KananHejmanowski
English2367.08
Dr GuySpriggs
31October2025
TheWaitingGame:FastTravelandImmersionin Red Dead Redemption II
Red Dead Redemption II isaslowgame.Completingthemainstorylinealonerequiresan impressive50-60hoursonaverage.Thatnumbergoesupto90hoursforamoreimmersive experience,andsomeplayersreportover190hoursofplayexhaustingallstorylinesandside quests.WhileIfirmlybelievethatthepacingof Red Dead Redemption II (RDR2)isanimportant narrativetoolthatenhancesboththestorytellingelementsofthegameandplayerimmersion,not allplayerswouldagreewithme.Criticsofthegamegoasfarastocondemntheslowpacingof thegame,arguingthatithindersplayerenjoymentratherthanenhancingit.
Tobegin,Ibelieveitisimportanttodefinewhat“slowgameplay”meansinthecontext ofitsuseinthispaper. RDR2 utilizesfrequentactionanimations,andinfact,nearlyeverything thatArthur,theprotagonistandthemainplayercharacter,does,triggersananimation.John VanderhoefandThomasPayne,authorsof“PressXtoWait:TheCulturalPoliticsofSlowGame Timein Read Dead Redemption 2”describethisasamethodofincorporating“representational temporality”(VanderhoefandPayne2022)intothegame.Inotherwords,bytyingin-game actionstoanimations,thegamealsotiestheseactionstotheauthenticpassageoftime.Because timeactuallypassesfortheplayerastheanimationplays,itevokesthefeelingofwaitingfor timetopassduringarealworldactivity.SimilarconceptsalsoincludeArthurridingahorseto mostlocationsduringearlygameplay,sidequesttimingandanimation(suchascookingand gambling),trackinganimalsthattheplayerisattemptingtohunt,andthelengthofthemain
storylineitself.Whenthispaperreferstoslowgameplay,itisinreferencetotheexperienceof timethataplayerhasduetothiscollectionoffeatures,whichisgreatlyextended.
Aspreviouslystated,Ifirmlybelievethatthepacingofthegameisafeaturethataddsto thegameplayandimmersionratherthandetractsfromit. RDR2 isagamethatemphasizesits narrativeelementsandhasastrongcentraltheme:thefutilityofameritocracy.Allowingaplayer toskipthroughthemainstorylinewithexcessivefasttravel,skippablecutscenes,orother gameplayelementsfoundinfasterpacedgamesthatarecommonlycomparedto RDR2 would underminethattheme.Similarly,thegameplacesagreatdealofemphasisonimmersionintothe wildwest. RDR2 takesplaceprimarilyduringtheyear1899,andthemapcoversawhopping29 squaremilesofvariousstatesandlandscapes.Eachsectionofthemapismeticulouslyand beautifullyanimatedtocreatecohesionbetweenthebiomesandincreaseplayerinteractionwith gameelements.Fortheentirefirstchapterofthegameandpartofthesecond,theonlyoptions fortransportationarebyfootorbyhorseback,whichisanelementthatslowsthepaceofthe gameconsiderably.However,recallthatthegameissetin1899,withmodesoftravelsuchas carsandplanescomingtopopularitymuchlater.Whilemanygamesutilizeafade-to-blackor fasttraveloptionfortheirentirety,thatoptionisnotunlockedin RDR2 untilalmostathirdofthe waythroughthemainstoryline.Thismeansthattheplayerspendsasignificantamountoftime simplyridingthroughvariouspartsofthemap,abletoseevegetation,animals,andNPCs. Almostalloftheseelementscanbeinteractive,andoneofmypersonalfavoriteelements includedbythedevelopersisthateverysingleNPChasdialogueandaninteractionoption. Similarly,theplayerhastomaintainArthur’shealthandweightthroughoutthegame,themost effectivewaytodosobeingcookingusingmaterialsthattheplayeralsocollects.Allofthese elements,fromthetraveltothelandscapetothecharactermaintenancecreatearemarkably
