Just like Jimmy, many players didn't feel particularly amazed when they first started "Red Dead Redemption."
Even though "Red Dead Redemption" had great graphics, "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare," also made by Nebula Games, didn't look bad either.
Some players even complained about the two-minute loading time before the game started.
Even though Lucas included a "Red Dead Redemption" themed environment that players could manage like a farm game.
Not all players were interested in that.
And before settling down in the game and rescuing John Marston from the snowy mountains.
The game felt very linear, making many players think "Red Dead Redemption" wasn't much different from "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare."
As for the seamless map Lucas mentioned online, many players didn't believe it, and some Nebula Games fans were even a bit disappointed.
It didn't seem seamless at all.
But as the story progressed, when players went hunting for deer with Charles in the snow-covered mountains, and when they robbed their first train and left the snowy mountains for the livestock town of Valentine.
A whole new world opened up before them.
Here, players realized that Lucas wasn't boasting. This vast western world really was seamless.
And the map was huge and filled with things to explore.
Players would randomly encounter strangers who needed help, and you could meet them again in nearby towns after helping them.
They would remember you and offer some kind of reward.
Many players hadn't experienced everything yet, but just the first town, Valentine, had enough for players to explore.
You could hunt in the wild and sell the meat and skins.
You could also upgrade the camp. Pearson and Dutch's money box could be used to upgrade the camp and individual characters.
There were so many things they could do in this western world.
Become a wild outlaw, put on your mask, and rob and kill. If you liked a girl, you could tie her up and throw her over a horse.
Help strangers in the wild, or go to the local police station and become a bounty hunter.
Play a classic RPG game activity by the lake: fishing.
Have a revolver duel with some gunslingers, or race horses with cowboys.
Take a bath at the hotel and have the maid scrub you clean.
Eat delicious food in the tavern and play Texas Hold'em with the locals.
It had only been online for a few hours.
But the online buzz had already surprised all the game industry designers and media.
Because from what was being shown so far.
"Red Dead Redemption" was just too extravagant.
Especially the open-world design shown in the game.
It amazed all the game designers.
Before this, there wasn't really a mature concept of open-world games.
There was only a rough idea.
Like creating a more realistic story.
But that world was often to better serve the plot and the player's gameplay. The recently released "Beautiful World" was a typical example.
But "Red Dead Redemption" was completely different. It was independent.
Apart from the main storyline.
Everything in the game was independent, as if the world was running on its own.
Extravagant!
Even if all the game's content hadn't been discovered yet.
The few hours of gameplay shown so far could only be described with two words by all the game designers.
That was: extravagant!
"I made a lot of rich content for the game, but I won't force players to play it, and the guidance is very weak."
This actually hinted to players that they would encounter many similar random events on their journey.
But the game never said anything about it, including the mini-games in the tavern and hunting. These were interwoven into the main missions, making you think it was just ordinary life, rather than noticing that it was a gameplay system.
They weren't forceful at all. They didn't make players realize that there was this kind of gameplay and then make them eager to try it.
They just told players that this kind of gameplay existed in the game.
Whether you play it or not, I'll just put it here, as if it's part of the world.
All the NPCs and the characters you don't control will perform their own actions.
For example, everyone in the camp has their own habits and behaviors.
They don't just stay in the camp, like lifeless NPCs.
Sometimes you'll find that a companion has disappeared, and after a while, you open Dutch's money box and find that the missing companion has donated some money to the record.
Especially the two-minute loading screen at the beginning. Many game designers had racked their brains, and couldn't figure out how to make such a scene into a seamless map.
Now they finally understood. Nebula Games was being so willful that they made players wait two minutes before playing, to load part of the map.
For players, they obviously didn't need to get to the bottom of things like game designers.
Analyzing the games and understanding what made it so good.
They simply felt that the game was fun.
They could do whatever they wanted in the Wild West.
Unlike other games where you had to follow the main storyline, and the areas you could explore were limited.
There were so many things to explore in "Red Dead Redemption," and even without the main storyline, there were still many ways to play.
For example, on live-streaming platforms, many streamers were playing in different ways.
Some started the game and didn't push the mission forward or wander around. Instead, they went straight into the tavern and played Texas Hold'em with the locals.
After all, Texas Hold'em was a classic card game that never gets old, and it was also very popular during the Western era. It appeared in New Orleans in 1829, spread along the Mississippi River, and became the most popular pastime during the gold rush in the west.
These streamers and players had an immersive role as gambling addicts.
"Hello everyone, where can I get money?"
"Playing cards? Make room for me, and I'll show you what a god of gambling looks like."
"Didn't Dutch want to take us to the West to buy land? Where's the money coming from? From this table."
Half an hour later.
"Are you cheating?"
"You're all in on it! So you're all ganging up on me to rip me off! I'll make you play cards!"
"I'll blow you up!"
Accompanying the screams and explosions from the tavern, a wanted order appeared, the map turned red, and the town's detectives came to investigate.
"I did it! Just kill me! I don't want to live anymore, I did it!"
...
Some acted like outlaws.
"Today, I'll show you what it means to be an outlaw."
"See that police car escorting prisoners in front?"
"Shoot them in the face! Rob the prison car! Biabiabia, am I crazy?"
"That's right, come and catch me if you can!"
Five minutes later.
A new character spawned at the respawn point.
Besides that, there were many other ways to play.
Everyone seemed to be able to find something fun in "Red Dead Redemption."
Hunting, fishing, or even just enjoying the scenery.
One game, but you experience many kinds of fun. Nebula Games really lost out on this one!
(End of Chapter)
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