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Raj Aryan
Raj Aryan

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🎮 I Recreated a Cinematic GTA VI Website Clone with React, Tailwind & GSAP

#webdev #programming #javascript #beginners

Hey everyone! 👋
As a fan of high-impact landing pages and Rockstar’s GTA franchise, I set out to build a cinematic GTA VI-inspired website clone using modern tools like React 19, Vite, GSAP, and Tailwind CSS.

It’s more than just design — this project uses layered animation, SVG masking, responsive layout, and smooth parallax effects to replicate the dramatic energy of an actual game intro.

🔗 Try It Live

▶️ Live Demo: https://gta.errajaryan.in
💾 Source Code: GitHub Repo

🧰 Tech Stack

Tool Purpose
Vite Lightning-fast bundler & dev server
React 19 Component-driven frontend
Tailwind CSS Utility-first CSS styling
GSAP + @gsap/react Powerful, timeline-based animations
HTML5 Video Smooth autoplay background visuals
SVG + Masking Custom animated text reveal effect

🌟 Features & Details

🎭 1. SVG Text Reveal Animation

  • The intro loads with a bold “VI” text masked onto a full-screen SVG.
  • GSAP animates the mask with rotate and scale for a dramatic zoom-out.
  • When the timeline reaches 90%, it triggers DOM updates and transitions into the main page — removing the SVG and showing the core content.

🎥 2. Video Background with Seamless Autoplay

  • A GTA-styled .mp4 file is used as the main background instead of static imagery.
  • This video auto-plays, loops, and fills the screen with object-cover, enhancing immersion.

🖱️ 3. Interactive Parallax Mouse Movement

  • Using mousemove event listeners and GSAP to() animations:

    • The sky, background, and text elements shift with subtle delay based on cursor position.
    • This creates a real-time parallax depth effect, reminiscent of motion in gaming UIs.

👩 Character Drop Animation

  • The character graphic (girlbg.png) starts off-screen and animates into view from the bottom right.
  • This animation uses bottom, right, and scale properties controlled by GSAP timelines.

💬 Text Section

  • GTA-style typography with drop shadows, gradient backgrounds, and rotated transforms.
  • "grand theft auto VI" is revealed in layers, color-coded to match the branding.

📱 Fully Responsive & Fluid

  • Tailwind ensures everything scales well across viewports.
  • Uses Flexbox and scaling strategies to keep all elements visually aligned and fluid.

🎮 UI Details

  • Fake “Scroll Down” indicator using Remix Icons.
  • PS5 logo in the center adds gaming branding to the theme.
  • Download CTA button and footer styled consistently.

📸 Screenshots (Optional for DEV.to)

You can optionally include screenshots or a short GIF of the animated transition.

🧠 What I Learned

  • GSAP with React (@gsap/react) is a game-changer — you get access to timeline hooks and scoped DOM animation without memory leaks.
  • SVG masking can simulate custom loaders and cinematic intros.
  • Real-time interactivity (e.g., mouse parallax) adds polish and a premium feel.
  • Use of useGSAP() simplifies lifecycle-aware animations over plain useEffect().

🔗 Links

👨‍💻 Author

Built with ❤️ by @er-raj-aryan
Let me know what you think, and feel free to fork, remix, or ask any questions!

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