History of GTA by each major title Rockstar made
4 min readWritten By Fait & XxkillerpyroxX
GTA started way back in 1997 and since then it has come a very long way, Technology was in their favor the way they were allowed to get better and better as technology got better with them,
While there are mixed opinions on what GTA 6 might be like some say it’s not as creative as their previous releases there is still no denying right up till GTA V they have always had a creative streak to keep getting better and better and with that, we will be going through each Grand Theft Auto Title ever released to show you all this.
Please remember that while we are aware that GTA has made other releases such as Chinatown Wars we are only focusing on the major releases in this article that has made the game what it is today.
Grand Theft Auto: 1997
This was the first ever game they released, The inaugural version of the franchise was originally released for Windows-based PCs and MS-DOS Systems, However, a few months later they released the title on PlayStation One.
Yes, the image you see below is how the game was exactly played, There was no 3D view during this version of the game, They decided to go with a bird-eye view instead of the way the game is played today with its 3D first-person or third-person view, They called this “bird-eye” view an ‘OJ Cam’.
While it’s unclear why they decided to do this camera view all we do know is GTA One and Two were the only two titles that did this and we can safely assume it might be something to do with the gaming engine they were using at the time or at the time they thought they were allowing users to see everything and their surroundings.
Grand Theft Auto: Two
This title was released in 1999, This was the last title to feature the ‘OJ Cam’ view, If you compare the above GTA One image to the GTA 2 one even though both are the ‘OJ Cam’ view you can see a slight improvement in graphics with GTA 2, The Graphics, vehicle handling, camera tracking, game mechanics and features were significantly better.
The game’s introductory sequence was a short film, which was eight minutes long and shot in live-action footage in New York City. The film was made available on Rockstar Games’ website and followed the character Claude Speed (played by Scott Maslen), who performed jobs for various criminal syndicates in Anywhere City. However, his actions eventually caught up to him, and he was killed by an assassin from one of the gangs he robbed. The film was directed by Alex De Rakoff and based on a screenplay by Dan Houser.
Grand Theft Auto: 3
This was the very start of the GTA we know today and it had a major graphics improvement, Instead of controlling everything from their previous ‘OJ Cam” the developers decided to refresh everything and allow a first/third-person view, This is the GTA we know today and it was released in 2001.
Around 23 people from DMA Design in Edinburgh were the core development team for Grand Theft Auto III. They worked closely with publisher Rockstar Games in New York City. The original prototype for the game was created on the Dreamcast towards the end of the development on Grand Theft Auto 2 (1999), which convinced the team to proceed with the game. By early 2001, they had designed the city, cars, and some weapons. Although an online multiplayer mode was initially planned, it was ultimately dropped due to time and resource limitations.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Released in 2002, a year after GTA 3 was released, This game was very similar to that of GTA 3 but it was based in Vice City a very sunny-like and beachy town.
The core development team for Grand Theft Auto: Vice City was led by Rockstar North and consisted of 50 people. Full production began in late 2001, as Grand Theft Auto III was nearing completion. Although early development only involved creating 3D models, executive producer Sam Houser said that the project really took off at the beginning of 2002 and lasted about nine months.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Once again GTA has put another creative streak on their work from GTA 3 based in New York or Vice City based on a lighter city of Vice City while carrying the same graphics engine, San Andreas got more creative and focused on the darker side of America with drive-by shooting and other gangster-based stuff. It was released in 2004.
Grand Theft Auto: IV
GTA 4 is a video game that was released in 2008. It is an open-world action-adventure game that takes place in a fictional city called Liberty City, which is based in New York City. The game follows the story of Niko Bellic, an Eastern European immigrant who comes to Liberty City in search of the American Dream. The game features a variety of missions and activities that Niko can complete, such as car chases, shootouts, and other criminal activities.
Grand Theft Auto: V
Grand Theft Auto V is a video game that was released in 2013. It is an open-world action-adventure game that takes place in the fictional city of Los Santos, which is based on Los Angeles. The graphics were once again improved in this title, Ranging from the Cars, Trees and surrounding being almost similar to real life.