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Yes—Viz magazine directly inspired one of Grand Theft Auto: London 1969’s strangest details. Artist Ray Larabie, a Canadian who collected stacks of Viz, borrowed its euphemism “dogs’ eggs” for dog mess on London’s pavements. Players could drive over the piles and leave a brown skid mark after a handbrake turn. The joke captures the expansion’s whole approach: a comic, crime-film version of Britain assembled by developers who knew London mainly through guidebooks, movies, magazines and popular mythology.
Why are there “dogs’ eggs” in GTA: London?
The dog mess is there because Ray Larabie used Viz magazine as a source of English cultural knowledge. Larabie recalled, “I was a real anglophile,” and treated the magazine’s slang and visual gags as useful material while building the game’s streets.
In Viz, “dogs’ eggs” is a deliberately silly euphemism for dog excrement. Larabie turned that phrase into a playable prop: piles appear on sidewalks, and a car’s handbrake turn over one produces a brown skid mark. It is not a random gross-out joke or an easter egg added by later fans; the Viz connection is the direct reason the title’s London streets are covered in “dogs’ eggs.”
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Did Viz magazine inspire Grand Theft Auto: London?
It inspired specific details and the tone of the expansion rather than supplying a literal design blueprint. The team used Viz alongside travel guides, films, crime stories and other mediated images of Britain, producing a London that is recognizable as parody before it is accurate as history.
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The dialogue often aims for mockney caricature, and the game’s humor favors broad cultural shorthand. That makes the dog-mess interaction a useful example of the method: a remembered idea of English life becomes a joke the player can trigger while driving.
Who made GTA: London, and why was the city an outsider reconstruction?
Imagexcel, the Canadian studio that became Rockstar Canada, first considered an open-world World War II game. The team then pivoted to Grand Theft Auto and adapted its top-down tools for a London expansion.
Most of the developers had limited first-hand experience of London. Map designer Blair Renaud built the city with a block-based editor and relied heavily on travel guides. He described the result plainly: “The whole thing was basically a grid.” The Thames, Westminster, Southwark, major bridges, Tower Bridge and Hyde Park were represented, but the street network often looks more North American than authentically London.
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- Shonen Jump #0 2002 Viz Comic Book Magazine First Appearance of Dragon Ball Z
To make the setting readable and playable, the team switched traffic to the left, added roundabouts and implemented right-hand-drive vehicle entry. Those systems communicate “Britain” immediately, even when the underlying road plan is simplified.
What year is GTA: London set in?
Grand Theft Auto: London 1969 is set in 1969, during the period when the Kray twins’ notoriety shaped popular images of London crime. Dan Houser’s enthusiasm for the Krays helped steer the expansion toward that crime-era framing.
The setting is therefore less a neutral recreation of late-1960s Britain than a stylized meeting point of gangland legends, period cars, chase movies and music. The Kray association supplies the criminal atmosphere, while the game’s jokes keep the presentation deliberately comic.
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How historically accurate is GTA: London?
It is historically flavored but not a reliable simulation of 1969 London. The limited first-hand knowledge, grid-based map and mockney dialogue all point toward a playable, comic-book city rather than documentary reconstruction.
Audio and vehicles reinforce the period without eliminating the artistic shortcuts. Artist Ray Larabie replaced the original game’s vehicles with era-appropriate cars, photographing die-cast models bought at Mississauga’s Square One shopping centre and converting the images into sprites. Map designer Blair Renaud drew on 1960s car-chase films including The Italian Job and Bullitt for sound and atmosphere.
The production even improvised short sound loops, including a recorded bottle impact used for a crash effect. Paul Bennun of Somethin’ Else produced interactive audio and radio stations that mixed licensed tracks, DJ chatter, reggae and crime-film instrumentals. Bennun later summed up the limitation: “We really didn’t have a sense of historical accuracy.”
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What did GTA: London add to the series?
The PlayStation 1 mission pack introduced features that became central to later Grand Theft Auto games. Shortlist identifies it as the first entry in the series with drive-by shooting and licensed music. It also reports that the game won the 1999 BAFTA for best sound at the Interactive Game Awards.
It was the last GTA title to name a real-world city explicitly and the last to take place outside the United States. Dan Houser later argued that a full GTA set outside America would be difficult because so much of the franchise’s identity is tied to Americana. That makes London 1969 an unusual branch of the series: a compact experiment in exporting GTA’s formula through an outsider’s British cultural lens.
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Where can I find the original GTA London PS1 game?
The clearest physical search is for the original PlayStation release, usually listed as Grand Theft Auto: London 1969 PlayStation. Listings vary by region, disc condition and seller, so check that the copy is genuine and compatible with your hardware before buying. The game is a late-1990s PS1 expansion, not a modern remake or a separately developed open-world sequel.
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Collectors may also look for Viz back issues, annuals or collected books to see the magazine culture that influenced Larabie. The documented connection is his personal collection and its use as inspiration; availability of particular issues changes constantly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Was GTA: London made by a British studio?
No. Imagexcel was a Canadian team that later became Rockstar Canada. Its limited first-hand London experience is why the game leaned on guidebooks, films, crime lore and magazines.
Can you drive on the left in GTA: London 1969?
Yes. The developers changed traffic to the left, added roundabouts and supported right-hand-drive vehicle entry to make the setting read as British.
Is the game about the real Kray twins?
The 1969 setting draws heavily on the period of the Kray twins’ notoriety, and Dan Houser’s interest in them influenced the crime framing. The game remains a fictional, comic interpretation rather than a biographical account.
What music is in GTA: London?
Its radio and interactive audio combine licensed tracks, DJ chatter, reggae and crime-film instrumentals. Paul Bennun of Somethin’ Else produced those audio elements.
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