In 2004, Rockstar Games released
the first game in the series of Western-themed
action-adventure games. Fourteen years later, in 2018, Red Dead Redemption 2 was released, and it is a masterpiece with
amazing characters, stunning graphics, an epic story, and a magnificent open world. In fact, it is considered one of
the best games of all time. So, let’s see how this legendary
franchise evolved over the years. This is the Evolution of Red Dead Redemption It all started in 2000 when
an American video game developer named Angel Studios began
working on Red Dead Revolver. The studio was funded by Capcom, a Japanese company that has created
many commercially successful franchises, including Resident Evil, Street Fighter, Mega Man, and Monster Hunter. Yoshiki Okamoto was a game designer
who worked at Capcom. In 1985, he created an arcade
game named “Gun.Smoke”, a Western-themed game and
an inspiration for Red Dead Revolver. Okamoto worked together with
Angel Studios to create Red Dead Revolver. However, due to both companies
having cultural differences, development was troubled,
and the game remained unplayable. In 2003, Okamoto, who was essential
for developing the game, left Capcom, and Red Dead Revolver was canceled. But then Rockstar Games decided to
acquire the rights and revived the game in what would become the
first installment in the Red Dead series. In May 2004, Rockstar Games
published Red Dead Revolver and released it for the PlayStation 2
and the Xbox. Red Dead Revolver was an action-adventure game
and a third-person shooter, in which players could fight
using an arsenal of weapons such as handguns, rifles, shotguns, and dynamite. Players could complete different levels
with usually a boss battle at the end. Depending on how well specific
objectives were completed, such as weapon accuracy or
the time it took to finish the level, players received rewards to purchase
new weapons or characters. Players could freely explore
a small town named Brimstone, where they could interact with NPCs. However, the game lacked an open world
and had a linear storyline. In the story, players assume the
role of bounty hunter Red Harlow who was on a quest for revenge
after the murder of his parents. The game also had a local multiplayer, in which one or two players
could fight in three game modes. While Red Dead Redemption 1
and 2 are both massive successes with millions of copies sold and
considered one of the best games of all time, Red Dead Revolver didn’t even
come close to that success. In fact, it only got a score of 73 on Metacritic, and just 920,000 copies of the game were sold. Fun Fact Red Dead Revolver introduced a feature that would return to future games
in the series, known as “Dead Eye.” It is a targeting system that temporarily puts the player
in slow motion to shoot enemies. For the next game in the series,
Rockstar Games went all out, creating one of the most expensive
video games ever made. Over its 5-year development time, Rockstar improved its propriety game engine
to increase technological capabilities, leading to one of the best-selling and
most praised video games of all time. In 2010, Red Dead Redemption was released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Just like its predecessor, the game was
played from a third-person perspective. This time, however, players could
freely roam in the open world, in which they can explore prairies, hunt for wildlife, complete missions, gamble, and fight in intense gunfights. Players could utilize a wide variety of weapons,
including revolvers, shotguns, explosives, lassos, and rifles. Rockstar felt inspired to use the potential
power of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. So, the Rockstar Advanced Game Engine
was significantly improved to increase its draw distance rending capabilities. Players control John Marston and complete
missions to progress through the story. To traverse through the expansive open world, players use different breeds of horses,
which could be tamed, stolen, or purchased. Besides horses, players can also
utilize trains and carriages. The game introduced a morality system by which the player’s actions change how
other characters respond to the player and affect the character’s level of honor. By capturing an outlaw,
players would gain honor. If the player had high honor, NPCs would greet them,
and they could receive benefits in stores. While if the player had a low level of honor, NPCs would act insecure,
and stores may close their doors. Besides the morality system, the game
also introduced the bounty system, which was, of course, inspired by
Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto wanted system. When a player commits a crime, witnesses
run to the nearest police station, and when the law is alerted, the Wanted meter
appears with a bounty set on the player’s head. The more crimes the player commits, the higher
the bounty and the more lawmen will hunt the player. There was also an online multiplayer, where up to 16 players could engage
in cooperative and competitive gameplay. In multiplayer, players could level up
and obtain rewards, such as new titles, breeds of animals, and golden weapon skins. To keep players entertained,
Rockstar also released multiple DLCs. These added new multiplayer modes, minigames, weapons, and characters. Red Dead Redemption was highly
