10 Red Dead Redemption Facts You Didn't Know
Real World Loss
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Given the lengthy development time of video games, it’s a sad reality that some of those who worked on the projects won’t get to witness the fruits of their labor. While Uncle wasn’t much of a presence in the original Red Dead Redemption compared to the likes of secondary characters such as Abigail and Jack, he was a major character within the gang in the prequel Red Dead Redemption 2. Sadly, the actor portraying Uncle, John O’Creagh, who also provided the motion capture and likeness of the character, passed away due to a blood clot during production. Rockstar had his lines re-recorded by James McBride, but O’Creagh can still be heard singing with John and Charles at the end of the game after completing construction of the ranch. You can also visit O’Creagh run in Red Dead Online, a virtual tribute to the actor who originally brought Uncle to life.
Animal Behavior
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The attention to detail that Rockstar so meticulously put into crafting one of the most detailed and lived-in worlds in all of gaming also carried over to the world’s wildlife. Much like the NPCs within the world of Red Dead, the animals have their own AI and are programmed to react to their surroundings and how the player affects not only the world around them but other animals as well. Creatures will hunt, seek shelter from the rain, and even avoid areas with lots of human interaction. If the player hunts an animal and leaves its carcass behind, scavengers will come to feed on the corpse, birds will circle a fresh kill, and should a member of a wolf pack be killed and left behind, other wolves will come and howl to mourn the loss of one of their own. We’re not even going to mention the horse testicles.
Modern Culture
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Just because the world of Red Dead Redemption is set back at the turn of the century and the end of the Wild West, doesn’t mean that there can’t be more than a few nods to modern pop culture sprinkled in here and there. Of the numerous movie references in both games, in the original Red Dead, if being attacked by an animal while reloading, John will exclaim “Game over man, game over!”, as well a myriad of in game achievements nodding to the films that inspired them. Arthur can find the town of Pleasance with a barn stating “Stay Out, Plague”, a nod to “Don’t Open, Dead Inside” from The Walking Dead, and the train heist in the mission “Pouring Forth Oil” is a near shot for shot recreation of the same event in the film “The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford”.
Saying Goodbye
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Over the course of both Red Dead games, many characters, beloved and not, meet their untimely end. Especially in the sequel/prequel Red Dead Redemption 2, you’re given the chance to get to know the many members of your makeshift family and can even occasionally speak to them about their funeral plans should the unthinkable happen. If you manage to engage in these conversations with many of the members of the Van Der Linde Gang during your numerous trips back to camp and remember each character's specific requests, you can eventually find their final resting places scattered around the world and pay your final respects. John can also find and visit Arthur’s grave briefly glimpsed in the ending cinematic, and if you should 100% the game, you’ll even unlock a secret cinematic in which John addresses Arthur directly.
Mo-Cap
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Considering the sheer scale of Red Dead Redemption 2, it is naturally a given that there was an equal amount of motion capture work involved in the game’s development as well. It’s reported that motion capture for the game consisted of 1200 actors and took over 6 years and 2000 hours to complete, not even accounting for the many animals that were also mo-capped to make sure their movements were as realistic as possible. Some actors even did double duty during motion capture with Roger Clark not only being responsible for bringing Arthur to life but also numerous grizzly bears that attack NPCs as well as Mary when she visits Arthur’s grave at the end of the game. In addition, young Jack Marston is also portrayed by actress Marissa Margaux due to the work hour restrictions placed on child actors.
The Return of John Marston
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It’s hard to imagine anyone but Rob Wiethoff’s dolcett tones bringing all of the charm and polite wit of John Marston to life, but originally Rockstar had a different legendary cowboy in mind for the role. Rockstar originally approached Clint Eastwood for the role of John, clearly taking inspiration from Eastwood’s “Man With No Name” trilogy of films, but when he ultimately declined, Wiethoff landed the role of a lifetime. After the success of Red Dead Redemption, Wiethoff quietly retired from acting, with the original Red Dead being his only major role in acting. However, when production began on Red Dead Redemption 2, the call to play John Marston once again was too great to ignore and we’re more than happy he took up the role once again.
Cut Content
10 Things Cut From Red Dead Redemption 2
Considering the sheer size and scope of Red Dead Redemption 2, it’s a good guess that a lot of content didn’t make it into the final game, whether that be changes in direction during production or elements not coming together, cut content is very common in game development. However despite what is considered one of the largest and most detailed Rockstar games to date, the development team estimates only about 5 hours worth of story content was actually cut from the final game. Gamers have since scoured through the game files to find content that didn’t make it into the game, such as side quests, items or even whole sections of the map that are unreachable or were seemingly created just for the trailers. We may never know the complete scope of how much was left on the cutting room floor but more Red Dead would never be a bad thing.
Scale of Development
When creating one of the most detailed and lived-in worlds in gaming, you’re going to need a team of equal size to make that dream a reality. Roughly 3000 people from all branches of Rockstar were brought in to work on the game which began production back in 2010, a full 8 years before its final release. Given the size or the production, the main script along with NPC interactions was reportedly over 8 feet tall, more than 2000 pages long, and included 500,000 lines of dialogue. Sadly, this dedication to making sure every detail was perfect required some staff to work 100 hour weeks and while the final product and all its love and attention more than speaks to the commitment of the team, it’s unfortunate it came at the cost and crunch time of so many.
Pissed Off Pinkertons
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It’s no secret the main antagonists of the Red Dead franchise are the Pinkerton agents pursuing the Van Der Linde gang in Red Dead 2 and then recruiting and blackmailing John in the original Red Dead Redemption to do their dirty work for them. What many may not realize is that the Pinkerton Agency still exists today and weren’t too happy with how they were portrayed, particularly in Red Dead Redemption 2. The Pinkertons attempted to sue Take-Two over their “unfair and inaccurate portrayal” within the game while Take-Two countersued stating the Pinkertons were just after a cut of the profits from the game which sold over 17 million copies within its first two weeks on the market. The lawsuit itself was eventually dropped but the Pinkerton Agency has appeared in innumerable other media for decades before Red Dead Redemption so it’s unclear what their issue was with the game overall.
Red Dead Zero
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While Red Dead Redemption is associated with Rockstar in the same way Grand Theft Auto is, many don’t know that the series is a spiritual successor to another franchise that originally wasn’t even owned by Rockstar. Red Dead Revolver was originally a spiritual successor itself to Capcom’s Gun Smoke arcade game before the project was canceled and picked up by Rockstar and eventually finished and released in 2004 for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. While the game is nowhere near as detailed or story-driven as the rest of Rockstar’s Red Dead series, many of the hallmarks of the franchise were already present including the slow-mo Dead-Eye system. The story of Red Harlow may not have continued in the Red Dead series, but he paved the way for the franchise millions of gamers know and love today.
