Red Dead Redemption

[Dan Shive]

I think I would like Survival mode as an option, but would hate it as a mandatory setting. It's the sort of thing that sounds cool until one has to actually play it, at which point it becomes an annoying upkeep to keep my cowboy up and running.

But that's my personal taste, much like survival fits Yahtzee's personal taste. I respect that he views it as what he would personally prefer and not "what those stupid fools at Rockstar failed to do" or something.

 

[YodaUnleashed]

Nice inspired idea Yahtzee. I'm glad Fallout New Vegas is implementing such an idea, it will certainly make trying to survive in a nuclear wasteland feel more like trying to survive in a nuclear wasteland.

 

[boradis]

The GTA games (and this is a GTA game) have always been inspired by violent films rather than reality, and I wouldn't want this game to turn into Oregon Trail. Or worse, "Little House on the Prairie." But RDR has inspired me to watch a few more westerns of late, and basic survival is one of the pillars of the genre. So there should be some risk of something like starvation involved every time you leave a town, in addition to the cougars.

But even so, with one's magically reliable horse and inhuman marksmanship it's like being the Lone Ranger or Roy Rogers, when I'd rather be the Man With No Name or John Wayne. I guess the thing to do would be a play-through without using the horse whistle or dead eye abilities.

 

[ModusPwnens]

"Players would have to be sure they were properly equipped before heading out of town."

Didn't you complain about this mechanic in Monster Hunter Tri?

 

[Jared]

The law thing I do agree with. No reason to ever to break it, no rewards, and no need. I played whole game and only ever got in trouble once...for running into someone

 

[Irridium]

I don't really like health/tiredness/hunger/etc meters in games. That's why I don't like the Sims. It's a game. They're not meant to get hungry then whine about it in clipart form.

I agree about the horse thing - if your horse dies or runs off I reckon you should have to steal a horse or whatever. If they wanted, they could put your 'deed' horse outside the nearest save house, but only then do you get it.

Which is why he also suggested it to be an option you could turn on/off. So those who want it can have it, and those who don't can not use it.

 

[SamElliot'sMustache]

The survival idea is actually really great, especially as a mechanic to actually immerse players into the idea into the mind of a man who starts to view criminal activity as being a necessity. Perhaps even open up questions of morals, ethics, etc. the way that films and books do, without trying to ape them directly, by encouraging players to be 'moralistic,' even in the face of death (perhaps through additional rewards?), but at the same time enticing them with quick, easy rewards that solve their problems right away (if only temporarily). And it would be natural, logical evolution of the gameplay of Dragon Age, Fallout 3, Bioshock, and all those other moral-choice games, but without ham-fistedly inserting an obvious choice.

 

[For.I.Am.Mad]

I feel like cutting myself now.

 

[Shynobee]

Thankfully, it seems like your "survival mode" ideas are being implemented in Fallout: New Vegas' optional hardcore mode. So, we may yet have a game, in a desert, where survival is actually a challenge.

 

[zjspeed]

I like Red Dead Redemption and am still playing it. It's taking forever to finish because I keep getting distracted. This is strange for me. I've never considered myself a completionist or an achievement/trophy collector by any means.

But, I can't help but be drawn in by its random encounters, strangers, outfits, treasures, bounties, gang hideouts, sharpshooter challenges, survivalist challenges, and hunter challenges.

I just find it fun. This place somehow feels more real than the open-worlds of other games I've played.

That said, I agree 100% that the gameplay mechanics definitely do NOT feel real. It IS more like a toy than a game. There's very little consequence to injury or even death. Money quickly becomes meaningless as you run out of things to buy. Nothing is scarce.

Some Sims-style people management or inventory management might add interesting decision-making and consequences. Or it might make it tedious. I'm not sure.

It might be worth another look, but I did not care for Fallout 3 when I played it. Far too often I was out on an expedition to explore some bombed-out ruins, but instead found myself spending half my time managing my inventory. It was tedious. I got bored and quit.

Perhaps I'd find some middle ground to be perfect. Perhaps optional realism preference settings.

 

[MDSnowman]

Yeah, I was chilling in the wilderness of RDR and my Horse got mauled by a cougar. It was a big "oh, shit!" moment. Here I was, ages away from civilization, no horse, angry Cougar eyeing me for the main course.