praised for its excellent graphics, beautiful music, immersive story, epic gameplay, and expansive open world. Critics consider it as one of the
best video games ever made. It even won multiple awards, including Game of the Year
by Spike Video Game Awards and Game Developers Choice Awards. IGN loved the game and said quote, On Metacritic, Red Dead Redemption scored
a very impressive score of 95. Analyst estimated that the marketing and
game development costs were around $100 million. So, in order to even break-even,
at least 1.75 million copies had to be sold. Well, luckily for Rockstar,
it far exceeded those sales, became one of the best-selling
video games of all time. In total, a whopping 23 million
copies of the game were sold. Fun Fact In total, over 800 people worked on
creating Red Dead Redemption. Creating such a legendary game
was far from easy and required extreme
effort from the developers. In fact, the game’s development
received controversy for unethical working practices at the studio, including twelve-hour workdays
and six-day workweeks. Rockstar had a strong desire
to create a zombie game. The team found the American countryside
in Red Dead Redemption the perfect place for a horror-themed game and decided to create a zombie version
of Red Dead Redemption with a darker and spookier
environment and its own story. Also released in 2010 was
Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare. It also became available for
the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Undead Nightmare was a standalone
expansion pack to Red Dead Redemption. The game added a zombie single-player
campaign and followed John Marston, a former outlaw who seeks to find the cause and possible cure to a zombie plague
that has infected his wife and son. The game was set in an alternate timeline
with a story that lasted about six hours. Besides the story, there were also many
side quests that also fit the zombie horror theme. Unlike the original game,
there were no fast travel options, and instead, the player
must travel by foot or undead horses. There were also two multiplayer modes:
Undead Overrun and Land Grab. In Undead Overrun, up to four players fight
cooperatively to fight off waves of zombies. Land Grab wasn’t connected to the undead theme. Instead, players must secure seven
areas across the game’s environment. Undead Nightmare is considered to be one of the
best downloadable content packs ever made. It was praised for its zombie theme and originality. XGN said in their review quote, The DLC received a score of 87, and over 2 million retail disc copies were sold. Soon after the release of
Red Dead Redemption, Rockstar Games started
working on the sequel. The game’s development
lasted over 8 years, an incredibly long time
for a video game. Just like its predecessor,
Rockstar decided to give it their all, and it even became one of the most
expensive video games ever made. In 2018 Red Dead Redemption 2 was released. The game was released for
the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. In 2019 it also became available for PC. Just like its predecessor, Red Dead Redemption 2
is a Western-themed action-adventure game. Besides the third-person perspective, players can
also play through a first-person perspective. Red Dead Redemption 2 has a massive
open world with countless things to do in it. Players can hunt, do heists, shootouts, interact with the NPCs, complete missions, and there are many side activities, including bounty hunting, finding collectibles, and gambling. To make the world interactive, there are
countless random events in the game, such as crimes committed by other people, ambushes, public executions, and animal attacks. Hunting is an important part of the game, which provides food, income, and materials for crafting items. Red Dead Redemption 2 is full of amazing details, such as where the player hits an animal and with what weapon affects
the quality of the meat and pelt. It also affects what traders are willing to pay. After players kill an animal, they can skin it immediately or carry the carcass,
which will rot over time and attracts predators. The story is set in 1899 and follows Arthur Morgan,
who is the main protagonist. John Marston is back in the game,
this time as a fellow gang member. Players can swim as Arthur,
but not as John, which is a reference to the previous game,
where swimming led to instant death. In the story, players can make
choices that affect the plot. Both Arthur and John have to be maintained. Players can sleep and eat to replenish their cores, which affects the rate at which their
stealth and health regenerate. However, when the player eats too much,
they can gain weight, leading to better damage absorption
but less stamina. When it’s cold and players don’t wear
warm clothes, their cores will rapidly drain. So, in order to not overheat or freeze,
players must wear sufficient clothing. Back from the previous game is the Honor system that affects how the player is
perceived after certain actions. If the player does good deeds like helping
strangers or sparing opponents in a duel, they will gain the player's Honor. Well, if the player does something bad,
they will lose honor. Honor also influences the story, gives players discounts at shops,
