Bodyharvest is the reason we have GTA 3

[Chiappini92]

I guess you can say Body Harvest is indeed the prototype for GTA, however the only inspirations that seem to come from it are open world gameplay, vehicles, and the ability to destroy objects and people. I guess you can say the targeting system was also a precursor to GTA's though the comparisons end there. The theme and atmosphere of the game are completely different. I guess you can say it inspired the "style" of it all.