Former Rockstar North developer Obbe Vermeij had been delighting readers with weeks of nostalgic storytelling, sharing decades-old tales about his time with the GTA developer. Reminiscing on his extensive involvement with Grand Theft Auto games dating back to the early 2000s, Vermeij, who served as a technical director, took to his classic Blogger blog to disclose behind-the-scenes stories of games like San Andreas and Vice City. The stories were met with enthusiasm until a shift occurred when Rockstar North caught wind of them.
Having contributed to Rockstar games since Grand Theft Auto III, Vermeij held roles in parallel projects from 1995 until his departure in 2009. His recent blog posts revealed insights into the development processes of various GTA titles, seemingly shared without malice. From compromises made for the PS1 version of GTA to the prototype of GTA III on Dreamcast, Vermeij provided a glimpse into the idyllic, experienced team behind these groundbreaking games.
Rockstar
One entry disclosed the artists’ desire to create a zombie survival game, “Z,” using Vice City’s code, set on a Scottish island. However, after just a month of work, the team found the project too disheartening and shifted their focus to San Andreas. Despite the positive nature of these anecdotes, some at Rockstar became upset after a couple of weeks.
On November 22, Vermeij removed most of the posts and explained in a new one that after receiving an email from Rockstar North, “some of the OGs there are upset by my blog.” Expressing disappointment at Rockstar’s refusal to publicly discuss their development process, Vermeij decided to wind down his blog, stating that it wasn’t important enough to strain relationships with former colleagues.
Working on multiple projects from Ottawa, Canada, Vermeij expressed hope for Rockstar to open up about the development of the trilogy but acknowledged that it doesn’t seem likely anytime soon. Although the blog posts may have been taken down, the internet retains them as a positive and insightful read. Despite reaching out for comments, both from Vermeij and Rockstar, responses are pending.
Vermeij concluded with a desire for a future where Rockstar drops its self-mythologizing approach, allowing for the free sharing of fascinating development tales. However, he acknowledged that today may not be that day and hinted at the possibility of revisiting the topic in a decade or two.