and unlocks special outfits. Gunfights are an essential mechanic in the game. The game has countless weapons to choose from, such as rifles, shotguns, explosives, revolvers, lassos, knives, and tomahawks. The combat is redefined with new mechanics,
including dual-wielding and the ability to use a bow. Some features are also back from
the previous games, including Dead Eye, which can be upgraded as the player progresses, and the bounty system, which sets lawmen on their way to
hunt players whenever they commit a crime. We’ve already talked about some of
the amazing details in Red Dead Redemption 2, but there are countless more that
really make this game stand out. Here are a few: Hair grows realistic over time When you kill someone, lawmen will
show up and remove the bodies Dead bodies will actually rot
over time and attract bugs Weapons require cleaning to
maintain their performance And my favorite, male horses have testicles
that become smaller in cold environments Red Dead Redemption 2 became the first game from Rockstar specifically built
for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. These new consoles allowed for
a more interactive and larger world. The graphics were also significantly
improved compared to its predecessor. Music also plays an important role in the game. Woody Jackson, who also created music for the
first Red Dead Redemption game and Grand Theft Auto, also composed Red Dead Redemption 2’s original score. There are three types of scores. First, there is narrative, which is the
music that is played during the story. Second, there is interactive, which is played
when the player is roaming in the open world. And third, there is environmental, such as campfire
songs or characters playing music in the world. In total, over 110 musicians worked on
the music for the Red Dead Redemption 2. While previous games
were made by distinct studios, this time, Rockstar decided to combine all its studios
into one large team to facilitate the development. In total, over 2,000 people worked on the game. While Red Dead Redemption
was already one of the most expensive games ever made
with a cost of around $100 million, the sequel was even more expensive, and analysts estimated that the
development and marketing costs combined were between 370 and 540 million dollars! In 2019, the multiplayer mode for
Red Dead Redemption 2 was released, known as Red Dead Online. The multiplayer adds a new story where up to
four players can complete tasks to advance the narrative. Besides the main story, players can
also do various side missions and events. In these events, up to 32 players
can partake and do various modes, including a deathmatch and a race mode. Just like the single-player,
online also has a morality system. Some story missions can only be initiated
if the player’s Honor is at a particular level. By completing activities, players earn experience
points and raise their character ranks. In addition to in-game cash, online adds gold, which can be used to purchase
luxury and special items. At launch Red Dead online received criticism
that the rewards were too low. Some players calculated that a single gold bar
could take an estimated eight hours to earn in the game. Since then, Rockstar has re-balanced the game. Red Dead Online continually adds new free content. These new updates included new story missions, events, free roam activities, and poker, as well as new rewards. Red Dead Redemption 2 was a massive success and even had the second-biggest launch
in the history of entertainment. In its opening weekend, it generated
a whopping $725 million in sales. This was even more than the original
Red Dead Redemption had generated in two weeks. The sequel was very well received. In fact,
it is considered one of the best games of all time. It is praised for its story, characters, graphics, level of detail, music, and open world. Digital Trends said about the game quote, and GameSpot said in their review quote, Red Dead Redemption 2 even won 25 awards, including Game of the Year by Steam Awards and Titanium Awards. On Metacritic, Red Dead Redemption 2 was
the highest-rated game of 2018, with a score of 97. As of December 2021, the game
has already sold 43 million copies, making it one of the best-selling
video games of all time. Fun Fact The Pinkerton National Detective Agency is real. It was founded by Allan Pinkerton in 1850, 49 years before the time setting
of Red Dead Redemption 2. When the game came out,
the parent company of the Pinkertons, Securitas AB, sued Rockstar for
making them look distrustful and bad. Rockstar denied the accusation and claimed
the use of Pinkerton was fair use. Eventually, the case was dismissed
and settled outside of the court. When Red Dead Revolver was released in 2004, it wasn’t anything special, but then in 2010, Red Dead Redemption
was released and became a massive success. The developers never even planned to create a sequel, but due to the success of the original, Rockstar decided to give it their all
and released Red Dead Redemption 2, which is considered one of
the best video games of all time. It’s truly amazing how much this franchise
has evolved over the years. If you want to see how other games evolved, then click the playlist on the right.
