GTA3-style design - How did it evolve?
I was playing some Mercenaries today and thinking how cool it is that we have games like this nowadways, i.e. large, free-roaming, open-ended, 3d action games where you can go on foot or enter various vehicles. Grand Theft Auto III was obviously the catalyst for this but I find it interesting to look back at the steps that brought us to 3d GTA-style games.
1976
I figured I would start here with Exidy's arcade game Death Race. Best known for being the first controversial video game, it was likely the first driving game where the object was to run over enemies instead of racing them.
http://www.the-nextlevel.com/hosted/.../deathrace.jpg
1984
I have been trying to think of the first game to allow you to enter and exit a vehicle in-game. Synapse Software's Atari 8-bit/C64 game N.Y.C. - The Big Apple/New York City is the oldest I can think of. Although graphically crude and not much fun to play, this game was ahead of its time in that way. It let you explore the city how you wanted, different locations had different mini-games, and if you got hurt it cost you money to use the hospital.
http://www.the-nextlevel.com/hosted/.../nyc%20c64.gif
1985
NYC may have sucked but A. Eddy Goldfarb & Associates' Hot Wheels for the C64 was a neat "sandbox" game at the time. While it didn't have any of the violence of GTA, nor could you go on foot anywhere you wanted, it still had a various areas to explore, you could change your car's paint job, play demolition derby, use a fire engine to put out fires, etc..
http://www.the-nextlevel.com/hosted/...t%20wheels.gif
1991
1991 was hugely significant for this type of design for at least two games.
Paul Holmes' Amiga/ST game Hunter was a groundbreaking title. It had nearly everything we associate with these modern vehicular games: it was polygonal 3d and it let you approach missions in various ways by being able to enter various vehicles you find. The game has aged but it was very impressive at the time.
http://www.the-nextlevel.com/hosted/.../hunter_03.gif
Bethesda's The Terminator for PC was the first of several games they made with this license. The game uses a first-person view. You can go on foot or steal vehicles to use. You have the option to steal in weapons shops and banks as well. Having the cops attacking you for committing crimes is another GTA-like quality. I don't recall it having as much wandering as in Hunter but both games are certainly very notable for this topic.
http://www.the-nextlevel.com/hosted/...rminatorPC.gif
1994
Imagexcel's Quarantine (PC, 3DO, Playstation) is another predecessor to games like GTA3. You can't exit your vehicle but its free-roaming nature of driving/shooting around town (and running over pedestrians) gives it some similarities. Quarantine had a sequel the following year. I didn't play it as much but I think it added more variety with racing missions and stuff.
So Quarantine could also be seen as a predecessor to games like Crazy Taxi and the 3d vehicular combat genre which took on new life in 1995 with Twisted Metal. I don't know how Quarantine has aged but I loved it back then.
http://www.the-nextlevel.com/hosted/...Quarantine.png
1997
It's only natural to mention the original Grand Theft Auto in this thread. Other than being confined to a 2d overhead view, this was in concept like GTA3. 3d made the series 100x better, IMO, but I still have to respect this.
http://www.the-nextlevel.com/hosted/...eater/gta1.gif
The controversial, violent 3d racing game Carmageddon came out around the same time as did Activision's 3d mission-based driving action game Interstate '76.
1998
DMA Design took a big step towards GTA3's style with their N64 game Body Harvest. The way you can enter vehicles and play missions is very similar in feel. The biggest difference is the sci-fi theme.
http://www.the-nextlevel.com/hosted/...%20harvest.jpg
1999
Developer Reflections was no stranger to 3d vehicle games like early 32-bit games like Wipeout and Destruction Derby. 1999's Playstation/PC game Driver: You are the Wheelman was another game heading towards modern vehicle action games with its city to explore.
2000
Driver 2: The Wheelman is Back brought us even closer by letting the player exit his vehicle to steal another one.
http://www.the-nextlevel.com/hosted/...driver%202.jpg
GTA3 took things to a new level with its scope and feel. It blew me away like few games have. Still, it didn't arise out of thin air as the above games demonstrate.
So, those are important games that came to mind for me. I'm sure there are more so let's add them and discuss the evolution of this type of design.
