Red Dead 3: 5 Things We Want to See

4. Ranching Mechanics

This idea is one I thought of months ago, and it is the real reason I wrote this article. One of the most basic yet satisfying parts of Red Dead Redemption was the final 9 missions of the game, which saw you attempting to salvage John and Abigail's ranch to start their new life. Although the tasks were menial and less than challenging, they were still some of the highlights of the game, for me at least, thanks in no small part to the dynamic between John, Jack, Abi and Uncle. I feel that there is a hidden potential here: let's say that RD3 allows us to buy properties around the game world: we can then build a house, Hearthfire style, adding and designing rooms as we see fit. We can have a small family home, or one like Ridgewood Farm where many strangers all stay together, boarding essentially. From there, we can put in cattle, horses, more houses, shops, invest money into building our own farm to our own specs and whenever we want. We could manually manage crops and staff, or hire someone to do it, for a fee of course, which could be a source of income and make the world feel reactive and ever changing, and could also give a wonderful sense of satisfaction from seeing your own economy grow. The possibilities are endless. The addition of this form of gameplay could have major implications: hunting feral animals like wolves would protect your livestock, which you would also need to take out to pasture, building on the herding mechanics of Red Dead Redemption. Weather could affect your crop growth, as would the chosen location of your farm - want to have a thriving potato farm? Probably best not to buy a plot in the snow then. And best of all for those gamers who like to play God: prisoners in your town would be subject to your laws and punishments, as you control your own slice of the land and everything that happens in it, and it serves as your own home and base of operations.