Dan Houser Brought a Seismic Shift to Gaming Before Neil Druckmann Made it Mainstream

Dan Houser was one of the main men behind legendary franchises like Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption. He was the co-founder of Rockstar Games until 2020. Along with him, Jeffrey “Lazlow” Jones served as both an architect and a star of Grand Theft Auto.

As a writer, actor, and producer on and within the games, he made a name for himself over two decades as a key senior member of a global development team that produced some of the most popular entertainment ever made. In the process of making these iconic games, Houser was the pioneer of a unique trope, Jones revealed.

Protagonists in Video Games Die Too, That’s How Dan Houser Made a Revolution

Consider how Trevor is introduced in Grand Theft Auto 5, where he kills GTA 4 protagonist, Johnny Klebitz, by curb-stomping him to death and snuffing him out as if it were nothing. That story is dead, stomped, and over.

This is something new; it’s a bloody bootprint now. Even though it reveals a lot about Trevor’s personality, it is a violent declaration of intent. Talking about this unusual path in gaming, this is what Jones had to tell about Houser (via MEN’S JOURNAL):

[Houser] takes the path you’re not used to, and that’s uncomfortable at first. There’s no way to ‘win.’ We were so used to this trope of the video game where you defeat the big boss at the end. There were grown men crying their eyes out when Marston got killed.

Needless to say, we all have seen how John Marston, the main protagonist of Red Dead Redemption, slowly dies of TB in its sequel. This might be pretty painful, but these tragic scenarios were the actual beauty of Rockstar Games.

When you hear about this unusual trope, Neil Druckmann’s The Last of Us might pop into your head. Joel and Sam, two of the most popular playable characters, died in the series. Joel’s death came in Part II, but his end could have come in Part I.

Joel’s Death in The Last of Us Part II

Joel Miller is a playable protagonist in The Last of Us Part I and a supporting character in Part II. Despite starting the story as smuggling Ellie, he eventually went on to make a strong bond with her. In TLOU Part II, when Joel and Tommy went out on patrol, they were swept over by a blizzard.

After that, they were saved by none other than Abby Anderson, whose father, Jerry Anderson, was killed by Joel himself. After she found out that it was her father’s killer, vengeful Abby went on to beat Joel with a golf club until his death. She smacked the head of Joel to finally kill him, that too in front of Ellie, who was pinned down to the floor by her men.

You might think it was Druckmann who introduced this tragic trope in video games. But actually, it was Houser. His contribution to the world of gaming is immense. After leaving the huge company in 2020, Houser is eying to build the same legacy with Jones with their new startup called Absurd Ventures, where they can explore new areas of storytelling and genres.

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