GTA 6 may still be months away, but one technical detail has already stolen the spotlight. Jiggle physics.
During a recent livestream, former Rockstar Games animator Mike York broke down how the studio likely pulled off the eye-catching physics seen in GTA 6’s second trailer, including the now-viral Lucia boat party shot.
York, who previously worked on GTA 5 and GTA Online, joined YouTuber TGG, with the clip later highlighted by GTA Infinity. When asked directly about Lucia’s movement, York didn’t hesitate.
According to him, Rockstar most likely used a dense bone setup rather than relying purely on cloth simulation.
York explained that modern character physics usually combines multiple systems. For ragdolls, developers can assign weight and velocity to different body parts, letting the engine calculate how they react to movement.
In Lucia’s case, though, York believes Rockstar went further.
Ex-GTA dev explains how VI’s animations work
“They want to put enough bones in there that would affect the jiggle of the butt,” he said. Each bone influences how the surrounding skin reacts, letting animators fine-tune how much movement shows up when the character walks, turns, or gets jostled.
“It’s one of those things where if you grab that character and you yank her around, you’ll see how much it jiggles.”
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York further noted that it was at least a single developer who was responsible for altering the animation to get “just the right amount of jiggle.”
York pointed out that a similar approach was used in Red Dead Redemption 2, especially for dress movement. That system looked like cloth simulation, but was actually bone-driven animation doing most of the heavy lifting.
For GTA 6, York suspects Rockstar is combining both techniques. Bone systems for body movement, paired with calculated cloth simulation for clothing, which helps explain why Lucia stands out so much in the trailer footage.
GTA 6 talk isn’t slowing down
York isn’t the only former Rockstar dev sharing insight ahead of launch. Obbe Vermeij, previously a technical director at Rockstar North, recently commented on the series’ setting choices.
Vermeij said Rockstar is effectively locked into American cities, arguing that a European GTA wouldn’t feel “realistic.”
“They’ll revisit New York again. They’ll go back to LA or maybe Las Vegas,” he said. “I’m afraid we’re stuck in this loop of about five American cities.”
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