10 Video Games With Bizarre Origin Stories
8. GTA’s Wanted System Was An Accident
It’s hard to imagine the video games industry without Grand Theft Auto at this point. One of the best selling franchises of all time but also a series that has had tremendous impact on both game development and design. GTA’s over-the-top adult style made waves in turning the hobby into more than something just for kids.
But when the first game went into production, it wasn’t called Grand Theft Auto. It was called Race‘n’Chase and was far less outlandish than the finished product.
Race’n’Chase was about head-to-head street races with the police in pursuit which made the name pretty apt. There was racing and there was chasing. However, a mistaken line of code suddenly changed the behaviour of the officers hot on your tail to be a lot more aggressive. Due to a glitch, the police would ram players off the road if they caught up, causing all kinds of mayhem.
For the future RockStar Games, it was a lightbulb moment if there ever was one.
With this mind, Race’n’Chase was significantly retooled with vehicular destruction and general criminal tomfoolery in mind. The “wanted” system, that has become a recognisable feature of the series, determines how hostile the police will act towards the player… and it all started as a glitch.