Apologies Made: A GTA Player’s Heartbreaking Encounter with the Developer Who Ruined His Speedrun

A Video Game Monument

For most of our readers, San Andreas is a must-have title, but a little reminder never hurts. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, developed by Rockstar Games, is an open-world action-adventure game set in the fictional state of San Andreas, inspired by California in the 90s. You play Carl Johnson, returning to Los Santos after five years of absence. The game offers a huge map for the time, with cities, rural areas, mountains and deserts.

As usual in a GTA, San Andreas offers a variety of missions, from heists and street races to surveillance and chase missions. Players can customize their character, CJ, with different clothing and accessories, with the progression system based on the player's actions. For example, eating too much will make CJ gain weight, while going to the gym will build his muscles and improve his charisma.

The game addresses themes such as urban violence, organized crime, racial tensions and gang conflicts. Its soundtrack, including songs from artists like Ice Cube, Toto and Kool & The Gang, has become iconic.

Hailed for its mind-blowing map size for its time, offering unprecedented freedom of exploration, San Andreas remains one of the most iconic games in the GTA saga, although some controversies related to its depiction of violence and crime persists. Nevertheless, it aroused intense passion among speedrunners, even if certain bugs may have frustrated more than one.

Speedbugger

Obbe Vermeiji, former developer at Rockstar Games, recently revealed the origins of a disastrous bug that ruined the run of AlolaGirly, a speedrunner from San Andreas. In one video, she is seen being hit by a plane which crashes randomly, dashing her record hopes. She said on Twitter:

I am officially one of the victims in the worst way possible. I was already upset about my run, and these events further discouraged me.

She also refers to an incident where a police car suddenly veers to its right, causing CJ to crash, followed by an immediate arrest. A real chain of bad luck.

Vermeiji admitted on social media:

The car's AI was based on my code.

Hopefully GTA VI will be less prone to bugs and will allow future speedrunners to achieve feats in this caliber game. As a reminder, GTA VI is scheduled for 2025.