As part of a Christmas present, infamous leaker John Doe dropped GTA news at last, although it may not be what you expected; design documents for several GTA games, including GTA 3, GTA: Gameboy Advance, Vice City, San Andreas, and more. But one document stands out far beyond the rest: the design document for Grand Theft Auto: Online. Only, this isn’t GTA Online as we know it today—the microtransaction juggernaut that changed the way Rockstar Games operates forever.
This is the version conceptualized way back during GTA 3’s development, offering a glimpse at the earliest vision of what would later become one of gaming’s biggest phenomena. The documents reveal an ambitious blueprint that feels far ahead of its time, laying the groundwork for ideas that wouldn’t materialize for years, while also shedding light on concepts that never came to fruition. Rockstar Intel has seen the nearly 60-page design document. Read the full breakdown below.
Their Vision
— Glitch (@GlitchHelps) December 26, 2024
Imagine a world where every choice mattered. You’d start by crafting your character, picking a faction to swear allegiance to, and building skills like charisma to sway NPCs or intelligence to outsmart rivals. Picture the stakes of taking a risky mission in enemy territory, knowing success could expand your faction’s influence—or failure could cost everything. Your sports car? Destroyed, gone for good. Every dollar, every block of turf, every move would carry weight, turning the game into a constant battle for survival and dominance.
Rockstar had a clear vision for GTA Online: a world where players could live out Hollywood crime fantasies alongside hundreds of others. The game would abandon traditional leveling systems, as Rockstar believed they detracted from the experience of “becoming a criminal mastermind.” Instead, players would gain “real-life” benefits like improving at their job, earning more money, and gaining respect (such as becoming an experienced lockpicker, being able to lockpick armored cars, whereas a new player couldn’t)
This vision stands in stark contrast to the GTA Online we know today, where items, properties, and vehicles are explicitly locked behind leveling systems—a departure from Rockstar’s original philosophy in 2001.
Rockstar also took a different approach to item possession, money worked in a similar fashion; The more money you have, the sooner you are able to buy that sports car you fancy. However, if your car were to be destroyed, there would be no way to retrieve it back, adding more value and risk to items you purchase.
It wanted to differentiate itself from other MMORPGs at the time such as RuneScape and Dark Age of Camelot by creating an experience of highs and lows: “You can only go up in other games, which is fun but eventually boring. In GTA:O your fortunes will rise and fall, and every day will be an exciting fight to keep what you have and gain more.” It would also let you take active risks. A player just starting out wouldn’t be encouraged to do high-stakes bank robberies, but it would certainly not be stopped; this gave the player control and responsibility.
Factions:
— Glitch (@GlitchHelps) December 26, 2024
One major deviation from GTA Online as we know it today is the faction system. The game would include five factions:
The Mob: Infamous and deeply rooted in American folklore, La Cosa Nostra thrives in secrecy. Loyalty is their strength, but rigid ranks limit upward mobility.
The Yakuza: Born post-WWII and thriving in Japan’s booming economy, the Yakuza blurs the line between crime and business. With tailored suits, pistols, and samurai blades, they dominate corporate crime, political hits, and high-stakes deals, commanding fear and reluctant respect.
The Dogheart Massive: The youngest faction, originating in the Caribbean and expanding into North America and Europe. They make up for a lack of connections with ruthless ferocity, thriving in the international drug trade and smuggling. Currently in a brutal war with the Mob for control and respect.
The OMGs: An international motorcycle club with chapters across North America, Europe, Australia, South America, and South Africa. Though disorganized, they thrive in smuggling and petty crime, using their scattered structure to launch brutal, quick strikes before vanishing. Tough and capable, the OMGs despise the Mob, seeing them as an obstacle.
Law enforcement: In a city filled with crime, there is always work left for law enforcement.
The factions weren’t just a backdrop—they were woven into the very fabric of gameplay. Rockstar’s vision included a territorial system where each faction controlled specific city blocks. By completing missions outside their own turf, players could expand their influence and seize land from rival factions. This created a constant push and pull, with territory constantly changing hands, and players being engaged in a fight for control.
When a player’s reputation with their faction hits rock bottom, they face a choice: repair their standing or switch sides entirely. Changing factions isn’t easy, though—it’s only an option if their reputation with the new faction is also near-zero. Reputation is a balancing act, as gaining favor with one faction often damages relations with another. If a player is cut off from missions due to low standing, they’ll need to complete Personal Initiative missions to rebuild trust and earn their way into a new faction’s good graces.
The most striking aspect of these factions is how they resemble today’s FiveM. Players have taken it upon themselves to build a GTA Online that now seems to align more with Rockstar’s original vision—a more roleplay-driven experience. Police and gang factions, turf wars, proximity voice chat, deep character creation—these elements were all part of Rockstar’s early blueprint and core to FiveM’s appeal.
Character Creation And Player Interaction:
— Glitch (@GlitchHelps) December 26, 2024
Boot up the game, create your character, and assign points to skills like intelligence, strength, and charisma. You spawn in the world, steal a car from another player, and—congratulations—you’re now a wanted man. Your crime is broadcast on the city center bulletin board for everyone, including the police, to see. Shot in the chaos, you limp to the hospital, forgetting your criminal record is public knowledge. You’re arrested on the spot, dragged to court, and plead not guilty. But as a new player with no legal skills, the odds are already stacked against you.
The game emphasized consequences. Players could rob or betray each other, but such actions carried lasting repercussions. Victims could post warnings on a “snitch board” or plot revenge when they gained more power. An interactive menu, similar to FiveM’s, allowed for dynamic interactions—chatting, intimidating, or even pickpocketing rivals.
I was just as surprised as you to see Rockstar’s original blueprint alive and well in FiveM. It’s no wonder they acquired Cfx.re to bring that vision full circle. Who knows—maybe next year, we’ll be living our RP crime fantasies in the streets of Leonida
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1 Comment
i like it