By now, a lot of you have probably played Rockstar’s legendary Western adventure Red Dead Redemption, either on older consoles or on the Xbox One. But little did you may realize that the ending that came with that game wasn’t always the easiest choice for the development team.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Speaking during a masterclass lecture at the Cite des Sciences et de I’Industrie in Paris, Christian Cantmessa, who serves as a lead game designer and co-writer for Redemption, explained that the decision was a rough one to make – but it was the right choice. (This story was first reported by DualShockers.)
Now, there are SPOILERS AHEAD. So if you haven’t finished Red Dead Redemption, stop what you’re doing now and finish it, then come back. Okay, good? Let’s go.
Cantamessa made note that he “desperately” wanted the ending to have a tinge of tragedy to it, thus resulting in the death of the game’s lead hero, John Marston. Rockstar Games co-founder Sam Houser also wanted it to happen, according to him, but there were complications that managed to arise, mainly due to decisions with the gameplay.
Grand Theft Auto games basically enable you to continue playing after the game ends, but Red Dead Redemption doesn’t quite work that way once John meets his fate. The idea that Marston could live on was discussed, but Cantamessa felt that it would be a bad decision, as it would stop the story dead in its tracks.
And that’s where Marston’s son came into play, as players eventually get to pick up where John left off by game’s end, putting a final bullet into the culprit ultimately responsible for his ambush. Cantamessa was pleased with the choice, despite finding it to be rather daunting. But he felt that the “hopeful” conclusion to the tale took away from some of the darkness, even though the “death of the West” theme continued to linger.
With that, players can go back into the game as Jack, and that added an extra complication to game development, as people needed to be re-recorded saying “Jack” instead of “John” with open-world activities and mini-games, and plenty of additional motion capture work.
This created extra costs and development time to the game, which was a “tough choice” according to Cantamessa, but it paid off, and the Housers, alongside former president Leslie Benzies, funded the idea. He was impressed by how much they supported it, as they could’ve easily said, “yeah, good idea, but no. John lives. Change the story. Who cares, it’s just a game.” But they went the opposite way – and created a classic as a result.
We’ll have to see what happens with the sequel, Red Dead Redemption 2, when it arrives in spring 2018 for Xbox One and PlayStation 4.
