Grand Theft Auto games have always shown off great technology and are really fun to play. GTA 6 will be amazing when it comes out next Fall. If you remember GTA 3 from 2001, you'll see how Rockstar added little details about how to use the technology of that time.
One small detail in GTA 3 was the litter on the streets. While it might seem simple, the litter was special because it blew in the wind and moved when cars drove by. This kind of attention to detail is typical of Rockstar’s games, showing off their technology. Surprisingly, this feature wasn’t carried over to future games, as the streets in GTA: San Andreas are much cleaner.
There’s a good reason for this, and it’s not just that there are fewer litterbugs in San Andreas compared to Liberty City. Former Rockstar developer Obbe Vermeij has been sharing development secrets about the series recently. He’s explained why GTA 3 didn’t have working planes, why planes kept crashing around CJ in San Andreas, and how the gloomy mood of GTA 4 made him decide to leave the studio.
In a recent tweet, Obbe Vermeij revealed that he wanted to include GTA 3’s moving litter in San Andreas. However, not everyone on the team liked the idea. He didn’t go into much detail about the objections, but he did mention that a major concern was potential rendering problems. The litter used "immediate mode polygons," which could be slow to render.
Vermeij says he ended up "losing the argument" and had to take out the litter from San Andreas. But he found a way to sneak it into Manhunt, Rockstar's famous stealth game from 2003. Since some of the GTA team members were reassigned to Manhunt during its last few months of development, Vermeij used that chance to add the litter code. That's a sneaky trick worth admiring!
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