Support NeoGAF

[IbizaPocholo]

A full history of the Grand Theft Auto franchise. From the origins of DMA Design, up to the latest updates to GTAOnline and beyond!

Celebrate nearly 25 years of one of the most iconic open world video games of all time by learning how the series has evolved.

Join me as I detail each and every game, breaking down their development history, storyline, gameplay features, visuals, and their critical reception, all backed with each game's original soundtrack.

Now sit back, grab a drink and enjoy the ENTIRE History of GTA!
Timestamps:

00:00 Intro
01:56 Origin of DMA
07:56 GTA Development
12:17 GTA
17:32 GTA2 Development
19:27 GTA2
23:17 GTALondon
26:25 GTA3 Development
31:16 GTA3
44:58 Vice City Development
47:09 Vice City
55:05 The GTA Killer Controversy
57:25 San Andreas Development
59:47 San Andreas
01:10:55 GTA Advance
01:13:58 Liberty City Stories
01:18:57 Vice City Stories
01:22:58 GTAIV Development
01:28:02 GTAIV
01:41:44 The Lost and the Damned
01:44:01 The Ballad of Gay Tony
01:46:41 Chinatown Wars
01:50:26 Red Dead Redemption
01:52:24 GTAV Development
01:55:18 GTAV
02:04:30 GTAOnline
02:14:26 Conclusion

 

[GymWolf]

Gta3 was the only game that locked me in a 10 hour gaming session, it was just to much to handle coming from isometric 2d open worlds, the first time i beated the shit out of a sicilian mob guy who talked in perfect sicilian slang with a wood bat or the first bitch i ran over with a stolen taxi...ah youth.

Although i never tried omikron nomad soul on pc, that one was the first 3d open world (although not even close to the scope of gta3)

 

[IbizaPocholo]

Evolution of Grand Theft Auto Games 1997-2021
Includes Gameplay From ALL GTA Video Games

All the recordings, clips, gameplay, and editing are made by me with added commentary.

All GTA Games in the Evolution:
0:00 Grand Theft Auto (1997) - PlayStation & PC
01:00 Grand Theft Auto (1999) - Game Boy Color
01:33 Grand Theft Auto: London 1969/1961 (1999) - PS1 & PC
02:26 Grand Theft Auto 2 (1999) - PS1, DC & PC
03:27 Grand Theft Auto 2 (2000) - GBC
04:10 Grand Theft Auto III (2001) - PS2, Xbox, PC, Mac, Mobile
05:42 Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002) - PS2, Xbox, PC, Mac, Mobile
07:05 Grand Theft Auto Advance (2004) - Game Boy Advance
07:50 Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004) - PS2, Xbox, PC, Mac, Mobile
09:22 Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (2005) - PS2, PSP & Mobile
10:30 Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (2006) - PS2 & PSP
11:29 Grand Theft Auto IV (2008) - PS3, XB360 & PC
12:59 Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned (2009) - PS3, XB360 & PC
14:11 Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony (2009) - PS3, XB360 & PC
15:23 Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (2009) - PSP, NDS & Mobile
16:04 Grand Theft Auto V (2013) - PS3 & XB360
17:45 Grand Theft Auto V RTX Remaster (2021) - PS5, XBS X/S & PC
Grand Theft Auto Online

The game footage from every Grand Theft Auto game is focused on car driving gameplay, free-roaming, flying, fighting, getting busted, and wasted.

 

[IbizaPocholo]

An in depth look at the design behind Grand Theft Auto 3

0:00 Introduction
1:47 Chapter 1 - The Document
4:21 Chapter 2 - 2D to 3D
6:57 Chapter 3 - The Vehicles
14:22 Chapter 4 - The Weapons
16:54 Chapter 5 - Liberty City
33:42 Chapter 6 - The Gangs
35:37 Chapter 7 - The Characters
49:46 Chapter 8 - Darkel
53:10 Chapter 9 - The Story
59:56 Chapter 10 - The Script
1:04:44 Chapter 11 - The Missions
1:38:11 Chapter 12 - Extra Features

 

[mansoor1980]

Gta3 was the only game that locked me in a 10 hour gaming session, it was just to much to handle coming from isometric 2d open worlds, the first time i beated the shit out of a sicilian mob guy who talked in perfect sicilian slang with a wood bat or the first bitch i ran over with a stolen taxi...ah youth.

Although i never tried omikron nomad soul on pc, that one was the first 3d open world (although not even close to the scope of gta3)

urban chaos on ps1 and pc was also impressive and under rated

 

[GymWolf]

urban chaos on ps1 and pc was also impressive and under rated

I liked that one a lot aswell.

 

[IbizaPocholo]

After nearly 25 years, Grand Theft Auto has made an insane impact on the video game industry. Grand Theft Auto broke new ground after GTA III released, launching Rockstar into the limelight. Since then, the series has become synonymous with high quality open world exploration and freedom. Its locales of Liberty City, Vice City, and Los Santos have become intimately familiar with fans, as well as characters like Tommy Vercetti, Niko Bellic, Trevor Philips, Franklin Clinton, and Michael De Santa. Dave takes a look back at all of the GTAs to rank them worst to best.

Grand Theft Auto made its debut on the original Playstation back in 1997. But, it wouldn’t be until the third iteration, Grand Theft Auto III, that the series truly broke out becoming the household name it is today. Beyond its controversies, there’s good reason these games became so popular, all thanks to the wild amount of freedom and creativity the games employed and still employ to this day. But they need to be ranked! Because ... why not!

