I do not really play video games anymore. I think, for the most part, I grew out of them a few years back as the industry took a dramatic shift more into competitive online titles and attempting to rinse its players dry of their funds with constant additions to games that removed creativity and fun and took them hostage behind a paywall in the form of battle passes and endless DLC. Not to forget the dramatic increase in price for games, which just are never worth it going into adulthood, where funds are precious and very much needed in addressing the many challenges going forward.
Recent events had me sort of relapse, however. In search of a game to take me out of reality and place me into another world, fully aware that it would be a case of pure escapism and falling into hold habits. I used to play games pretty much all day and all night. I just can't do that anymore. I get bored a lot faster, and my mind is plagued with the guilt of not doing something more active and productive with my time. But as I said: recent events made an exception. I picked up Red Dead Redemption 2 during the final day of the Steam Summer Sale, still at a considerable cost, but the first game I have purchased in well over two years. I had played a bit of the game before in the past, but again, life took over and I moved on. I even deleted the title from my Steam library.
Though, most of my 97 hours of playtime are not from really playing through the game's story, and instead is a result of constant exploration. Admiring the world's design and incredible art direction, in pursuit of screenshots that seem appealing to me. Much like my time spent watching films: I am constantly looking for the moments that stand out to me the most. And Red Dead Redemption is filled with such moments. It really has been an incredible distraction so far. Where I have spent hours just riding around on a horse in the game, looking for composition, taking in the random events and nature alongside the game's really immersive weather conditions and lighting.
And it is through lighting that this game really flourishes. The shadows are so soft, the colours working together beautifully. Each area is like a small biome riddled with places to roam through, even if stray far off the path the game sets out for you through them, avoiding roads and certain objectives in the areas. I don't think I have ever played a game where I have spent such large amounts of time searching just for locations to appreciate.
Though sometimes the game's random events that unfold within its wild environment are also cinematic, strong in colour and theme. It's rare that I found myself taking screenshots of things that were not just landscapes, containing people, but sometimes I felt I had no choice but to attempt my own cinematic spin on things. I really like that the game's photography mode allows you to really roam and orbit around the environment, rather than simply taking a screenshot of whatever it is you see at that moment. I have found myself spending quite a few minutes just moving the camera, letting events unfold a little more, moving the camera again, in search of something to take. Even if I in the end take nothing.
It feels really liberating to have this mode allow you to ultimately take your own photographs in a way that tells their own stories, rather than just being context for whatever is taking place within the game as it sits on rails. It is possible to pretty much ignore the game's main theme and pursue areas of its world that are actually ignored for the most part. I found myself roaming through what I assumed was a florist's building that had nothing to actually do in or near the building. Perhaps later on in the game's story it might hold some significance, but if not, I like that the game led to my exploring of it still through this mode. And still, I find myself searching for imagery even in the game's most active locations.
This has led to me having quite a big question now: do other modern games have such an attention to detail in their worlds? Do they have such impressive weather cycles and lighting? Where mornings one day show fields coated in haze, and others show the tips of overgrowth lit by a golden glow of the morning sunrise. I don't think I will be buying more games, but perhaps something might just catch my attention enough after Red Dead Redemption 2. Especially if the game's world and story is actually interesting. I take a lot of time to photograph things, but I still somewhat play the game! I'm actually about 53% into the game so far.
Though I should also praise the fact that the game's beauty does not just stem from its ability to display excellent graphics and particle effects. It is also the fact that the world is full of life, showing various animals throughout its world both in the sky, in water, and on land. These animals roam through the locations and add to the exploration, encouraging you to enter the areas in search of something new. Where sometimes they even direct your attention, as seen in the second image in this post, where I followed an eagle into the sky to photograph the moment.
I have even been tempted to find ways to go beyond a photography mode and find ways to create more cinematic shots through movement. The game would certainly work in that regard, and it would be a ton of fun to use the game's events and themes in day and night to utilise cinematography and amplify the minor details of its world. I don't think that is an option, sadly. And I think I'll just have to continue taking these screenshots and exploring the world, appreciating just snippets of the moments that enter my vision.
Perhaps soon I'll have enough to write another post like this one; I know I'm not too far off from being able to do that.
The last image I'll admit I kind of cheated with: I took it duringa cutscene. But I liked it enough to screenshot it and use it as some inspiration of what to look for going foward, if I decide to find more ways to photograph the game's world with more of a focus on its nature. I think that area alone offers a plethora of creative potential, and it'll be something others have certainly done before.
Which does somewhat bring me to this last point: I am plagued in photography with the idea of taking photographs other people will take. In locations I know that others will have photographed endlessly. I've tried to avoid that in Red Dead Redemption, and at least offer something new. It has been a lot of fun, and such a great distraction from everything lately.
