# [Dan Houser: GTA, Red Dead Redemption, Rockstar, Absurd & Future of Gaming | Lex Fridman Podcast #484](https://youtu.be/o3gbXDjNWyI?si=ljrBUnIqm4HaTjOM) <div class=iframe-container> <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/o3gbXDjNWyI?si=ljrBUnIqm4HaTjOM" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe> </div> A rare interview with one of the co-founders of Rockstar. The longest chapter is 40 minutes about *Red Dead Redemption II*. My kind of podcast. My biggest takeaway is Dan's absolute adherence to story *and* open-world game design. The two must exist or its a wash. Dan is seemingly always aware that the story is being told in a video game context and grounded in that context. > "It felt like it was an interesting thing to play around with as an idea, this guy getting weaker who felt like he was immortal and essentially was immortal. He was the protagonist in a video game. He could not die. And suddenly he is becoming mortal. And and you know, but that helps him see stuff. I thought that was a different way of doing uh a lead character. " Some interesting bits about *Agent* in there too.