Game development rarely unfolds exactly as originally planned.
Dan Houser spoke with Lex Fridman on a recent podcast about his projects. The Rockstar veteran reflected on the pressure he experienced during the development of Red Dead Redemption 2.
The RDR2 team slipped behind schedule and went over budget. Houser avoided detailed specifics but suggested the game took a long time to cohere, and that people had begun to doubt him:
I think we were behind schedule on Red Dead Redemption 2. We blew the budget so badly I didn’t even want to dwell on it. I was making a cowboy game […] and it simply wouldn’t come together. At that time many people began to doubt me; that isn’t a pleasant feeling. So, for me, it was a great deal of pressure.
Dan Houser also highlighted the team’s contribution to the project:
The cowboy setting, to my mind, is brilliant because it lends the game a mythic gravitas that a modern setting sometimes can’t provide […] I believe the West and its themes are particularly suited to crafting a game with a somber tone. The setting and the gunfights were fantastic, and the horses were extraordinary. So it was a combination of technical expertise, an exceptionally strong team, and truly powerful material.
Source: iXBT.games