GTA's Original Driving Genius Returns with Playable 'Remaster'

Ever wondered how Grand Theft Auto's iconic driving got its start? Well, you can now take a trip back to 1996 and feel the roots of the series' car handling for yourself.

Pat Kerr, the veteran programmer who saved GTA's vehicles from being a total drag, has released a playable demo that remasters his original 2D physics simulation. According to Rockstar veteran Obbe Vermeij, Kerr wasn't even on the GTA team when he dropped in the driving code that fixed the game's unfun cars. "Then Pat Kerr, who is handy with physics but wasn’t even on the team, dropped in some driving code that fixed it," Vermeij recalls. "He’s now published a playable demo using those same ideas. It’s remarkable how much it feels like GTA1—especially the handbrake (space)."

Kerr's demo, recreated in JavaScript, offers a "slightly prettier, 'remastered' form" of that pioneering vehicle tech. It's a fascinating look back at the bones of Grand Theft Auto, especially with GTA 6 promising incredibly detailed and simulated cars ripping through fictional Florida. Things have obviously changed a lot since then, but this is where the series' titular auto component got started.

"One weekend in late August 1996, I wrote a 2D physics simulation which later became the basis of the vehicle system in the eventually popular game 'Grand Theft Auto' aka 'GTA,'" Kerr says casually. He stresses that this work is independent and not associated with Rockstar, Take-Two, or GTA. In a recent video, he demonstrates his "remaster" of the 30-year-old physics prototype.

So, what made Kerr's approach so special? "At the core of the system is a simple classical 2D rigid body dynamics simulation," he explains. "From what I can tell, this approach was not yet common in games at the time (with some notable exceptions), and most game vehicles were done using basic high-school ‘point physics’ (F = ma), with any rotational component being handled by various wonky 'hacks.' Using proper rigid-body physics (including torques) handles rotation more coherently."

On top of that core, Kerr added a "novel" vehicle simulation layer based on a simple, approximate, and technically incorrect model of how tyres behave. "It was basically a semi-educated guess on my part and, although I knew it wasn't really physically accurate, it nevertheless seemed to be 'good enough' for my purposes at the time," he admits. The result? A driving feel that many still remember fondly.

In the demo, you'll notice a movement arm attached to your vehicle that helps visualize how turns impact your acceleration, and a red trail indicating the bite of your tires on turns or handbrake maneuvers. If you played a lot of the original GTA, this will probably feel very familiar. And for those looking ahead, Rockstar boss has said GTA 6 driving is "the best parts" of GTA 4 but with "the accessibility of GTA 5."

Will you be taking this retro ride for a spin? Let us know in the comments!