David Kushner’s new book explores the origins of the infamous videogame, which began as a straitlaced driving simulation:

By casting the player as the cop, they realized, they had cut out the fun. Some dismissed it as Sims Driving Instructor.

When an unruly gamer tried to drive his police car on the sidewalk or through traffic lights, a persnickety programmer reminded him that the stop lights needed to be obeyed. Were they building a video game or a train set? Even worse, the pedestrians milling around the game created frustrating obstacles. It was almost impossible to drive fast without taking people down, and, because the player was a cop, he had to be punished for hit-and-runs.

“Excerpt: The Outlaw Story of Grand Theft Auto.” — David Kushner, Gamespot

See also: “Can D.I.Y. Supplant the First-Person Shooter?” — Joshuah Bearman, New York Times, Nov. 13, 2009