Yeah, you know the one. The box art that was the first in the series to introduce that iconic Pricedown typeface for the logo, the first to introduce that distinctive style that has been featured in every GTA game since. Designed by the one and only Stephen Bliss who's worked on basically all of Rockstar's games from GTA III onwards. From your Bully's to your L.A Noires and Red Deads...
His final project as Senior Artist before leaving Rockstar Games in 2016 was GTA V.
The story behind how this box art came to be is really interesting. But before we get into it, why not sit back, relax and listen to the game's great theme song.
So if you didn't know, GTA III was set to launch sometime in late September - early October 2001. The DMA Design crew developing the game (who would go onto be known as Rockstar North) were faced with various setbacks following the 9/11 terrorist attacks however causing publisher Rockstar to delay the game by two weeks, citing the attacks as a major reason why. Rockstar Games' global headquarters is located in New York City and naturally getting things done during that period with communications being all over the place must have been difficult. Not just for Rockstar but for everyone really. This here is an excerpt from the original press release I managed to dig up.
That last bit is especially important. GTA III is set in a fictional offshoot of New York City called Liberty City and naturally there's a handful of references to the real NYC, like how the police cars have a similar color scheme. This was one of the changes DMA made following the attacks
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Sam Houser spoke about the various changes DMA had to make following the attacks and I think it's quite insightful.
But this was just one of the several changes the DMA Design team made in the leadup to launch following the attacks, other changes included changing up the flight plan of an airplane and removing references to an NPC (Darkel) that had the player character make various bombings in the game. If you're interested in learning more about this, I highly recommend Vadim M's video on this as he does a good job of summing it up and looks through the leftover game files.
However, Rockstar and DMA claimed that these changes were only 1% of things changed and that the largest change of them all was actually the North American box art.
You see, GTA III's original box art (which was used in other territories) was quite actiony, like a classic Hollywood action movie poster. I actually think it looks quite cool myself and does a good job of selling the game. Here it is.
...But I can sorta see why the decision to change it up came in following 9/11. A Rockstar rep revealed in a R* Newswire Q/A in 2012 that the team felt the original box art felt quite 'raw', especially after 9/11, and that was when the decision to change it up came in.
Sam Houser claimed that the North American box art which would go on to become a series staple was conceived in a single evening by Stephen Bliss and that the staff instantly preferred it to the previous box art.
The new North American box art was inspired by movie posters like this one from The Thomas Crown Affair
I think it's amazing that Stephen Bliss was able to design such an iconic cover art in a simple evening. It's a change that ultimately defined GTA as a series, a convention that rears its head in every subsequent entry.
His final project as Senior Artist before leaving Rockstar Games in 2016 was GTA V.
So if you didn't know, GTA III was set to launch sometime in late September - early October 2001. The DMA Design crew developing the game (who would go onto be known as Rockstar North) were faced with various setbacks following the 9/11 terrorist attacks however causing publisher Rockstar to delay the game by two weeks, citing the attacks as a major reason why. Rockstar Games' global headquarters is located in New York City and naturally getting things done during that period with communications being all over the place must have been difficult. Not just for Rockstar but for everyone really. This here is an excerpt from the original press release I managed to dig up.
That last bit is especially important. GTA III is set in a fictional offshoot of New York City called Liberty City and naturally there's a handful of references to the real NYC, like how the police cars have a similar color scheme. This was one of the changes DMA made following the attacks
Beta
Final
But this was just one of the several changes the DMA Design team made in the leadup to launch following the attacks, other changes included changing up the flight plan of an airplane and removing references to an NPC (Darkel) that had the player character make various bombings in the game. If you're interested in learning more about this, I highly recommend Vadim M's video on this as he does a good job of summing it up and looks through the leftover game files.
Sam Houser said:
Sam Houser said:
However, Rockstar and DMA claimed that these changes were only 1% of things changed and that the largest change of them all was actually the North American box art.
You see, GTA III's original box art (which was used in other territories) was quite actiony, like a classic Hollywood action movie poster. I actually think it looks quite cool myself and does a good job of selling the game. Here it is.
...But I can sorta see why the decision to change it up came in following 9/11. A Rockstar rep revealed in a R* Newswire Q/A in 2012 that the team felt the original box art felt quite 'raw', especially after 9/11, and that was when the decision to change it up came in.
R* Rep said:
Sam Houser claimed that the North American box art which would go on to become a series staple was conceived in a single evening by Stephen Bliss and that the staff instantly preferred it to the previous box art.
Sam Houser said:
The new North American box art was inspired by movie posters like this one from The Thomas Crown Affair
I think it's amazing that Stephen Bliss was able to design such an iconic cover art in a simple evening. It's a change that ultimately defined GTA as a series, a convention that rears its head in every subsequent entry.
Stephen Bliss said:
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