Dan Houserco-founder of Rockstar Games and one of the key creative minds behind the game’s first five chapters Grand Theft Auto SeriesHe is starting a new phase of his career through Absurd Ventures, a company founded in 2023 dedicated to developing new narrative and video game projects. Among the studio’s first games will also be a specific open-world game with a comic book background, but Houser decided to take a rather unusual approach to preparing the project: Avoid playing other contemporary open world gamesinclude grand theft auto 6.
Two games are in development
In an interview with Variety’s Strictly Business podcast on October 2, Houser showcases two video games currently in development at Absurd Ventures. The first is described as “a comedic open-world game that tries to really focus on comedy and character memory”, while the second will be “a dystopian sci-fi story about video game development gone horribly wrong and a wayward artificial intelligence gaining consciousness”.
The open world project has been decided absurd universethe narrative universe created by Hauser’s new company, will inevitably draw comparisons to series like Grand Theft Auto or Saints Row due to its characteristics. However, it is for this reason that the author explains that he does not like to play works belonging to the same genre.
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“When I play it, I can analyze the team’s strengths and weaknesses almost instantly, which distracts me from the game,” Hauser explained. “I kept thinking, ‘Their animation team is weak, but I think this element of game design is great.'” Or, “I can just imagine the meeting where they discussed this feature.” ‘”
Hauser believes this attitude stems from his character as well. “I’m not a game designer; some kind of creative director. So, frankly, I’m always trying to find new things that have never been done before, or things that can be borrowed from old media. “
DodgeGTA 6
The same logic leads him to avoid even Grand Theft Auto 6 Promotional Materials. Although Houser has worked on the series, he chose not to watch Rockstar’s gameplay demo of the new chapter precisely to avoid the work of other developers affecting his work with Absurd Ventures. The goal, he explains, is to “avoid things that might distract me or interrupt my creative process.”
This situation is especially strange considering that one of Hauser’s new projects is in the same genre that made him famous. Therefore, the choice not to deal directly with the modern open world comes from a desire to maintain a certain environment. Creative distance and looking for ideas that are more than just redesigns of already integrated formulas.
Currently, neither of Absurd Ventures’ games have been officially announced and don’t have a release window. However, Houser expects them to arrive in the Absurdaverse open-world game “More information in the coming months”.
