The True Aim of Red Dead 2 : Mental Slavery

During the month of Ramadhan, moslems fast fom 4 am to 6:15 pm , enduring hunger and thirst. There is a promise of forgiveness behind fasting on this month, but another form of promise is there, namely Ifthar, the fast break , where moslems can devour and drink as much as they can to satiate their surpressed desire during fasting. The promise of Iftar accompanies the fasting itself.There is a build-up and there is a pay-off.

Now imagine if you can build a system that is based solely upon build-up , but without any pay-off or a revelation at the end of an aimless journey , no oasis to satiate your thirst after a troubled struggle. That is Red Dead Redemption 2. A mere test of endurance without any meaning or absolution to it.

There is a certain confusion surrounding the beginning Red Dead 2 . The plot somewhat tells you to carry on with the gang leader's plan. Then you are told to go to certain points on the map riding on your horse to accomplish some objectives , over and over. The missions involving shooting really feel like Virtua Cop, an arcade game from the year 1994. Yet the game convinces you, through its graphical splendour, its ecosystems, thourgh finding out about its characters and their fates,its variety of landscapes and sceneries, that this is a world worth investing in, endure the dated,unimaginative game mechanics, endure the disastrous transportation mean of repetitive horse riding, endure the reloading of your saves over and over because auto-save ruins your game experience due to random robbery or assault,endure the incapability to run on the camp and its other confining mechanism. By then, the game already implants its deadly seed unto your brain, seed of unconditional obedience, a false hope of a big unveiling at the end of this excruciating journey. It's like Ramadhan , only without Ifthar at the end of it, only the demand of blind obedience and endurance.

This game ushers you unto authoritarian society , it neuters you into not questioning anything that the elite has been constructing for 2.5 millenias. Ever wonder why the liberals keep uttering the words racists, Nazis , homophobic ,transphobic, Islamophobic to everyone that oppose their world view in an attempt to humiliate those ? Same tactics as in Red Dead 2, promise of equality in Liberalism gives the same exact lure as Red Dead 2's graphical majesty and the vibrancy of its inhabitants, a lure to a non-existent grand finale , a world filled with happiness , and peace without any social, economical, hierarchical gap between its inhabitants, when in reality, it's universal mental slavery where you have no other choice but to obey.

@brag:

So......I guess that means you didn't like the game? lol

I love it! Definitely one of the best games I've ever played in recent years. I wouldn't be surprised if it wins Game of the Year.

I believe the OP is joking. I stopped reading after he mentioned "Ramadhan".

@nepu7supastar7:Finished it and the traded it in.

@lembu90: Why should i be ?

@brag:

If you're serious about your topic, then I think you're really over analyzing the game. I obviously can't convince you to like it but to blow the content out of proportion like this is just......lunacy. It's just a damn videogame about cowboys. You either like it or you don't. There's not much else to think about.

@brag:

How can someone have enough time to write this amount of drivelly nonsense.

If it’s a joke...didn’t need that amount of text.

It was funny after the first few lines.

@nepu7supastar7: The point is games shouldn't be made as tedious as possible, so that the least tedious part of a game can called fun. Even in RPgs, the act of buying weapons and amors, which can be considered tedium as it is just browsing a catalgue, is fun, because you get to realize your plan of buying a specific item after hours of collecting moneys and valuable items. That's why i called it mental conditioning, you shouldn't be conditioned to think that slogging through a game's myriads of tedium only then to find a shimmer of less tedium as fun.

I want whatever you're taking.... No way anybody in their right mind would describe their personal experiences of a video game with a post that includes Ramadan, Nazis, Liberals and mental slavery.

@brag:

Well, people interpret fun differently so your idea of fun isn't everyone else's. I know I had fun with RDR 2's tedious crap.

This game is like having a discussion about a movie like Inland Empire (or any other more unconventional movie)

-The movie is super slow.

-Yes I know I loved that.

-But the movie sacrifices the fun fact in order the convey a message.

-Yes I know I love that.

But other movies have faster pace and explosions.

-Yes I know I love that.

But...but... I feel like every movie must follow my exact expectations otherwise is shit.

-Yes I know I love that.

@brag: Maybe it's not for you, it is clearly a story heavy-openworld focused on extreme task-management. While dedicated Players have told me in the main GD thread that comes across as insulting (it's not) that is the aim of the game from what I've seen and read. That's also the reason I've decided not to check out RDR2, for how cumbersome the game is being described, with nothing that would make me overlook that structure.

However at least half the people being vocal on RDR2 are liking this pacing and gameplay-style for what it is, and is not our place to decide what Gamers should enjoy. Seems you equally didn't enjoy the messages/ stories presented either which is a big selling point for these games. So better to move on dood. It's not for everyone.

For those stating it's a joke? Possibly, but it's certainly not the first rant I've read regarding RDR2

Fans need to get off there saddle and embrace/ discuss valid criticism, instead of being adolescently dismissive.

Danny O'Dwyer, back when he was with Gamespot, explained the mechanic of waiting and then payout pretty well with Destiny. This is back when Gamespot actually did interesting articles about the importance of games and how it actually involves serious stuff, and was not just for advertising nonsense. I could not read most of your nonsense @brag but it seems that is where you were going with your introduction; fast, then reward. Play, then reward.

