In Part 1 of our exclusive interview with former Rockstar North technical director Obbe Vermeij, he revealed that Grand Theft Auto III began development before it was even formally approved, among other curious tidbits. In this second installment, we turn from origin stories to craft. Specifically, how early GTA games created the illusion of life, and why that illusion still matters more than brute-force simulation.
There is a moment every Grand Theft Auto player recognizes, even if they struggle to put it into words. You step onto the pavement, traffic rolls by, someone mutters under their breath, and a scrap of paper drifts across the street. Nothing spectacular is happening. Yet the city feels alive. According to former Rockstar North technical director Obbe Vermeij, that feeling was never about brute-force simulation or overwhelming technical complexity. It was about illusion.
When asked about technical tricks players rarely notice, Vermeij didn’t point to advanced AI systems or massive background simulations. He talked about litter.
From the things I worked on I would say the litter in the streets made a huge visual difference without people noticing it too much. Papers get pulled along in the slipstream of cars. It doesn't look like much but without it the world looks sterile.
It’s a small detail. Most players would never consciously register it, but remove it, and something feels wrong. During the development of Grand Theft Auto III and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, environmental touches like this quietly carried enormous weight.
