Red Dead Redemption's tale begins with the prequel, the 2004 game that Rockstar inherited when it began work with what was to become Rockstar San Diego. Known originally as Angel Studios, it was the studio's 1999 racer Midtown Madness that first brought it to Rockstar's attention perhaps no surprise given that game's open-ended depiction of an urban space, a trait that was Rockstar's own calling card at the time.
"We agreed to use some of their expertise and our expertise and evolve it into Midnight Club whilst at the same time doing Smuggler's Run," says Dan, and the result was two games that managed to infuse the cultural sensibilities of Rockstar with Angel Studio's proven tech prowess. "We got on very well with the guys, it seemed to be a good cultural marriage in that we both brought different things to the table and we liked working with each other."
Soon enough the partnership was consummated, Angel Studios being bought up and renamed Rockstar San Diego. A handful of projects were still knocking around the studio, some worth salvaging and some less so, but of all the games being worked on, one shone brighter than all others. "The one that always caught our eye was this cowboy game that looked very good. For the time it looked visually spectacular, but also speaking to the management guys there it was a complete mess. It didn't really exist as a game."
That game was Red Dead Revolver, a project that had begun under the charge of Capcom but one that, as Houser admits, wasn't in the greatest of states. "Capcom were prepared to walk away from it, so we said we'd finish it and all they ever wanted was the rights to publish it in Japan if we ever did finish it - which they never thought it could be."
What was there was rough, but Red Dead Revolver's promise was immense especially given the potentially explosive pairing of the Old West's traditional ties to the silver screen with a company that had specialised in channelling its love for cinema into compelling games. "Our focus was to get the thing done and get it out to a level that we thought that was worthy of coming out. We knew it wasn't going to be completely designed the way we would have done it if we were doing it from scratch, but that doesn't mean there weren't some good ideas there that couldn't be made into something that was fun and interesting in its own right.
The end result, pulled together in around 10 months, was only a mild success critically but it went on to sell well, and it's still held in kind regard. "It was an odd way of working and not one you'd normally do," admits Houser, "but it was good business to get it done, and it was good for the transition of the studio to become a Rockstar studio to get it done and it made sense at the time and we were pleased with the results. Is it what we'd do from day one? No, but were we pleased with where we got it? Absolutely, and I think it was a cool game."