If you’ve ever cruised through the streets of Liberty City in Grand Theft Auto 3 and marveled at the iconic cinematic camera angle, you might be surprised to learn how it all came to be. It turns out that the feature—so closely associated with the GTA series—had rather humble beginnings, and it all started with a boring train ride.
Obbe Vermeij, a former Rockstar Games developer who worked on GTA 3, Vice City, San Andreas, and GTA 4, recently shared this fascinating story.
It turns out, during development of GTA 3, Vermeij found riding the train in Liberty City rather dull. Initially, he considered letting players skip ahead to the next station, but technical issues made this unfeasible. So, in a flash of inspiration, Vermeij decided to switch up the camera angle to make the journey more interesting, moving it between random viewpoints near the train tracks. It worked like a charm—and that’s when a fellow developer suggested doing something similar for cars. And just like that, the cinematic camera angle was born.
The feature quickly became a fan-favorite, and has since been a staple of every Grand Theft Auto title. Interestingly, Vermeij revealed that the cinematic camera angle was kept untouched in Vice City—one of the most beloved entries in the series—before being revamped for San Andreas.
To add to the intrigue, a dedicated fan recently dug into the game’s files to remove the cinematic camera angle in GTA 3, showing just how bland the journey would have been without it. Vermeij chimed in, confirming that without the feature, the train camera would have been similar to driving a car—slightly above and behind the carriage. And as if that weren’t enough, Vermeij also spilled the beans on a GTA 3 online mode that was scrapped before it ever saw the light of day.
According to leaked documents, Rockstar had plans for online character creation, progression, and even deathmatch battles. Vermeij himself had written a basic version of this mode, but it was eventually abandoned due to the immense amount of work still required.
From a train ride to one of the most iconic camera angles in gaming history, it’s clear that sometimes the simplest ideas can become legends.
What’s next for GTA? Only time will tell, but one thing’s for sure—Vermeij’s stories continue to reveal just how much Grand Theft Auto has evolved into the groundbreaking series we know today!