effectiveandevocativeexperienceiftheplayerislookingforit.Intentionallysubvertingthese mechanicsdetractssignificantlyfromthegameitself,reducingittoasortofoutlawsimulator andcompromisingitsnarrativeintegrity
Noteveryoneagreeswithmypersonalviewsasoutlinedabove.Infact,thereisalarge subsetofpeoplewhovehementlydisagree.Somecritics,suchasMattLeslie,authorofthe article“RedDeadRedemption2’sSuperficialBeautyExposestheUglinessofVideogames”for Medium,isonesuchcontrarian.Leslie’smaincriticismofthegameisitsslowpacing,whichhe referstoas“exhaustingtoplay”(Leslie2018).Healsomakestheclaimthatthepacingofthe gameleavestheplayerfeelingboredandunsatisfied,breakingimmersionratherthan strengtheningit.Thearticleaddressesseveraloftheelementsofthegame,withthepacingand immersivetechniquesbeingLeslie’smaincritiquesof RDR2 Ofthepacing,hesaysthatthe game“dragsoutitsclimaxinawaythatgoesbeyondcarefulpacing”(Leslie2018)andthen goesontodismissinasinglesentencethevalueofcertainmissionsandscenestothenarration andthemesofthegame.Hismainconcernisthatthegameislongjusttobelong,whichis wherewebegintotrulydisagree.Thematically,LeslieandIhaveadifferenceofopinionwhenit comestowhatthe“point”of RDR2 isandhowitmakesthatpoint.Themainthemeofthegame, aspreviouslydiscussed,isthefutilityofameritocracy RDR2 includesamechanicwhereArthur has“honor”thatcangoupordowndependingonwhichactionstheplayerchoosestoundertake. Whilethehonorsystemdoesimpacttheendofthegame,thereisonemajoraspectthatno amountofplayereffortcanchange.Arthurwilldie.Youastheplayercannotchangethisthrough anyamountofgooddeedsorbaddeeds.Youcanhelpasmanycharactersasyouwant,but Arthurwillstilldie.Andhewilldieanoutlaw,evenifhediesasanoutlawwithhighhonor.
Narratively,allowingtheplayertomake40+hoursworthofchoicesbeforethatpointisdeeply important,asithighlightstherelationshipbetweenagencyandhistoryinthegame.
Similarly,itisnotasthoughtheplayerspendsallofthattimeonahorsesimplyriding fromlocationtolocation.Thereareanabundanceofsidequeststoprogresson,componentsto collect,andNPCstointeractwithbetweenorduringmainchapterquests.Whatdoesdeviate fromthevideogame“norm”,ifthereissuchathing,isthatthereisalackofproductivityinthe mainstoryduringthesesortoftransitions.Inthe“PressXtoWait”article,Vanderhoefand Paynediscusstheeffectsofthemodernemphasisonproductivityinlifeinrecreation.Itmayfeel painfultotravel,interactwithNPCs,andgenerallymoveataslowerpacein-gamebecauseof “thesameimpulsestotransformproductivityintoplayandplayintoproductivity”(Vanderhoef andPayne2022)indailylife.Essentially,playersandpeopleenjoyfeelingproductiveand gettingaccomplishmentsingames,becausemodernsocietyhaswiredustorespondpositivelyto thatreinforcement.Incontrast,thismakesmovingataslowerpacefeelslowerthanitis—but alsomakesitmoreimportanttodo.Removingproductivityfromsomeaspectsofplayisan importantexercisethatnotonlyallowsthemindtodecompress,butisalsoanimportant narrativeelementin RDR2
AnotheraspectofthegamewhereLeslieandIcometoaheadistheimmersiveelements. IfIamplayingagamewherepartoftheplotrevolvesaroundthegamebeingsetinanothertime period,andparticularlysuchadistinctiveone,Idoexpectthatthedevelopershaveputsome effortintoimmersingtheplayerintothatperiod.Onthis,LeslieandIagree.However,he believesthatthegame“givesup”(Leslie2018)eventually.Inthecontextofthisquote specifically,heisreferringtotheunlockablefasttravelfeature.Thein-gamemapspans29miles, andatacertainpoint,playersdounlocktheabilitytofasttravelfromlocationtolocation.
