The cinematic camera has been an integral part of GTA since the third game. An ex-Rockstar employee spoke about how the fan-favorite feature first appeared in the series.
Image source: Rockstar Games
According to ex-technical director of Rockstar North Obbe Vermeij, the idea of a cinematic camera came to him while working on a train for GTA III – traveling on it seemed boring to the specialist.
Vermeil thought about giving the player the ability to instantly move to the next station, but this would create problems with loading the world. The function was implemented in future games, but for GTA III it was too much.
The developer then decided to make a camera that would switch between random viewpoints along the train tracks, which “made [train] trips more fun.”
Vermeil’s colleague suggested that he implement a similar function on machines. The specialist added a camera on a wheel and a view from the perspective of the pursuers: “The team found it surprisingly entertaining, so they kept the cinematic camera.”
«Wheeled cinematic camera in GTA III
In GTA: Vice City from GTA III, the cinematic camera migrated unchanged, and for San Andreas, designer Derek Ward completely redesigned it, adding, among other things, new angles.
Since then, the cinematic camera has also appeared in GTA IV, GTA V and even Red Dead Redemption 2. Vermeil was glad to see his creation in the Rockstar western and noted that this feature suits him better than GTA.