GamesActionRed DeadRed Dead Redemption 2Red Dead Redemption 2 dev reveals detail “99% of people never saw” that’s part of “what makes Rockstar’s games so good"When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
GamesActionRed DeadRed Dead Redemption 2Red Dead Redemption 2 dev reveals detail “99% of people never saw” that’s part of “what makes Rockstar’s games so good"When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Rockstar)
Red Dead Redemption 2has all sorts of little details that the vast majority of players will never see, and that’s part of what makesRockstar gamesso special, says former Rockstar designer Ben Hinchliffe.
Hinchliffe worked at the studio from 2009 all the way to 2022, at which time he was a game designer onGTA 6. He recently appeared on the GTAVIoclock podcast (timestampedhere), and at one point got on the topic of Red Dead Redemption 2, describing a mission where you’re tasked with ransacking a moonshine wagon. While most folks are happy to simply do what cowboys do and shoot the thing up Wild West-style, Rockstar went the extra mile to ensure that the wagon’s lore continues for pacifist Arthur Morgan.
“There’s a moonshine wagon and you’ve got to meet it in the middle, and you’re supposed to ambush it on the bridge. And if you ambush it on the bridge, cool, you get it, I think you’ve got to take it to the professor,” Hinchliffe said. “If you don’t ambush it on the bridge where you’re told to, and you follow it along the road for quite some time, it’ll end up at a bandit camp.”
Hinchliffe went on to describe a scene full of enemy NPCs “doing their animations, the guys get off the wagons, they go to their tent.” He reckoned “99% of people never saw that, because they would ambush the wagon where they were told on the bridge. But again it was that thing of ‘where’s it going, what’s the story behind it, why is it going from here to here?’ So it was always that extra narrative that you have to put in.”
It’s not uncommon for NPCs to have alternate programming for unlikely player interactions, but it’s also true that Rockstar sandboxes are revered for their realism and hyper-interactivity. Hinchliffe said the amount of “‘What ifs?'” in particular is part of “what makes Rockstar’s games so good - all that additional detail and content that they put into everything that players aren’t even aware it’s there. They just don’t know it exists, but it does, for the people who just play it a little bit different.”
Hinchliffe founded his own studio, Just Add Water Development, in May 2022, and is preparing for the November 14 release of its debut title,DIG VR.
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The former GTA 6 designer recently said the open world sequel will “blow people away” and “people will be talking about it for ages” because Rockstar has “raised the bar again”.
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1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
1
Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
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2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
2
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3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
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Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”
4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”
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5Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths”
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Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths”
1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”
1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”
1
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2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie”
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3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”
3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”
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4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”
4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”
4
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5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
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Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
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1
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2Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”
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2
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3Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”
3Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”
3
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4Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”
4
Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”
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5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”
5
Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”