We must be special. Turns out, Rockstar Games, arguably the tightest-lipped publisher/developer on the block, who rule their media presentations with an iron fist (in that they're very controlled and context-driven), decided it would be a good idea to give one Australian online outlet a no-holds barred free-reign run of the Red Dead Redemption game-world. They chose AusGamers. So from 9am until 6pm (with a lunch break) that's what I did; mounted my virtual horse and explored one of the most exciting, grim and rich open-worlds to ever grace gaming. We've talked passionately about this product since our initial preview session with it, and in each and every iteration it has done nothing but impress with the culmination being this pre-gold build and my seven-odd hours with it. For the sake of truly covering all aspects of the combined mechanics of Red Dead Redemption, we'll spread this coverage over two days, focusing today on the game-world itself, its ecology and relationship with John Marston, and how it manifests into one of the most coherent environments you'll ever experience. Because nothing here is bells, whistles or superfluity; it's engaging, deeply rich and utterly symbiotic to the player.



History and Politics
Red Dead Redemption is set in semi-fictional states and territories of the United States in the year 1911 (discovered only by reading an in-game newspaper). History buffs could likely discern the year from the game's opening dialogue; happening between various passengers sitting on the same train as Marston as he makes his way to the town of Armadillo, who spout era-specific comments derived from important moments in US history. But like so much of the game's deeper plot, nothing here is directly served to you. It's a tumultuous time in the US with the ever-expanding government vying for greater control of the country along with subsequent taxing of its denizens for varying initiatives and government-run social services, raising the ire of many citizens as yet untouched by government control or mandate. But the Civil War is some 46 years over, and the country is moving forward with industrial expansion in the form of railroads, banking, cars and even flight. The FBI is in its infancy, and untrustworthy in the eyes of local law enforcement. But for reasons I won't spoil, Marston is directed by government agents to engage the sheriff of Armadillo and parts beyond, which ultimately leads to his conquest of the land.

In talking about the player's symbiotic relationship with the game, Red Dead Redemption does a stand-up job educating anyone not versed in the country's history, while maintaining that signature Rockstar commentary of social standing. What's interesting is just how much more poignant the ambient commentaries throughout Red Dead Redemption are than those found, and writhe, in Grand Theft Auto IV. Here there's a greater ability to point at just why certain American mindsets have remained marginally unchanged in the last 99 years. There's more fun to be had with it, too.

Like most Rockstar Games, narrative is passed voraciously through travel dialogue between characters, which helps shape the world around you, flesh out important players in the game's story, and give you bait with which to decide how to treat the environment at large. It's not too long, however, before you're given the tools you essentially need to survive the untamed world and its many dangers and delights.



On The Lam
In 1911, the US was a scattered collection of towns and encampments, reminiscent of the nomadic settlements of the Mongols centuries earlier (and in truth just as reticent for unification). A single railroad bypassing one town could mean its ultimate demise though (this is evidenced in the game), and as such prosperity was witnessed where there were people to witness it. This is equally true of the geography and town planning for Red Dead Redemption. Early in the game Marston finds himself travelling between the town of Armadillo and the MacFarlane Ranch before expanding his travels to parts unknown, but even this seemingly short distance comes with a heady dose of realistic landscaping. Almost all travel is performed via horseback or stagecoach (the former being the major bearer of your travel weight though), and much of this is interesting based exclusively on terrain, your mode of transport and just who, or what, is around at the time of encounter.

Similarly to GTA IV, Red Dead Redemption employs a realistic physics system alongside the highly touted (and Rockstar-popularised) NaturalMotion Euphoria for animation. However, in extension of the aforementioned game, animals throughout the game-world are imbued with the system; the most important of which is horses. What this adds to the game is a seminal level of excitement of the Western movie genre kind. Ultimately, stunts are free-form and without script. The same could definitely have been said of GTA IV, but in Red Dead Redemption, with it's lightened cast of ambient characters and NPCs, it has a more impactful role. Moreover, treating your horse with care and respect will result in an earlier bond; ergo better performance for a greater gameplay reward. This is done by not pushing the animal too hard, whistling for it instead of just stealing the closest one to you, and feeding it apples. Early on in your experience the default horse becomes easily attached to you, but soon after you're gifted a rare and agile stallion for breaking it in (which is performed via a relatively easy but fun mini game), which becomes much more attached.

In keeping with the time, Marston can earn money for jobs completed or by gambling. You can, of course, loot dead bodies also, but money isn't nearly as easily accessible as it was in GTA IV, and you'll find spending a much more thoughtful task as a result. You can use it to hitch a ride on a stagecoach (much like taxis in GTA IV, replete with a scenic ride across the way), rent a room, buy a room, buy provisions or try your luck. Each town has various options for the discerning Gamblor in you, with poker, craps, five finger fillet, horseshoe throwing and more on option. Most are easy enough to play (I had trouble with the horseshoe at first, but picked it up pretty quickly), however, the exception in the games I did play was definitely Five Finger Fillet, which requires rapid input of a code of face buttons; miss and you hear (and ultimately feel) the point of your knife bite your finger. Each of these is a great and inviting distraction from the main game, but the biggest and most engaging of these is definitely the game's Survival Challenges.



