5 features in GTA 3 that laid the foundation for open-world games

Modified Jul 25, 2024 09:23 GMT

GTA 3 was one of the most important titles not just for Rockstar Games but the entire gaming industry. The title truly revolutionized how we play open-world games today. Rockstar surprised everyone by taking a huge leap in game design that later became standard for modern interactive entertainment. Additionally, the studio’s previous experiences also worked as icing on the cake.

This article discusses five features in GTA 3 that reshaped the open-world gaming industry.

Note: Some parts of this article are subjective and only reflect the writer’s opinions. The list is in no particular order.

5 features in GTA 3 that revolutionized the open-world gaming genre

1) 3D in-game environment

An in-game screenshot from Grand Theft Auto 3 (Image via Rockstar Games)

Converting into the 3D in-game environment was undoubtedly the most important milestone Rockstar Games achieved in GTA 3. Before this, all video games, including the Grand Theft Auto series, followed the 2D top-down view. This aspect had many limitations, most importantly in building a detailed environment. Players had to do everything from a birds-eye view, including driving and shooting.

However, Grand Theft Auto 3 brought everything to the ground level allowing players to explore the open world with a 3D third-person perspective. At that time, the in-game world looked surreal and similar to the real-life New York.

2) Attention to details

Rockstar Games is the king of attention to detail in video games, and the details in GTA 3 made it stand out in the early 2000s. At that time, most (if not all) other video game studios did not care about the details that weren't necessary for the main plot. Some games even lacked details in the main gameplay.

However, Rockstar Games went above and beyond in Grand Theft Auto 3 and included minor details, Easter eggs, and hidden secrets that wowed the players. Even today, players find new details in the 2001 title that the developers hid in discreet places.

3) NPCs with voice dialogs

Grand Theft Auto 3 was probably the first video game to include voice dialogs for NPCs. While the protagonist remained silent for the entire gameplay, many GTA 3 characters were given voice lines to talk to Claude. Rockstar even gave random dialogs to pedestrians to make the outside world feel more realistic.

Before this, all gaming studios put dialog pop-ups to convey important messages to players. However, Rockstar revolutionized this by using actual people to voice in-game characters. This has now become standard practice across the board.

4) First-person perspective

It is one of the intriguing facts about GTA 3 that most players don’t know. Many fans believe Grand Theft Auto 5 was the first game in the series to include the first-person perspective. While it is technically true, you can enjoy a similar camera mode in the 2001 title.

Rockstar lets you see the world in first person in idle mode while aiming the M16 and sniper rifle, and while driving a vehicle. The open world looks more immersive in this perspective.

5) Immersive cutscenes

Claude showing his dominance in Grand Theft Auto 3 (Image via Rockstar Games)

Along with the voice dialogs, Rockstar Games revolutionized the cutscenes between missions in GTA 3. Before this, game developers used animated comic-book-style dialog screens to let players learn about the story's details. However, Grand Theft Auto 3 used cutscenes that used the in-game characters and the environment they were in.

The immersive new cutscenes made the gameplay look like players were watching a movie rather than having to read everything from the screen. Rockstar also added the ability to skip the entire cutscene just by pressing a single button.

Also read: GTA 3 cheats

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Edited by Angad Sharma