Dan Houser: GTA, Red Dead Redemption, Rockstar, Absurd & Future of Gaming | Lex Fridman Podcast #484

Dan Houser is co-founder of Rockstar Games and 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-sb 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://lexfridman.com/s/box-ep484-sb *UPLIFT Desk:* Standing desks and office ergonomics. Go to https://lexfridman.com/s/uplift_desk-ep484-sb *CodeRabbit:* AI-powered code reviews. Go to https://lexfridman.com/s/coderabbit-ep484-sb *Miro:* Online collaborative whiteboard platform. Go to https://lexfridman.com/s/miro-ep484-sb *Lindy:* No-code AI agent builder. Go to https://lexfridman.com/s/lindy-ep484-sb *Shopify:* Sell stuff online. Go to https://lexfridman.com/s/shopify-ep484-sb *LMNT:* Zero-sugar electrolyte drink mix. Go to https://lexfridman.com/s/lmnt-ep484-sb *OUTLINE:* 0:00 - Episode highlight 1:17 - Introduction 3:03 - Greatest films of all time 15:16 - Making video games 18:07 - GTA 3 21:26 - Open world video games 24:13 - Character creation 27:40 - Superintelligent AI in A Better Paradise 36:52 - Can LLMs write video games? 41:12 - Creating GTA 4 and GTA 5 52:47 - Hard work and Rockstar's culture of excellence 56:27 - GTA 6 1:13:17 - Red Dead Redemption 2 1:53:10 - DLCs for GTA and Red Dead Redemption 1:59:29 - Leaving Rockstar Games 2:08:53 - Greatest game of all time 2:13:41 - Life lessons from father 2:15:59 - Mortality 2:33:18 - Advice for young people 2:39:20 - Future of video games *PODCAST LINKS:* - Podcast Website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast - Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr - Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8 - RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/ - Podcast Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOdP_8GztsuKi9nrraNbKKp4 - Clips Channel: https://www.youtube.com/lexclips *SOCIAL LINKS:* - X: https://x.com/lexfridman - Instagram: https://instagram.com/lexfridman - TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@lexfridman - LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/lexfridman - Facebook: https://facebook.com/lexfridman - Patreon: https://patreon.com/lexfridman - Telegram: https://t.me/lexfridman - Reddit: https://reddit.com/r/lexfridman