Former DMA Design and Rockstar staffer Obbe Vermeij is the man we have to thank for this little feature – but has admits on Twitter that not everyone on the team was thrilled with it (thanks, Games Radar).
"The streets of gta3 looked too clean so I added litter," he says on Twitter. "It is a single rectangle that occasionally moves with the wind. It can also be dragged along by passing cars. The artists created 4 textures for it. 2 newspapers and 2 leaves."
Vermeij explains how the litter works, before adding that "not everyone on the team liked the litter." Because of this, it was removed for the sequel, San Andreas, "because I eventually lost the argument."
However, Vermeij explains that his litter code was included in another Rockstar joint later down the line. "In the last months of Manhunt development, some gta-ers helped out. I added the same litter code to Manhunt."