Skin Me Alive
Early on in the game, pointing your weapon skyward and shooting a buzzard will prompt the beginning of your Hunting Challenges. These are essentially tiered requisites that employ you to hunt various numbers of specific animals. The further you get into these, the more difficult they become. Moreover, once any animal is shot, you can use its corpse for skinning or food, both of which can be sold or used later on in the quest for new outfits or to just replenish health. There are also other challenges available, such as having to pick certain flowers or herbs from the land, and while they're available as challenges, they also later rear their heads as side-quests for various NPCs riddled throughout the land.

As suggested though, none of this is simply in place to pass the time, there's a serious ecosystem here with a veritable food-chain among the game-world's animals, some of which you might find yourself in the path of. Snakes, buzzards, rabbits, armadillos, coyotes, wolves, horses, cattle, boars, bears - oh my. In the time I logged in the game I'd only scratched the surface of interacting with this system, but seeing it take shape and work - independently - around you is definitely a driving factor of feeling like you're part of a larger, more robust world. Red Dead Redemption is not played through levels or area unlocking, it's played by real-world rules, with real-world focus.

Similarly to Fallout 3, and in keeping with this preview's purpose of explaining the game-world's ecology, buzzards circling off in the distance denote death or destruction, giving you a focal point of direction should you want to investigate. Usually you'll find death at the base of these, either recent or long gone, but it's also another factor of the game mentioned earlier; a grim stake on the very real world Red Dead is based from. All the political chagrin of the time barely represents the nature of the 'Wild West' - this was a time of emergent crime; gun-slinging, oppression, rape, murder, and destruction. This is reiterated over and over as you play, a great example of which saw, without pretext, an elderly man kneeling on the side of the path mourning with deliberation over what could only have been his dead wife, who was lying in a pool of blood. There was no context to this, only that it happened, and you saw the aftermath - keep on riding.



There's a Storm Comin'
Finally, the environment itself is wrought with life. Red Dead Redemption's massive game-world (of which I only saw one area in seven-odd hours of play, and not even all of it) has its own character that shifts with seasonal change, weather and day and night. In the whole time I played I barely saw the same thing twice, despite visiting various areas multiple times. This is caused through different visual sheens brought about by differences between overcast, rain, sun, storm, sunrise, sunset and more. The day and night system seems somewhat lengthier than other games, and the game-world itself changes depending on the time of day. At night, stores close and the thoroughfare of a town becomes ghostly. Walk into a saloon, however, and life's a party - gambling, drinking, raucous conversation, drunks, ladies of the night and more colour the watering hole's innards, and you can pretty much interact with most of it (though no propositioning ladies, much to my dismay). Equally, out on the lam, night becomes a dangerous place with wolves prowling for prey, bandits scouring the land and where undesirables (such as cannibals) feed off the game's rich life-blood.

The geography of the land is also just as colourful as everything else that has gone into making this one of the richest places to explore. Fauna, land features and more change depending on ecology. For example, the closer you get to larger masses of water, the more green and damp the environment. The more inland you go, the more arid everything becomes, and so forth. This equally effects what animals you're likely to encounter, and even the types of people you come across.

What's important about all of this is just how it overlaps, interacts and builds. There's no separate algorithm for each individual aspect, they combine and coalesce in random emergent life; realistically working together in whatever capacity they're supposed to. If a traveller is stranded in the hills at night, he's likely going to have to fend off wolves. You could probably hogtie a township denizen, take him out and leave him just to see what happens, and there's actually definitive consequence for many of your actions in Red Dead Redemption. My first Quick Draw challenge saw me gunning down my challenger without a problem; leaving him lifeless in the middle of Armadillo's thoroughfare. I walked off and triggered a story sequence with the town's sheriff and emerged sometime later to find my challenger's body gone, but a pool of blood was still marking the spot where he died. I walked over to, and through, the blood and started tracking it with each subsequent step denoting its freshness. And finally, I accidentally shot a land-owner I was supposed to buy a deed for his property off, when I took the deed back to the quest-giver, he remarked it was covered in blood and that I might have to bear the wrath of his son when next I travelled to a specific town - my Rockstar representative sat shocked having never seen that outcome before.



Conclusion
All of the above is a basic dissection of the life of the game. Red Dead Redemption is an open-world title unlike any other, where your part in its ecology is just as important as your reason for being there. The Challenges, economy, denizens, travel, geography, weather, natural order and more all work in perfect unison, and anything but harmony. The world of Red Dead Redemption is a brutal and oft times bleak place to be, yet it's life as was known of the time (making it all the more scary), and still you need to make your way through it. And despite this, there's still something utterly engaging about it. Make no mistake, none of the above is to suggest this is essentially a Wild West Simulator - far from it. What it is, is simply a game-world with actuality, consequence and purpose. Everything that exists here is has a reason for existing, and while you're most definitely the one experiencing it, it never feels like it's just been placed there for your benefit, rather that you're simply a traveller passing through and bearing witness.

Stay tuned for part 2 of our extended coverage tomorrow, which will actually look at the gameplay system, and how all of the above fits into player tasks, narrative and progression. And seriously, even with both days of coverage, I can guarantee you we've barely scratched Red Dead Redemption's richly detailed surface.

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