The name Dan Houser, co-founder of Rockstar Games, is almost equivalent to that of the GTA in many players, who began with the original GTA and led the team crime simulation to the top of the world, while Hauser himself said that his deepest feelings were based on Red Dead Redemption.
Dan Hauser recently appeared at Podcast, a famous host, Lex Fridman, when he was questioned about the progress made in the development of GTA 6, he laughed that he was already able to view Rockstar’s new work “as an observer”, but that one day when he saw the Wild Darts 3 being taken over by someone else, “it might make me feel worse”.
“Each GTA is a story of independence, so it’s not too bad for me to keep doing it. But The Wild Darts is a complete biography, a story of the end echo. I’d feel more sad in a way if someone else continued it.”
Dan Hauser left Rockstar Games in 2020, announced the establishment of a cross-media studio, Absurd Ventures in June 2023, and released the first issue of the criminal novel and original comic book series AMERICAN Caper in January of this year in collaboration with Dark Horse Comics.
Now Hauser has nothing to do with the development of the R star game, and he can’t get involved with it if the Wild Darts come out of the third part, “That will happen sooner or later, I don’t have the IP, it’s the original agreement, it’s an honor to create, but it doesn’t mean you can have it.”
He pointed out that the consistency and depth of the two parts of The Wild Darts was one of the most satisfactory plays in his career. From John Marston, the first star of The Wild Darts, to Arthur Morgan, the successor, the tragic fate of both roles constitutes a whole and strong Western epic.
Hauser recalled that the scripts of The Wild Darts were written at a time when he had established a family, so that the characters of the John family also projected his emotional changes. The biggest difference between the series and GTA is that it is not an irony to society, but a tragedy about the family, loyalty and destiny.
“GTA is like a whole series of crimes of different times, but the Wild Darts are two closely linked stories about the rise and fall of the Vanderlins, surrounded by a sense of sorrow and destiny.”
Under such a structure, Hauser believes that the launch of the Wild Darts III could undermine the original integrity, “of course it would be possible to go back to an earlier era, to tell stories like the Blackwater Massacre or the history of Hossiah, but the story would be more and more limited”.
“We wanted Nick dead, but the game wasn’t allowed.”
During the interview, Hauser mentioned that “GTA 4” would have had a darker ending, and that the leading actor, Niko Bellic, would have been killed, “I really wanted Nick to die at the end, but the game was not allowed to do so. Players must continue to move freely after customs clearance and the game “continues.” So, in the end, we let those around him receive their lunches, and he survived himself.”
In retrospect of the Wild Darts series, Rockstar decided to take the risk of adopting a tragic ending, “We still have to let the player play after customs, so that Jack, son of John, can take over the role of father.” This is a compromise between game and narrative.”
Hauser also confirmed for the first time that GTA 5 was originally developed by a single DLC who played a secret agent, “Trevor was actually halfway through the DLC, but was given up.” If it does, we may not have time for the Wild Darts 2.
He said he loved single-person DLC, “The player likes that, and the team does it more freely.”
Rockstar gradually shifted its focus to long-term operational content as GTA Online became popular. Now Hauser has set up his own new company, Absurd Ventures, focused on the development of multimedia and single-phone open world games, trying to recover his best narrative, “Leaving Rockstar is painful, but I am still building a new world.”