Behind-the-scenes retrospective on Grand Theft Auto III, where questions like 9/11’s influence on the game, the origins of the clipped-wing Dodo airplane, and early iterations of GTA III logos and concept art are discussed.
Presenting the conclusion of our two-part series answering your questions about Grand Theft Auto III – in honor of the game’s 10-Year Anniversary and the Edition for mobile devices that was released last month. Part one delved into questions about Claude and other characters from the game – today’s part two covers many of the long-standing rumors, mysteries and myths about Grand Theft Auto III – and also features a few behind-the-scenes images being released for the first time. Thanks to all GTA fans for submitting these great inquiries – and enjoy!
On 9/11: How different would be #GTAIII if 9/11 wouldn't have happened?
On The Dodo: How come the Dodo plane in GTA 3 can’t fly?
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| From left to right: the 10-year anniversary edition cover art, the original European cover art, and an early rough concept art for GTA III |
Presenting the conclusion of our two-part series answering your questions about Grand Theft Auto III – in honor of the game’s 10-Year Anniversary and the Edition for mobile devices that was released last month. Part one delved into questions about Claude and other characters from the game – today’s part two covers many of the long-standing rumors, mysteries and myths about Grand Theft Auto III – and also features a few behind-the-scenes images being released for the first time. Thanks to all GTA fans for submitting these great inquiries – and enjoy!
On 9/11: How different would be #GTAIII if 9/11 wouldn't have happened?
- About 1% different. We removed only one mission that referenced terrorists and changed a few other cosmetic details – car details, a couple of ped comments, lines of radio dialogue etc – the game came out a very short time later. The biggest change was the US packaging which remixed the previous packaging into what became our signature style – because the previous packaging [which was released as the cover of the game in Europe] was, we felt, too raw after 9/11. All of the more extreme rumours are amusing but impossible to have been achieved in such a short period of time.
On The Dodo: How come the Dodo plane in GTA 3 can’t fly?
- Because we were making a driving and shooting game - even that, as a combination of core gameplay elements, was very, very radical at the time. The Dodo was never meant to be flown very much at all, and it certainly wasn’t grounded as a result of 9/11 – it was just a fun thing that people then went crazy with when they figured out various bugs that let them fly it!