The Masks is a cut crime syndicate, originally intended to be featured as the main antagonistic group in Grand Theft Auto III.
Description[]
The gang is a very early iteration of the Colombian Cartel, the main antagonistic group in the final version. The Masks are described as a gang of bank robbers, depicted as dressed all in black and wearing ski masks.[note 1] In the original Rockstar North script, Claude was ambushed by members of The Masks' heist crew shortly after a succesful robbery at the Liberty City Bank.
While there are no leftovers of the gang in the game files and no mentions in pre-release material of the game, the information on The Masks was first shown to the public through official developer notes shared with the 2021 release by GTA Series Videos of the information contained in GTA III: The Game Design Document[1][2], a DMA Design/Rockstar North document lastly updated on December 29th, 2000, used in the creation process of the game.
In the same edition of the design document, The Masks' involvement with the story is last mentioned in the developer's description for Bomb Da Base: Act II, suggesting Claude's background story with The Masks was replaced by the Bonnie and Clyde-inspired storyline with Catalina very early in development, prior to December 2000, the date the document was last updated.
Original Script[]
The following sections include all mentions of The Masks from "The Story" section of GTA III: The Game Design Document, from the introduction to their last mention in Bomb Da Base: Act II, where the gang's hideout on the Les Cargo ship is destroyed. In the follow-up missions, the story is up-to-date with the Colombian Cartel storyline, after The Masks were scrapped by Rockstar North.
Bank Robbery[]
Main article: Introduction (GTA III)
The Masks were first introduced in the introduction cutscene at the Liberty City Bank robbery, where Claude and his gang are ambushed by the leader of the Masks while leaving the bank with the loot.
(I1) The Player is backing out of a bank with two cohorts. All three wear ski masks, all are armed - the player with a pump action shotgun. All three carry hold-alls full of cash. The alarm is ringing and the staff and customers are all lying face down on the floor. The player's[sic] cohorts turn and run out the back door. The player lets off two shots into the ceiling eliciitng screams from those on the floor, showering them with chunks of polystyrene tiling. The Player turns and follow[sic] his mates
Cut Scene Two - Ambush, Prison Break and 8-Ball.
(I2) The Player is gunned down and the lead Mask strolls over and takes the player's hold-all.
Fade to black with the Dual Shock beating out a weak pulse.
The player hears paramedics, surgeons, judge and jurry[sic] saving his life and convicting him respectively. The clamour of voices becomes louder and louder until the Judge's gavel silences the crowd like a gunshot. This marker coincides with a sudden switch to bright white. The Player's view clears a little as we soar in the sky above Liberty. There is no sound except the hushed roar of the city below. The player gets a look at the different areas to be explored in Liberty as the camera sails about the sky.”
Don't Spank Ma Bitch Up[]
Main article: Don't Spank Ma Bitch Up
During the melee combat tutorial mission "Don' Smacka Ma Bitch Up" ("Don't Spank Ma Bitch Up" in the final version), Luigi Goterelli's original script mentions a brand new drug in the city known as "Rapture" ("SPANK" in the final version).
Van Heist[]
Main article: Van Heist
The Masks and their leader are seen again during a scrapped second cutscene for Van Heist, set in an unidentified warehouse in Portland.
In the original script, the targeted Securicar is said to be used for the weekly pay run to the Chemical Plant. Joey Leone tells Claude to hijack the van and deliver it to a warehouse in an unknown location (seemingly undecided by the developers in the document) where some of Joey's associates are waiting to loot it.
Arriving at the warehouse, Claude finds Joey's associates dead, with The Masks standing nearby armed with Uzis. As one of the Masks approaches the Securicar, Claude kicks the door open, knocking the goon to the floor, grabs his Uzi and takes cover behind some crates and barrels. Claude manages to escape the warehouse and The Masks by cutting an arc in a corrugated wall with the Uzi's bullets and kicking it through.
In the final version, the Securicar is delivered successfully to a garage in Portland Harbor and the mission is completed immediately, with no involvement of the Colombian Cartel, no scripted failed heist, and no additional cutscene.
On screen mission title: 'Van Heist'
(iM1) Masks Ambush
The warehouse is a ramshackle corrugated steel construction. The warehouse doors slide open and the Player drives in. There is a scene of devastation. Numerous overalled bodies lie in pools of blood and <Mask One> is standing there with his hooded goons. A goon approaches the van. The Player kicks the door open, knocking the goon to the floor, and dives out of the van, grabbing the goon's dropped Uzi. The Masks open up with Uzi's [sic] and the Player sprints towards some crates/drums and dives for cover. As the crates/drums get riddled with bullets the Player uses the Uzi to cut an arc in the corrugated wall and he kicks it through.
Cut to alley outside. Claude runs down the alley into the street. End cut.”
Cutting the Grass[]
Main article: Cutting the Grass
The reason why Salvatore Leone (still named after his voice actor "Frankie" in the document) suspects Curly Bob to be a snitch to The Masks/Colombian Cartel is slighly different from the final version. In the original script, Curly Bob is suspected of giving information on Joey Leone's plans to hijack the armored car (in Van Heist) to The Masks, thus explaining why the gang managed to discover the warehouse location and ambush Joey's associates before Claude arrived.
Similar to the final version, Claude is tasked to follow Curly Bob and discover The Masks' hideout. However, Curly Bob was intended to be captured and brought back to Luigi's Sex Club 7 to be interrogated by the Mafia instead of being killed by Claude for his betrayal.
On screen mission title: 'Cutting the Grass'. ”
In the storyboard for the mission, The Masks are already replaced with Catalina and Miguel.
Bomb Da Base: Act I and II[]
Main articles: Bomb Da Base: Act I and Bomb Da Base: Act II
The original script for the follow-up missions is essentially the same as the final version, simply rebranding The Masks as the Colombian Cartel.
NB; The pager message with close 8-Ball's bomb shop.
Frankie Mission Three: Bomb da Base (a)
Pager TEXT: Get to the payphone on <street>.
Cut of Claude on phone.
Dialogue, Frankie:
"My boys are gonna hit these Mask bastards on the streets while you take out their poison factory.
The only difference in the second part of the mission is in the way 8-Ball plants the explosives onto the Les Cargo ship.
(iF3) [When the Player has $ x,000 he can trigger a cut scene outside 8-Ball's garage.]
[If not enough cash then; On screen prompt; Pick up 8-Ball when you have $ x,000.]
Frankie Mission Three: Bomb da Base (b)
(iF3 - cont.) [8-Ball walks out of his bomb shop. If the player is in car, he gets in (in-game code)]
8-Ball: "I can set this baby up [he indicates a large suitcase] but I still can't handle a piece. You're gonna have to clear a way in, so I can do my thing."
KABOOM!!!
(iM2) When the last Mask is killed, 8-Ball runs onto the ship, kneels by a funnel-thang-wotsit, fiddles about, then throws the case down the funnel-thang-wotsit.
See Also[]
- Leone Bank Robbers – Unique bank robbery characters appearing in Grand Theft Auto III.
- The Professionals – A similar crime syndicate in Grand Theft Auto Online.
References[]
- ↑ The artwork used in the animated cutscene sequences featuring The Masks in the GTA Series Videos' design document video are unofficial, commissioned by an artist (@7Fennec7 on X.com) and based on the final character models. These artworks are not present in the actual document.
- ↑ GTA III: The Game Design Document. (Link to video)
- ↑ GTA III: The Design Document itemized from GTASeriesVideos' video on GTA Forums