As more and more news comes out around Red Dead Redemption 2, one of the most anticipated titles of 2018, there was bound to be a bump in the road. In a new interview (via Vulture), Dan Houser comments on the developer “working 100-hour weeks” on the game.
On All Those Hours Spent
Regarding the hours spent, Houser said they were working those hours “several times in 2018”. Additionally, “the finished game includes 300,000 animations, 500,000 lines of dialogue, and many more lines of code. Even for each RDR2 commercial, ‘we probably made 70 versions, but the editors may make several hundred”.
As a result of those hours, Houser said “this seamless, natural-feeling experience in a world that appears real, an interactive homage to the American rural experience. It’s a vast four-dimensional mosaic in which the fourth dimension is time, in which the world unfolds around you, dependent on what you do”. Additionally, it’s mentioned that the game is 65 hours long.
The Effects of Crunch
Among the many issues in game development is crunch, a period of development when the developers need to work obscene hours per week. Uncharted creator Amy Hennig has spoken about this issue a number of times. It’s something that practically every game has to go through in order to meet deadlines.
Based off all the coverage on Red Dead 2, the game is nothing but impressive. Rockstar has put in a massive amount of detail into their world. That being said, the question arises of was it worth all those 100 work weeks. Developers have spoken out on how crunch affected their personal lives and mental health. It’s an issue that’s made some leave game development altogether.
What do you think of this news? Should developers not have to crunch to get their games out? Let us know in the comments section below. For more news regarding Red Dead Redemption 2, keep it locked to VGR.