Why I Love... Rockstar's Social Interactions

You should, of course, never talk to strangers. Unless it’s in a Rockstar game, in which case chat away!

- Chris Burke

I have to confess that I’m a bit of a super-fan of Rockstar’s games. That the company’s games play fantastically well, have brilliant themes and are presented so stylishly, is obvious. But my favourite moments in any Rockstar game are all to do with the dialogue.

Rockstar is always so very strong on characterisation that, even going back to beginning of GTA, its games always contain delicious scripting. There is so much quotable scripted dialogue in Red Dead Redemption II that we could fill this entire issue of OXM just with those gems. However, it’s the more incidental moments of chatter that really impress. With a massive voice cast and 12,000 lines of dialogue seemingly for every named character, everyone’s got something unique and funny to say. The game is packed with chatty non-named NPCs too, from farm-hands having their own hilarious conversations to the bloke looking for his mate, Gavin. I absolutely have to go and check out a flashing ‘Stranger’ blip, just to witness a little bonus nugget of NPC dialogue, even if it has nothing to do with Arthur.