The design documents for the original top-down carnage title Grand Theft Auto have been posted online in full.
Mike Dailly, one of the lead designers on the game, has uploaded each page of the design documents that date back to March 22 1995.
The documents describe "Race'n'Chase" -- the game's original title -- as "a fun, addictive and fast multiplayer car racing and crashing game which uses a novel graphics method."
Several game modes are listed in detail, including "Cannonball Run" and "Demolition Derby." The documents reveal that a multiplayer component was originally planned.
Numerous elements were eventually carried over into the game that Grand Theft Auto became. The document states that "There will be three cities with a different graphic style for each city. There will be many different missions to be played in each city."
The document also outlines the actions the player will be able to partake in, including the ability "to drive cars and possibly other vehicles such as boats, helicopters or lorries."
"Cars can be stolen, raced, collided, crashed (ramraiding?) and have to be navigated about a large map. It will also be possible for players to get out of their car and steal another one."
The presence of the law is also included. "Trying to steal a car may result in an alarm being set off which will, of course, attract the police" it states.
Gary Penn, who also worked on the original GTA, revealed earlier this year that the game was almost canned.
"It never really felt like it was going anywhere" he said. "It was almost canned. The publisher, BMG Interactive, wanted to can it, as it didn't seem to be going anywhere."
I would love to have more information on how a professional game company goes from zero to blockbuster game, and about the many failures in between!