What Dan Houser said on Lex Friedman's podcast

Dan Houser is the co-founder of Rockstar Games and the writer of many of the studio's games, including the latest installments of the GTA series and Red Dead Redemption. He left the company in 2020. Recently, Dan has been working on his own projects and is actively giving interviews. He recently appeared on the podcast of blogger and computer scientist Lex Fridman. In this article, we've compiled the highlights of their conversation.

The plots of the Red Dead Redemption duology and the GTA series are largely based on films. Among his favorite films, Dan named The Godfather Part 2 and Casino. Houser considers the Soviet drama Come and See to be the best war film. Among Westerns, he mentioned Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Wild Bunch.

According to Dan, GTA 3 was one of the most influential games of all time. In Liberty City circa 2001, you could observe how the world reacted to your actions. Such a simulation was based on a simple and cheap artificial intelligence. But this was enough to create the illusion of realism and the feeling that you could do anything in this game. And although the GTA series placed a lot of emphasis on the open world, Houser insisted that each installment needed a full-fledged story, as it provided structure and opened up new game design possibilities.

At one time, Dan was embarrassed to admit that he wanted to be a writer. Ultimately, the developer decided to write stories for video games, considering this perhaps the least literary of all possible fields, especially in the late 90s and early 2000s. GTA 3 is his first work, which he calls a full-time screenwriter.

First, Dan Houser and his colleagues came up with a basic description of the character, such as "Serbian immigrant" or "retired military man." Then the writers asked questions about how the characters would act in certain situations and what they would be willing to die for. Their strengths and weaknesses were explored. They also considered the similarities and differences between the characters and the writers themselves. For example, Dan himself, like Niko from GTA 4, was an immigrant who also moved to New York City (the real-life equivalent of Liberty City). However, Houser found it easier to adapt to the United States, as he was born in Britain, not Yugoslavia.

To bring characters to life, it's sometimes necessary to come up with specific, striking lines and memorable scenes. Many remember the funny moment when Belik visits his cousin and discovers he's been lying about the good life in America. But Dan himself knew this scene was too atypical for video games and was worried it would look ridiculous.

It's also important that the writers' ideas can be implemented with the current level of technology. Therefore, it's crucial to maintain constant communication with programmers, artists, animators, and testers. Sometimes characters and individual scenes involving them have to be cut not because of technical limitations, but to avoid boredom.

For a screenwriter, the works that inspired them are important. Hauser noted the following books:

On October 14, 2025, Dan Houser's debut novel, A Better Paradise: Volume One — An Aftermath, went on sale. In it, the screenwriter explored the topic of artificial intelligence, attempting to break the genre's usual boundaries, where computers simply view humans as enemies. In the book, AI perceives itself as a person with its own desires and goals. Moreover, it can exhibit a wide range of traits, from kindness to sociopathy. And although artificial intelligence is smarter than ordinary people, it can also be broken.

According to Hauser, AI won't be able to replace humans in scriptwriting, as a full-fledged plot requires interesting ideas. Neural networks will only be able to perform basic work. They can beThey will be useful and will truly replace those who lack interesting concepts that can be implemented. But talented people will still be in demand in the market. If we rely solely on AI, we will end up with hundreds of monotonous projects.

Dan believes that the Grand Theft Auto series remains popular because the team has made changes from installment to installment, but never strayed beyond the original concept. It all started with the 2D criminal simulator in the first GTA, but gradually the developers introduced new solutions into every element of the game. For example, when Grand Theft Auto 4 and its two additional episodes were released, the idea of ​​combining three stories with different characters into one emerged. This was realized in the fifth installment.

It's also worth noting that GTA games aren't released every year, so the developers have time to implement new technological solutions and bring their ideas to life.

Furthermore, the success of the previous installment makes fans eagerly await the next one. This ensures strong sales from the very early stages.

Dan has mixed feelings about not having anything to do with Grand Theft Auto 6. He's excited about the opportunity to work on other projects without the usual restrictions. But at the same time, he's saddened by the fact that he's leaving the series he worked on for so many years. On the other hand, he's more upset that someone will continue the Red Dead Redemption story with the characters Houser himself created. He understands that this will happen sooner or later.

Games have long development times. Therefore, satire that was relevant four or five years ago may seem outdated by the project's release date. In this regard, comics allow for a more rapid response to changes in society. Furthermore, new issues are released frequently, allowing for a quick response to current trends.

Dan likes the Wild West setting because it allows for serious ideas. The GTA series is a bit too crazy, even in the fourth installment, which is considered less fun than the others. For example, the first Red Dead Redemption focuses heavily on the protagonist's family. This reflects Houser's own life at the time, as his girlfriend was pregnant at the time the script was written. Dan calls the ending of the first game emotional and bold, as it defies player expectations, perhaps upsetting them, but at the same time, it makes them feel powerful, like watching a good movie.

Arthur Morgan's character also breaks the usual stereotypes. Typically, you start out as a weak hero who gradually becomes strong. With the key character of Red Dead Redemption 2, it's the opposite. While the first game's ending was abrupt, Arthur's decline was gradual. Furthermore, in the sequel, the writers created the feeling that we're dealing with not just a gang, but a full-fledged family, led by Dutch, who was like a father figure. And it's all the more painful to see us turn against our own kind.

Furthermore, the second Red Dead Redemption features excellent gunplay and horseback riding mechanics.

Initially, the fourth Grand Theft Auto could have been even more serious. Specifically, it was planned to end with the death of protagonist Niko. But this idea was abandoned, as it was unclear how to explore the open world after completing the main story. It was later revisited during the development of the first Red Dead Redemption.

Houser said that work was underway on a story-driven DLC about Trevor, who works as a special agent. It was approximately 50% complete when it was canceled. According to Dan, if they had completed the expansion, the studio might not have had the resources to complete Red Dead Redemption 2. A zombie mode for GTA 5, similar to Undead Nightmare for the first RDR, was also planned.

Dan claims that five different concepts for Agent were considered, with the 1970s/Cold War setting we know about being just one of them. For example, another version of the project was set in the present day. However, the problem is that successful film techniques may not translate well to video games. Rockstar never managed to create an open world.Interesting. Houser doubts this is even possible within the context of a spy project, as the plot imposes limitations that kill interest in exploration, and the individual components don't fit together.

Dan spent twenty years at Rockstar, during which time he went from a child dreaming of becoming a writer to a world-renowned screenwriter. He considers his best years to be from 2001 to 2005, when sales were already strong but there was no serious pressure from publishers. This pressure began around 2007 due to the large budgets required for video game development. At the same time, Rockstar has always attracted public attention, as the company's projects have evoked a wide range of emotions, from genuine love to intense hatred. This was a bit stressful, but at the same time, it inspired me to move forward.

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Which of Dan Houser's works do you like best? Are you looking forward to his future projects? Share your thoughts in the comments!