Contents

Interview

INTERVIEW WITH DAN HOUSER AND LESLIE BENZIES FOR GAMESPOT

1. Why have you decided to bring grand theft auto iii back to its pc roots?

Dan: we've never shipped a gta game and not released it on both pc and console. We were always going to release it on pc. The lag between the two versions was a result of the fact the game is now so big that to make both versions play and handle as well as they possible can takes a lot of time.

2. Is the mature nature of the game going to remain intact in the port to the pc?

Dan: no. In the pc version you play a cuddly toy who got hurt and left out to die, and now nobody loves you. You go on a series of wacky adventures through toy land before finding a lonely little girl who makes you realise you had everything you needed all along, which was good friends and a song in your heart.... Of course it is going to remain the same. It is the game.

3. From the screenshots we've seen, it's clear that you've bumped up the resolution from the ps2version. Are you doing anything else to take advantage of pc hardware?

Les: yes, the textures are much higher resolution in the pc version, they also have more colors. We've also allowed the player to configure things like draw distance for all buildings, peds and cars in the city. The player can also adjust the number of cars and pedestrians on the streets. Another addition taking advantage of the extra memory available on a pc are the replays which enable you to play back the last 30 seconds of gameplay and watch the action again from different camera angles. The replay is also saved to disk so you can save or even e-mail any cool sequences. The audio effects have been really enhanced in the game also. We fully support surround sound systems so you really feel like you're in the action, the sounds happen all around you and enable you to pinpoint where they are coming from - cops approaching from the right, helicopter closing in overhead…

4. The original grand theft auto and gta2 both had multiplayer…why not 3?

Dan: we felt we made massive advances in the design of 3d single player action in gta3. Attitude, characterisation, immersiveness and the seamless combination of driving, gun play and running about in a fully developed world while following through a non linear story. We always felt the multiplayer versions failed to do justice to the single player games on previous iterations of gta, and now the game is in 3d, we thought this would only be exacerbated by the completeness of the single player game. With a multiplayer version on the game, we want to do something more than just a death match mode, in order to stay true to what the game concept is all about. It is going to take a long time to get this perfected.

5. How have you streamlined the interface and controls for use with a mouse and keyboard, and will the pc version be compatible with gamepads and wheels?

Les: we've spent a long time perfecting the controls for the pc version and believe we've come up with the ideal setup. There are two control methods. The first we call 'classic' as it is exactly the same as the ps2 controls. This works with either the keyboard or a joystick. The second method we call 'standard' which is a completely new configuration made especially for the pc and it requires a mouse to function. In standard mode, the camera and therefore players direction is controlled with the mouse while movement and all other actions are managed on the keyboard.

6. If someone has played and enjoyed the ps2 version of grand theft auto iii, what are the reasons to pick up the pc version?

Dan: beyond the graphical improvements and the various other pc only new features and modifications, the main reason is in the two control methods that leslie mentioned. The result is that the major irritations inherent in playing any 3rd person game on a console can be avoided. No matter how robust and responsive a camera system is, it is never as good as you want it to be in all situations, as it doesn't have a neck, and this can get frustrating at times. This is inherent in making 3rd person games for consoles, where you have to make the games very easy to play. For someone who likes playing pc games, giving the player complete control over the camera gives him the freedom he'd normally expect in a pc shooter. Liberty city is an incredible place the new controls give the player the freedom to really discover the details of the city, to look around and see just how many things are going on at any one time.

7. Is there anything else you'd like to tell fans of the series about this pc game?

Dan: we hope you enjoy it. We have always supported the pc community on this game. It is the only pc game rockstar release. The game was lovingly re built by the team who made the original, so it has taken a little time to get ready, but we believe it is worth the wait.