Red Dead Redemption 2 may have a lot of freedom in its open world, but even it’s engine stops players from going to heinous lengths.
Ever wanted to become a mass murderer in a video game? While the law may fail to stop you from becoming one in Red Dead Redemption 2, the game engine certainly won’t. Rockstar’s approach to realism in the Red Dead series is different from GTA as the former’s realism is more akin to the real world.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is perhaps Rockstar’s most detailed and realistic open world yet, giving players an incredible sense of freedom. But just like in the real world, freedom has its own set of restrictions. The realism in this game is way more believable, which, by default, sets it apart from the wildly absurd things that you can do in GTA.
Rockstar’s approach to player freedom in Red Dead Redemption 2 is much more realistic
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We played around with those ideas of procedural companion missions. We did have that in there and we found that we could not get the level of connectedness and sophistication that we wanted for those sort of experiences. […] I suppose you could do it, but […] the way that we make these worlds is [to] basically handcraft them. And so that would be some sort of procedural thing that would happen, and the content there – it’s just not practical.
Due to this approach, Nelson explained that player freedom is limited in some aspects. For example, burning down an entire town or forest with large-scale fires won’t be possible since it would change the entire map.
It would be nice, but no. Because it’s not practical. You could burn structures down, but a forest fire would change the map in such a way that it would change the feeling of the world and the things that are in there.
So this proves that you cannot be a mass murderer in Red Dead Redemption 2, as the engine will surely catch up to you before the authorities do. But still, seven years later, the game has one of the most impressive open worlds ever. However, GTA6 is rumored to be taking the level of player freedom to the next level, while also being incredibly realistic at the same time.
GTA6 may be bringing procedural object generation to the table
Procedural object generation might be in GTA6 | Image Credit: Rockstar Games
Rockstar is going all out in GTA6, as we can see from the new trailer, but they might also be bringing procedural object generation to the title. A Reddit user named ForwardMedicine7905 posted a screenshot of Ryan Woods’s LinkedIn profile on the GTA6 subreddit last year. The screenshot reveals that the person has been working on the game as a Principal Engine Programmer since 2020, and his job experience reveals that “procedural generation for objects and game environments” will be in it.
His page has since been removed, but it is still exciting to know that the things that he mentioned may be in the final product. Rockstar always pushes the limits of technology with every game, and the case will be no different for the upcoming GTA6.
So, what do you think about Rockstar’s approach to player freedom in Red Dead Redemption 2? Do you think the traditional approach benefited the game? Or would you have liked a more procedurally generated design? Let us know your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below.
