- Red Dead Redemption 2’s opening was supposed to be much more brutal.
- Rockstar cut it because Arthur Morgan was very nasty, and it was too tough to keep.
- Houser says he loved that Arthur was more rough as it made his redemption more meaningful.
Red Dead Redemption 2’s story covers so many grounds, from morality, character development, to survival, humor, and emotions; it has everything, and at the center of it all is the game’s much-loved protagonist, Arthur Morgan.
While the game’s opening act is quite rough as it is, Rockstar co-founder has revealed that originally it was so brutal that they had to cut it out, as people would’ve hated Arthur from the very start of the game.
Why it matters: Fans love Arthur for his relatability and for how, even in a cruel world, he pushes to make the right choices, fails, and then tries again. But with an even brutal start, it could’ve made things different.
In the recent Lex Fredman podcast, Dan Houser went candid about his work on Red Dead Redemption 2. He stated that in the original starting, Arthur Morgan was ‘very, very nasty’ and it was too tough in some ways.
There was a bit at the start of RDR where (Arthur) had a baby who just died, and we ended up cutting it, which was the right decision. Tt made him very, very nasty at the start.
– Dan Houser
At the start of the game, he was supposed to have a baby who had just died. He wasn’t very sympathetic to his occasional girlfriend, who had the baby. This made him so nasty that people would’ve hated him from the start.
Houser says that in a way it could’ve made his redemption arc more interesting, but made him a lot more nasty, and that might not have stirred too well. Therefore, with the final version, they made Arthur more likable.
However, he says that in the end, the current version is what was supposed to happen, so it’s all good, but with the original version, Arthur’s lack of inability to access his emotions was what he really liked.
What are your thoughts on Red Dead Redemption 2’s opening? Did you like it as is? Let us know your opinions in the comments or join the discussion at the official Tech4Gamers Forum.
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News Reporter
Abdullah is an avid gamer who primarily plays single-player titles. If you can’t find him anywhere, he’ll probably be at his desk playing The Witcher 3 for the millionth time. When he isn’t playing games, he’s either reading or writing about them.
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