@RSM-HQ said:

@brag: Maybe it's not for you, it is clearly a story heavy-openworld focused on extreme task-management. While dedicated Players have told me in the main GD thread that comes across as insulting (it's not) that is the aim of the game from what I've seen and read. That's also the reason I've decided not to check out RDR2, for how cumbersome the game is being described, with nothing that would make me overlook that structure.

However at least half the people being vocal on RDR2 are liking this pacing and gameplay-style for what it is, and is not our place to decide what Gamers should enjoy. Seems you equally didn't enjoy the messages/ stories presented either which is a big selling point for these games. So better to move on dood. It's not for everyone.

For those stating it's a joke? Possibly, but it's certainly not the first rant I've read regarding RDR2

Fans need to get off there saddle and embrace/ discuss valid criticism, instead of being adolescently dismissive.

I feel that is the era we live in now. The era of the technically impressive but soulless game. "Yeah, but look at the open world! It's so alive!" and then what?

I can't finish Assassin's Creed: Odyssey because it has no soul, no anything. Get past the impressive game world and you're left with a bunch of tiny missions and a lackluster main quest.

I finished Destiny 2's story in <20 hours, but the game has no social aspect to it despite being an online game. Couldn't find a group when I que'd for group content, there's no general chat, no way to look for a clan; yet the game is, technically, pretty good.

Even Kingdom Come: Deliverance, a game I wanted to like so so so badly, suffers from the "technically good" paradox of not being good; they got the realism down, the large game world, the amazing visuals, and all that stuff...and yet, it's not that fun.

RDR2, like a lot of Rockstars games, are best played sporadically and over time... in my opinion of course. For instance, when I do play RDR2, I can play for 4-5 hours straight and not come back to it for days or even weeks.

Yes the controls aren't the very best but that has been the case for all Rockstar games. It seems the devs prefer realism over gameplay in a lot of ways which effects the controls. For instance, there's no human or animal that can turn on a dime, or go from standing to a full on sprint in no time at all. This is how the characters and horses move in game.... with weight and momentum. Even with aiming, everything was done to be relatively realistic but it seemed the developers knew that this would be a challenge which is why the aim assist is insane in this game. So by that token, yes there's a certain amount of acclimating you have to do to a Rockstar game but that doesn't detract from the experience as it is just that... an experience. The "payoff" as highly subjective. As it stands now, I have yet to be disappointed in a game conclusion from them

@mrbojangles25:

"Yeah, but look at the open world! It's so alive!" and then what?

I see what you're going with but you may have misunderstood_

Now I'm not the biggest fan of open worlds; but what I was more getting at is the blind bias I've seen for RDR2 isn't productive for gaming conversations. It maybe a small vocal sum, yet they seem to be heavily against any form of criticism. Reminds me of The Last of Us fans we had on GD years ago.

Monster Hunter: World is a game I've mentioned many times this year, and probably the only person in GD who hyped it before launch. I'm openly a MH fanboi, and have been for many years. However I'm someone who also gave a list of things downright don't like in the game around launch. And more recently gave a list of things not to my liking with the P.C. port as well, some exclusive to the port and others reoccurring. Yet it's my GotY 2018_

It helps to take a step back and be accepting to a games flaws even if one plays it a lot, seeing both sides makes the Player appreciate what it does right. Games can be flawed and still enjoyable.

Even Kingdom Come: Deliverance, a game I wanted to like so so so badly, suffers from the "technically good" paradox of not being good; they got the realism down, the large game world, the amazing visuals, and all that stuff...and yet, it's not that fun.

And this is a perfect example, you put away your want to like a product and view what it is. I've been considering Kingdom Come a few times. It looked interesting, and read the combat is pretty good. Avoided it due to all the reported bugs.

@RSM-HQ:

The story from Arthur being kidnapped by O Driscolls is the least tedious part of the game that i was talking about, but then again, that's like chapter 3,in form of cutscenes. You can not even say the game picks up from there, because the game mechanics,with which you spend the most of the time, remain the same. The stuff with The Deer comes off as laughable . The ride to Shady Belle after you arrived from Guarma accompanied by a Soul song also comes off as artificial. They ask us to endure all these torments for these bursts of pompous, out-of-place cutscenes and horse riding scene ?

@brag: I know you wasn't joking but using "Ramadhan" as analogy not going to work when you can think better terms.

Yes, I've most certainly been "implanted" with unconditional obedience by a game through such deceptive subtlety of game superficialities to make me endure the unfathomable horrors of deeper antiquated developmental and design incompetencies and redundancies. My eyes are now open.

Sorry, I have to believe this is a troll post, especially due to the appeals to religious practices and tendencies towards authoritarianism. But thanks for the laugh TC regardless.

@brag:

The story from Arthur being kidnapped by O Driscolls is the least tedious part of the game that i was talking about, but then again, that's like chapter 3,in form of cutscenes.

Really couldn't care for the story myself. It's an acquired taste, I'm just aware many who buy Rockstar games expect them to deliver on a well told story. If it wasn't to your taste, that's probably a reason to bow-out. Seems you already did however if you traded RDR2; I'm surprised the upcoming online modes didn't make you keep it a few weeks longer honestly. It's not as though the return value will change that much in the span of half a month_

You can not even say the game picks up from there, because the game mechanics,with which you spend the most of the time, remain the same.

Game mechanics don't need to change to keep the game engaging, they do however need to give players options to be more creative with the tools they have if the game wants to remove a layer of repetitive game design.

Not read one message claim it does the above though. If it's wearing thin for you that's a shame.