Vice city was the best for me, followed by GTA 4 and its realistic feel for the physics that I liked.

 

[Dr.D00p]

I must in the minority but there isn't a single GTA that I've enjoyed or stuck with for more than 6-8hrs or so.

I've always found the vehicle controls & handling hideous, combat atrocious and missions that quickly become so incredibly hard and frustrating that rage quitting is never far away.

 

[JohnSpartanLee]

I must in the minority but there isn't a single GTA that I've enjoyed or stuck with for more than 6-8hrs or so.

I've always found the vehicle controls & handling hideous, combat atrocious and missions that quickly become so incredibly hard and frustrating that rage quitting is never far away.

Vehicle controls have improved considerably over the years.
In GTA 5 / Online the handling is so good that there are dedicated racing communities that prefer it over other racing games:

 

[TVexperto]

this video is pretty much just a summary from the book "jacked"...

 

[IbizaPocholo]

Grand Theft Auto is one of the most venerated video game series of all time, so let's take a look at its history.

Grand Theft Auto has left a mark on the pop culture landscape that few franchises have done before or since. To mark the 20th anniversary of GTA 3, and the announcement of GTA Trilogy: The Definitive Edition, let’s take a look at the History of Grand Theft Auto

00:17 - Grand Theft Auto (1997)
03:37 - Grand Theft Auto: London 1969 (1999)
05:05 - Grand Theft Auto: London 1961 (1999)
05:23 - Grand Theft Auto II (1999)
07:01 - Grand Theft Auto III (2001)
10:08 - Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002)
12:20 - Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004)
14:17 - Grand Theft Auto Advance (2004)
14:45 - Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (2005)
15:22 - Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (2006)
15:52 - Grand Theft Auto IV (2008)
19:13 - Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost And Damned (2009)
19:59 - Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (2009)
20:50 - Grand Theft Auto IV: The Ballad Of Gay Tony (2009)
21:17 - Grand Theft Auto V (2013)
24:00 - Grand Theft Auto Online (2013)
25:06 - The Gamechangers (2015)

 

[IbizaPocholo]

With its genesis in the mid-'90s and a history stretching back well over two decades it's certainly possible there's a bunch of stuff you may not know about Grand Theft Auto, especially those of you who are newer fans who've only come aboard the series in the past generation, or those of you who were just too young to remember paper maps, Jesus Saves, and the tragically forgotten veterans of the Australian-American war. To that end, here's a quick list of nine things you probably didn't know about Grand Theft Auto.

 

[kiphalfton]

But nothing has happened since 2013...

 

[IbizaPocholo]

Yes we talk about their other games too. Coming December 2021.

Our next episode of Noclip Greatest Hits features interviews with a half dozen ex-DMA staffers and covers the inception of the studio right up until before the launch of Grand Theft Auto III. Featuring development stories on games like GTA, GTA 2, Lemmings, Body Harvest, Kid Kirby (Cancelled), Space Station Silicon Valley, Tanktics and more. Coming in a few weeks (and a few days early for Early Access Patrons).

 

[IbizaPocholo]

Danny talk to the people behind Grand Theft Auto & Lemmings about the history of DMA Design and their lasting impact on the world of development.

0:00 - Intro
3:34 - Early DMA
9:30 - Lemmings
20:28 - Grand Theft Auto
39:22 - The Sandbox Games
47:02 - Grand Theft Auto 2
54:44 - Who Made Grand Theft Auto III?
1:07:49 - DMA's Legacy
1:10:20 - Credits

 

[IbizaPocholo]

The Making Of: Grand Theft Auto, The Start Of The 370-Million-Selling GTA Franchise

"We never believed that it would actually cause that much trouble"

www.timeextension.com

Arguably Lemmings could be thought of as one of the most violent video games of all time. It revels in thousands of graphic deaths per hour, animals are sent to the slaughter in cruel traps, and a frustrated player can unleash an apocalypse that kills all of them in a string of furry pops. But the lemmings die with cute squeaks, and are tiny. And when the violence is too small to be real, it seems developers can get away with a lot.

When Keith Hamilton, a software engineer writing code for credit card terminals, interviewed for a new programming job, it wasn’t even particularly clear what the company did. The location was an anonymous building in Green Park, Dundee’s main industrial estate, and there were few clues in the company’s name, DMA Design. But it didn’t take long for the pieces to click.

The interview was conducted by David Jones, by now an industry celebrity, and Mike Dailly. They were looking to replace Russell Kay, the man who had named Lemmings, but had since left to start his own development company, Visual Science. Hamilton was taken on to write Lemmings 3: All New World of Lemmings.

'It was my introduction to the industry,' says Hamilton, ‘to the chaos that it was.’ He had left a company making payment systems, one that could scarcely have been more security conscious, and come to a developer in a continuing state of anarchy. ‘Things were made up as they went along. It was a fast-growing company, quite chaotic. I enjoyed it!’

DMA’s first Lemmings sequel had been a decent seller, and the plan with the third game was to focus on more detailed lemmings. But somehow the magic was lost. ‘The lemmings were effectively bigger – I think that spoilt it,’ says Hamilton. Jones agrees, ‘I couldn’t think of any new way to take Lemmings at that point.’ The third game ended DMA’s six-title exclusive deal with Psygnosis, and meanwhile Nintendo had been courting DMA – the Japanese company needed imaginative, top-quality launch titles for its new rival to the PlayStation, the Nintendo 64.

Check the link for more.