tall wooden gate which opens to a steep set of meandering cement stairs that cut through tall bushes, grass and towering walls of living bamboo.

Finally, we come to a clearing, a small yard and a long bungalow with a front made nearly entirely of glass doors. Inside is a small living room, a television, a couple of Xbox 360s and controllers.

But before dropping into the game and the play session I’ve read about on half a dozen other sites, I decide to quiz Jeronimo Barrera, Rockstar Games Vice President of Product Development, about episodic gaming and the nature of video games.