I was scared, briefly, dumb luck struck from the sky and I was up a creek without a paddle. But I also knew that the game wouldn't need me to eat, sleep, or drink. If I could get away from the cougar I'd be fine, I'd just need to keep my eyes peeled for other beasties.

A survival mechanic would really enhance the game, but I agree it would need to be toggled on and off. I played Liar's dice for a side quest and made $600, in a game that gave me $25 for completing a death defying mission, but I don't really have anything to spend that money on, especially since the game is handing me better weapons through story missions.

Now if I knew the ***** goddess of cougar attacks could strike at any time and leave me stranded in the middle of nowhere and I actually needed to survive a trip back to town I'd be carrying max water and rations at all times.

However, I also like the idea of using positive reinforcement. A stat bonus if you keep yourself well fed, hydrated, and rested.

 

[thethingthatlurks]

Sounds like Yahtzee enjoys STALKER, particularly the modded one that has hunger and sleep play a much larger role

How about an option to just disable regenerating health and added option to eat the meat you've hunted? And have a bloody weight limit! That being said, I don't actually mind the regenerating dead eye meter. It's hard enough to accurately hit something on consoles (at least for PC gamers like me), so a bit of a help there is always welcome
As for the horse, could go either way. I don't mind having the option to recall my horse, provided it is within a distance where it is reasonable to assume it heard me.

But more importantly, why the hell can't you swim in the game? That irritates me far more than anything else

 

[Fatal-X]

Rather than this "Survival mode" I would add a more complex health system. Something like in MGS3 or Call of Cthulhu: Dark corners of Earth. Health system would be fun but not this stupid sims like hunger meter because it would be annoying(I hated MGS3 for that damn hunger meter). Another annoying thing would be if you could not call your horse, horses die quite frequently and in an easy way. Just one hit from a mountain lion and ciao. Lastly John Marston is a married man, he goes through hell just to see his family again, I don't see him with a prostitute. So basically I don't agree with a lot of your suggestions Yahtzee.

Although I agree that there should be something done with the money because you don't need it that much in the game.

 

[dnose]

I'm going to have to call "bulls**t" on Yahtzee this time. If they had the "Survival" system like he's suggesting, he would have criticized the system for taking you out of the action and out of the game similar to the way you had to take your friends bowling in the first game.

 

[Influx27]

I'm pretty sure Dingos are nothing more than wild dogs. So, for Dingos to exist at all, dogs must be able survive the wilderness even after people raise them in a domestic setting. Also, wolves aren't much more noble than dogs. All animals are jerks, wolves included.

I will agree with this though, modern man is definitely dumber than his aboriginal cousins.

 

[Lemon Of Life]

Yahtzee, go join a development team or something, these good ideas need implementing, not wasting on us.

 

[Mr. Ruckus]

Oh horse seducing.....that Jeb guy was to weird! he even married it in the end...

 

[domicius]

Actually, I think the game is pretty good the way it is. And I'm a casual gamer, so I *know* what I'm talking about.

More to the point, once you get a good horse you spend a lot of your time worrying about the thing getting mauled by bears, wolves and tigers. And then you go out and spend your time trying to find and break a new one in.

Sure, it would have been fun to have a "real" hunting mechanic with tracks, long periods sitting around waiting and using little "quack-quack" horns to attract ducks but, dammit, that's what MMOs are for.

The whole "too much money" and "breaking the law is optional" is all too true though. Then again, some people (i.e. me) find the whole law-breaking thing distasteful in the first place which is why I didn't play GTA. So I actually appreciated that this game, for effing once, allowed you to gun down a bajillion people simply because they're "gang members" and allowed me to keep my illusions of propriety and law-abidingness intact.

Top game, all things considered. I'll hear nowt wrong about it.

 

[BlueInkAlchemist]

This may be the best article Yahtzee's written. From the comparison of the modern man to the dog in contrast to the wolf, to the brilliance of the hunger, thirst and fatigue meters, it's brimming with brilliance and has touches of his trademark humor without beating the reader over the head with it.

Further proof that he's not just a shouty Anglo-Aussie doing it for the lulz.