Original Grand Theft Auto Developer Reflects on the Game's Creation and Tabloid Response

In 1997, during a period when the UK creative scene was thriving with Britpop and cultural milestones, DMA Design was sensing a shift in how video games were perceived. Co-founder Dave Jones wanted gaming to tap into the wider world of entertainment, aiming for players to immerse themselves completely in an environment rather than just feeling like they were playing a game. This ambition laid the groundwork for what would become one of the industry's most influential franchises, though its origins were rooted in a very different concept.

Originally conceived under the working title Race'N'Chase, the project began as a city simulator prototype built by programmer Mike Dailly on a 486 PC. Early iterations faced hurdles, moving from an action-on-foot view deemed too slow to a side-on perspective, before ultimately adopting a top-down perspective inspired by a colleague's work on Body Harvest. Using cubes to produce a pseudo-3D effect over a top-down view, the team gained management approval to pursue a fast multiplayer car racing and crashing game set in three distinct cities, featuring missions, pedestrians, vehicle hijacking, and police pursuit.

As development continued, the project evolved organically through experimentation. Lead programmer Keith Hamilton and writer Brian Baglow noted that the initial concept shifted dramatically when the team realized that allowing players to abandon their own cars for other vehicles inherently made them criminals. This realization birthed the core of the title, shifting it from a straightforward cops-and-robbers driving game into a car-based crime simulation and sandbox adventure. Mid-project, the game was officially renamed Grand Theft Auto.

The young team behind the game focused heavily on simulation elements, such as emergency services traveling to and from hospitals and police stations to handle incidents. Levels were constructed by just three people—Stephen Banks on San Andreas, Billy Thomson on Vice City, and Paul Farley on Liberty City—drawing inspiration from top-down racers like Super Sprint and Micro Machines. Despite technical limitations such as a lack of diagonal road tiles, the developers successfully crafted interconnected spaces that encouraged both vehicle handling and pedestrian interaction.

Reflecting on the finished product, members of the development team noted some surprise at the initial media reaction. While tabloids offered a harsh response, the creators recognized that gamers, critics, and actual players ultimately found the experience to be a success.