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Lex Fridman Podcast

#484 – Dan Houser: GTA, Red Dead Redemption, Rockstar, Absurd & Future of Gaming

10/31/20252 hr 54 min

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. Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep484-sc See below for timestamps, transcript, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc. Transcript: https://lexfridman.com/dan-houser-transcript CONTACT LEX: Feedback - give feedback to Lex: https://lexfridman.com/survey AMA - submit questions, videos or call-in: https://lexfridman.com/ama Hiring - join our team: https://lexfridman.com/hiring Other - other ways to get in touch: https://lexfridman.com/contact EPISODE LINKS: Absurd Adventures: https://absurdventures.com A Better Paradise: https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0FCYSK8VD American Caper: https://absurdventures.com/americancaper SPONSORS: To support this podcast, check out our sponsors & get discounts: Box: Intelligent content management platform. Go to https://box.com/ai UPLIFT Desk: Standing desks and office ergonomics. Go to https://upliftdesk.com/lex CodeRabbit: AI-powered code reviews. Go to https://coderabbit.ai/lex Miro: Online collaborative whiteboard platform. Go to https://miro.com/ Lindy: No-code AI agent builder. Go to https://go.lindy.ai/lex Shopify: Sell stuff online. Go to https://shopify.com/lex LMNT: Zero-sugar electrolyte drink mix. Go to https://drinkLMNT.com/lex 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 PODCAST LINKS:

Clips

Gavin's Fate Revealed
Killing Marston Was A Gamble
Love The Bad Bits
Building 360-Degree Characters
Introducing The Absurdiverse
Why Agent Never Happened

Transcript preview

First 90 seconds

  1. Lex Fridman· Host0:00

    The following is a conversation with Dan Houser, a legendary video game creator, co-founder of Rockstar Games, and the creative force behind Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption series, which includes some of the best-selling games of all time and some of the greatest games of all time. Both Red Dead Redemption 1 and 2 have some of the deepest, most complex, and heart-wrenching characters and storylines ever created in video games. Dan has started a new company, Absurd Ventures, great name, that is creating some, uh, incredible new worlds in multiple forms including books, comic books, audio series, and yes, video games. That includes A Better Paradise, which is a dystopian near-future world with a super intelligent AI, American Caper, which is an insanely chaotic, violent, dark, satirical world, and Absurdiverse, which is a comedic action adventure world. I'm excited to explore all three of these. I have spent hundreds of hours in worlds that Dan has helped create, so this conversation was an incredible honor for me. And on top of that, Dan and I talked a lot after and in the days since, and he has been just a wonderful human being. I'm just at a loss of words. I feel like the luckiest kid in the world. And now

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