Rockstar Games is one of the most famous companies in the development of computer games today. It is this company that stands at the origins of the world famous GTA series, as well as a number of other projects in the creation of which the protagonist of this article, Dan Houser, took a direct part. If you have not heard this name, then this material will allow you to get to know one of the most influential people in the world of computer games, as well as trace the path he has traveled and the legacy he will leave behind. Who is Dan Houser? And what does he have to do with Rockstar Games?
Early years
Dan Houser was born in 1974 in London. He and his older brother Sam dreamed of becoming rock stars. They wanted to play at concerts and become famous all over the world, however, unfortunately, the dreams were not destined to come true as the brothers would like. At the age of 21, Dan took a job at BMG Interactive, where he was responsible for testing discs. However, quite quickly, Dan's other talent, as well as his brother, whom he brought with him, opened up for the company's management. It turns out that the young guys had a talent for writing, and they did an excellent job with the role.screenwriters and even producers. As a result, by 1998, when Dan was 24 and Sam was 26, the brothers were already working on their first game, a top-down arcade shooter where gamers had to steal cars, drive around a big city without any restrictions, complete story assignments or just arrange chaos on the streets. In 1999, the GTA game was released, which was the first step towards the incredible success of the Houser brothers. By that point, BMG Interactive had been sold to another larger game developer, but Dan Houser and his brother did not want to start over under new management - they moved to New York, where they quickly separated from the new company, organizing their own. The company was named Rockstar Games - as you can already understand, this is a reference to the dream of two brothers, which never came true - to become rock stars. But in the end, they became the stars of a completely different world.
GTA series
So, what have Sam, Dan Housers achieved in their lives? Since this article talks specifically about the younger brother, the main emphasis will be placed on him. Dan's most important achievement to date is his participation in the creation of the GTA series of games, which today is a cult. As you already know, Dan became the producer and writer of the first part of the game, but he did not stop there. He also produced the third part of the game at the very moment when, thanks to the transition to the three-dimensional world, the project became in fact a world masterpiece. In addition, Dan was a producerall additions to the third part. As for the activities as a screenwriter, in this case he was responsible for writing scripts for absolutely all parts of the game and additions to them, up to the fifth part, which was published in 2013. It is also worth noting that Dan Houser, whose biography is extremely rich, was not only a producer and screenwriter for the GTA game series - he also participated in the creation of the third part and additions to them as a voice actor.
X-Squad voice acting
Since we are talking about voice acting, it is worth noting another project, in which Dan Houser took part in the voice acting. Photos of the young talent had already begun to appear in various thematic magazines, but he wanted to realize himself at different levels. Therefore, he is listed among the voice actors for the 2000 game called X-Squad. However, immediately after that, Houser realized that his vocation was different, and came to grips with the GTA series, in particular, producing and writing scripts for projects that would then become legendary.
Side project
Don't think that Dan Hauser is known only for the GTA series. Rockstar Games is a company that has released many impressive computer games, and Dan was directly involved in the creation of many of them. Consider, for example, a 2002 project called Smuggler's Run 2. This is a racing game for which Hauser wrote the script and also acted as an executive during the creation process.producer. This is far from the most famous and successful game, but its example shows that Dan Houser was engaged not only in the games of the GTA series.
Bully
Until 2006, Hauser was engaged exclusively in the GTA series, which at that time needed special attention - this was its heyday. The third part was released, turning a high-quality arcade with a top-down view into a masterpiece shooter in 3D. But when work on the third part of the series and all the additions to it was completed, Dan wrote the script for another game that received serious popularity - Bully. This project tells about the life of school teenagers, and you have to become one of them - learn how to defend yourself from the attacks of malevolent hooligans and go through an incredibly exciting storyline, which was created by Dan Houser himself. He did not really like giving interviews, like his brother - most of the time they hid in the shadow of their own studio, refusing to recognize personal successes. But in the end, in 2009, they still ended up on the list of the hundred most influential people on earth. You can be humble, but you can't escape the truth - Dan has become one of the legendary characters in the history of computer game development.
Red Dead Redemption
The next project, in which Dan was directly involved, was the western Red Dead Redemption, designed exclusively for the PlayStation console. Again, from 2006 to 2010, he worked hard on the fourth part of the GTA series and additions to it,after which he immediately took on another major project. Once again, the Rockstar Games game received incredibly high ratings and universal recognition. Unlike the previous game, this time Dan was responsible not only for the script, but also for the production.
L. A. Noire
At that time, it became clear that the GTA series was on a break - there were even rumors that there would be no new parts. Dan started working on new projects - you already know about RDR, it was released in 2010. In 2011, another incredible game appeared that became a huge success - it was an adventure shooter L. A. noire. There you had to act as a detective investigating various cases. The script for this project was written by Brendan McNamara, Dan Hauser, in turn, fully focused on producing activities.
Max Payne 3
Dan worked tirelessly, and already in 2012, Rockstar released another game, in the creation of which Houser played a major role. The company bought the rights to continue the legendary shooter "Max Payne" and released the third part, which was very different from the previous two and caused a wave of criticism. Given the fact that Dan was responsible for both writing the script and producing, he took on many of the "bumps". But this did not stop him from further work.
Return of "GTA"
In 2013, everyone was in for a huge surprise - Rockstar released the fifth part of the legendary GTA series. And it was Dan Houser who wrote the script for it. Unlike Max Payne, this game wasreceived extremely positively. But three years have passed since then, and there are no new projects in which Hauser would have participated directly. This is partly due to the fact that for a long time the fifth part of the GTA series was being finalized - it was released first on consoles and only then separately on computers, then a multiplayer mode was added to it, and so on. But perhaps Hauser decided to take a break to find a new idea - and in the future he will delight gamers with new masterpieces.
