Game News 20 years later, this former Rockstar developer explains why GTA 3 became a revolutionary video game

Game news 20 years later, this former Rockstar developer explains why GTA 3 became a revolutionary video game

GTA III: a revolutionary move to 3D that defined the codes

While Grand Theft Auto VI is now expected somewhere in fall 2025, Grand Theft Auto V is approaching the milestone. 200 million units sold. A colossal success, built for more than 20 years and the transition to 3D of this license with Grand Theft Auto III. This is the fifth game in the license, and the one that will change everything for the already successful franchise. In total, GTA 3 represents 18 million units sold all editions combined, while Vice City and San Andreas represent 21 and 27 million copies sold respectively. Placing us in the fictional town of Liberty City, GTA III makes us play Claude Speedoriginally from San Andres.

Betrayed by his girlfriend, he finds himself in prison and escapes before finally meeting the local underworld. What follows is an adventure full of twists and turns through the open world of GTA III, divided into several progressively accessible areas. Targeted by various conservative groups, Rockstar held its ground and made the title one of the most significant adventures of its time and GTA a global franchise. For several months now, a former Rockstar developer has been detailing the design of certain elements of the license. It’s about by Obbe Vermeij, technical director from 1995 to 2009.

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Only eight loaded vehicles, but tips in every direction to promote immersion

In a recent publication available on X.com, he explains as follows: constraints and operation of vehicles in GTA III, Vice City and San Andreas. And you will see that although the world seems alive, it is in reality based on very few visible vehicles and on tricks of all kinds.

For gta3, Vice and SA, memory on the PS2 was limited. We had to limit the number of vehicle models used to 8. My code would occasionally choose a car model to delete. Once there were no more on the map, that model was deleted and a new model could be loaded. The code chose a model suited to the area (sports cars in business districts, old cars in rundown areas, etc.). Most of the time it worked fine.

Only eight vehicles could appear at the same time and in circulation, and the models had to correspond to the place but also to the situation. For example, if you earned research stars by committing wrongdoing, you had to make police cars, FIB, SWAT or even the famous helicopter appear, an ambulance or a fire truck. The change of zone created other problems, also managed by the code designed for the title within the engine:

If the player traveled to another area of ​​the map, some of the loaded cars looked out of place and could not be used. Loading replacement models took some time. The game kept the last car the player drove, as it would have been disruptive if the player went back and it wasn’t there. Sometimes there were only one or two car models available for ambient traffic. This lack of variation was especially noticeable if the player was driving the only car that was to be used.

To counter this problem, the teams used the garage. In fact, when the latter’s door closed, the car was unloaded, allowing the appearance of another model. Saved, the car reappeared as soon as the garage was used by the player. This partly explains why the garage appeared to be repairing the vehicles. It’s all about illusion, so as not to affect immersion. The NPC system was based on the same principles, so that the lack of variety induced by technical limitations was not noticeable.

NPC models were loaded/unloaded the same way. The lack of variety just wasn’t noticeable. For each game, we chose a generic character model that seemed appropriate for each area of ​​the map. This model was never retired and always ready to be replaced.