Balancing Open World Freedom and Narrative

Dan Houser is co-founder of Rockstar Games and is a legendary creative mind behind Grand Theft Auto (GTA) and Red Dead Redemption series of video games.
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Transcript:
https://lexfridman.com/dan-houser-transcript

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EPISODE LINKS:
Absurd Adventures: https://absurdventures.com
A Better Paradise: https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0FCYSK8VD
American Caper: https://absurdventures.com/americancaper

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OUTLINE:
(00:00) – Introduction
(01:29) – Sponsors, Comments, and Reflections
(11:32) – Greatest films of all time
(23:45) – Making video games
(26:36) – GTA 3
(29:55) – Open world video games
(32:42) – Character creation
(36:09) – Superintelligent AI in A Better Paradise
(45:21) – Can LLMs write video games?
(49:41) – Creating GTA 4 and GTA 5
(1:01:16) – Hard work and Rockstar’s culture of excellence
(1:04:56) – GTA 6
(1:21:46) – Red Dead Redemption 2
(2:01:39) – DLCs for GTA and Red Dead Redemption
(2:07:58) – Leaving Rockstar Games
(2:17:22) – Greatest game of all time
(2:22:10) – Life lessons from father
(2:24:29) – Mortality
(2:41:47) – Advice for young people
(2:47:49) – Future of video games

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