The world has been given a tiny glimpse into the uber-secretive world of Grand Theft Auto developer Rockstar North because of a fascinating new weblog from former technical director Obbe Vermeij, who, in only a few brief weeks, has make clear the studio’s cancelled spy recreation Agent, mentioned a zombie recreation deserted by the corporate after it was deemed to be too “miserable”, and extra.

Vermeij served as technical director at Rockstar North from 1995 (when the studio was nonetheless often called DMA Design) to 2009, that means his time on the firm spanned the creation of Grand Theft Auto as a collection proper by way of to Grand Theft Auto 4 and its DLC.

Since launching his weblog earlier this month, Vermeij has been sharing anecdotes masking a variety of Rockstar video games, relating every little thing from the corporate’s streaming tech for Grand Theft Auto 3 – which struggled sufficient that the artwork workforce was compelled to shove a constructing in the course of a protracted stretch of Portland street to make sure gamers would not run out of metropolis whereas loading continued – to early efforts at implementing multiplayer in GTA 3.

Within the latter case, Rockstar is alleged to have experimented with a “fundamental demise match” that might let gamers drag one another out of automobiles and kill to earn factors – a mode that “labored however [was] glitchy”, ultimately being deserted because the workforce was “working out of time”.

Maybe probably the most attention-grabbing anecdotes shared to date, nonetheless, relate to the video games which may have been; one in every of these consists of Rockstar’s infamous Agent, a spy recreation set through the Chilly Battle within the late 70s that was formally introduced as a PS3-exclusive in 2009 after which, after years of silence, merely fizzled out into obscurity, its net pages and emblems deserted.

In response to Vermeij’s account, Agent began life as a demo – that includes a “hold glider and a automobile turning right into a submarine or one thing” – constructed by Rockstar North to encourage different studios within the firm to make use of the GTA Engine. That demo would ultimately evolve into full manufacturing, on the encouragement of Rockstar president Leslie Benzies, with half of Rockstar North engaged on Agent (internally often called “Jimmy”, as a result of what else would a Scottish studio name a James Bond impressed recreation?) whereas the opposite half developed GTA 4’s DLC and GTA 5.

In response to Vermeij, Agent could be a extra linear expertise in comparison with GTA, and would happen throughout a variety of basic spy film areas, together with a French Mediterranean metropolis, a Swiss ski resort, and Cairo, the story culminating in a “large shootout with lasers in house”. Rockstar is alleged to have labored on Agent “for over a 12 months” – a downhill snowboarding chase scene with weapons was developed, for example – however “the sport wasn’t progressing in addition to we might hoped.”

With Grand Theft Auto 5 – a challenge “the entire firm must get behind” – looming, the Agent workforce “tried to chop the sport down in an try the get the majority of it achieved earlier than the inevitable name from NY would come” but it surely “turned clear that Jimmy was going to be an excessive amount of of a distraction for us and we ditched it.” Vermeij recollects Agent was “handed over to a different firm inside Rockstar however by no means acquired accomplished”.

And so farewell Agent. However that is not the one intrguing might-have-been shared in Vermeij’s weblog to date. He additionally spend just a little time reminiscing on a zombie challenge often called Z, which, utilizing the code created for GTA San Andreas, would happen on a “windswept foggy Scottish island”. Right here, gamers would discover themselves beneath fixed assault from the undead, needing to seek out autos and gas to get round. Improvement on the thought progressed for “a number of months”, in line with Vermeij, however, in the end, “the thought appeared miserable and rapidly ran out of steam.” And so growth was dropped to give attention to GTA 4.

Vermeij’s weblog is a illuminating learn, and an intriguing anecdotal dip again by way of the ordinarily shadowy historical past of probably the most profitable – and most secretive – builders within the video games business. Needles to say, it is effectively price perusing.