However,thisisnotthegamegivingupitself,norgivingupanything,really.Alsoaboutthe travelfeature,Lesliesaysthat RDR2 “makescommutestomissionssoobnoxiouslylongitfeels likeapunishmentnottouse[fasttravel]”(Leslie2018).Whiletheaverageamountoftimefrom theedgeofthemaptotheedgeofthemaponhorsebackisonly16minutes,thatisstillexactly whythereisafasttravelfeature.Idonotthinkthatmeansthat“thegame’slittledetailsand intentionsdon’tlineup”(Leslie2018),ashesaysinreferencetoimmersionandtherealityof beinganoutlawinthewildwest.Thereisanincredibleamountofthoughtgiventothegame’s adhesiontotherealityofthatlife,donesothroughtheanimation,thedetails,andtherestrictions placedonArthurastheplayercharacter.Allofthatbeingsaid, RDR2 isstillavideogamewitha cohesivestorylineandaplot,characters,andworldthattheywanttheplayertointeractwithand complete.Thisiswhytheplayerunlocksfasttravel,whytheweaponstheypickupare automaticallytransferredtotheirhorse,andwhytheycanteleporttheirhorsetothematany moment,whichareallelementsthatLeslienotesinhisarticleasexamplesofthegamegivingup onrealisticgameplay.However,asVanderhoefandPaynenote,“theobscuredfasttravelsystem thatisincluded[…]isgatedbehindstorymissionsandoptionalcampupgrades;meaningthat someplayerswillneverdiscoverormakeuseofit”(VanderhoefandPayne2022).
Lesliealsoarguesinhisarticleboththatthepacingofthegamebytravelisfartooslow, despiteedge-to-edgetravelofthemaptakingmerely16minutesbyhorse,andthatthefasttravel optionbreaksimmersion,whichseemtobeopposingarguments.Itisillogicaltosaythatthe travelspeedistooslowandyettoalsobeupsetabouttheinclusionofafeaturethatmakestravel faster,afeaturethatnoteveryplayerwillevenencounter.Evenifitwerethecasethatfasttravel wasavailabletoeveryplayer,thereareaplethoraofotherimmersiveelementsthathaveno shortcut.TheplayerstillneedstotakecareofArthurbyfeedinghimandtreatinghisinjuries,as
wellascaringforhishorse,collectingcomponentsformissionsandrecipes,speakingto townspeople,andsoforth.Theelementsincludedforplayereaseareincludedbecause RDR2 is stillavideogame,andslowingdownthetimingbybothhavingthegamebeentirelyaccurateto thewildwestandnarrativelysolidwouldmakeittakewhatmaybeatrulyunplayableamountof time.EventheotherelementsthatLeslienotes,suchasweaponsthattheplayerpicksupbeing automaticallyteleportedtotheirhorse,havemitigations.Playersmustpickandchoosewhatfits ontheirpersonandintheirsaddlebagswithahigherdegreeofrestriction,evenifsomethingthey pickupgetsteleportedthere,theymayendupneedingtodropit.Leslieseemstohave conflictingideasofwhata“perfect”versionof RDR2 lookslike,consideringthathetakesissue withboththepacingofthegameandtheinclusionofelementsthatspeedupthepacingbutmay requiresomeplayersuspensionofdisbelief.
Idonotbelievethataperfectvideogamehaseverbeenmade,nordoIbelievethatit everwillbemade.However,IbelievethatLeslie’sarticleisfullofcontradictionsand misrepresentationsofthegame.Hecannotseemtodecidewhataspectsofgaming,oreven aspectsof Red Dead Redemption II aremostimportanttohimormostworthyofpreservation, andhedescribesin-gametravelwithoutthefasttraveloptionas“punishment”,despitethemap takingamere15-20minutestotraversefully,andnogamemissionrequiresthatkindoftravel withoutotherstopsorbreaksforactionalongtheway.Whilethereisalotoftravel,itisbroken upandthegameisentirelyplayableonhorseback,orbyutilizingthecoachortrainoptions, whichLesliefailstomention.Itisaslowgame.Itisan intentionally slowgame. Red Dead Redemption II forcingitsplayerstoslowdown,interact,andtrulyliveasArthurMorganisa featurethataddstoastrongnarrative,strongcharacters,andimmersivegameplay.
Bibliography
Leslie,Matt.“RedDeadRedemption2’sSuperficialBeautyExposestheUglinessof Videogames.” Medium,Medium,23Nov.2018, lesmocon.medium.com/red-dead-redemption-2s-superficial-beauty-exposes-the-ugliness-of-vide ogames-1c4d4e80c670.
Vanderhoef,John,andMatthewThomasPayne.“PressXtoWait:TheCulturalPoliticsofSlow GameTimeinRedDeadRedemption2.” Game Studies,vol.22,no.3,Aug.2022.