Arthur Morgan Was Meant To Be Uglier In Red Dead Redemption 2, And Everyone Is Convinced He Wouldn’t Be As Iconic
George is the Lead News Editor for TheGamer and an advocate for wearing Psychonauts goggles whenever possible. He tries, bless him.
Red Dead Redemption 2 fans are discussing what the game would have been like with Arthur’s “ugly” concept art design, and pretty much everyone agrees he would have been nowhere near as popular.
When it comes to gaming protagonists, there are few who are as universally beloved as Red Dead Redemption 2’s Arthur Morgan. Although everyone originally assumed he would never be able to live up to the great John Marston, Morgan’s humanity, quick wit, and excellent portrayal by Roger Clark ended up putting him far above the original gunslinger.
There’s a lot to love about Arthur Morgan but, judging by the endless thirst posts and tribute videos I still see of him, his handsome face and classic cowboy charms are a big part of it. That wasn’t always going to be the case, though, and fans are now wondering what the response to Arthur would have been if he weren’t such a beautiful brick house.
Red Dead Redemption 2 Fans Are Trying To Imagine The Game With Arthur s Ugly Concept Design
And Yes, He Does Look Like Landon Ricketts
If you’re a fan of Rockstar, then you probably know that it tends to change up the design of its lead characters during development. Niko Bellic once had a truly awful haircut, Michael de Santa was originally going to be a bit older, and even Arthur Morgan looked a little less rugged and fleshed out in his beta appearance. Well, it was almost a lot more different.
To this day, Red Dead Redemption’s final chapter unnerves me more than most horror games.
Concept art for Red Dead Redemption 2 shows that Arthur was originally going to be a lot skinnier and, frankly, uglier than the handsome cowboy we ended up getting. This has been highlighted before, but Redditor Matt-the-Monkey recently brought “Ugly Arthur” back up again on the Red Dead Redemption subreddit, and asked fans if they thought he’d still be as popular with that design.
While a good deal of the replies are pointing out how eerily similar Arthur looks to Landon Ricketts, there’s some decent debate about Arthur’s concept look and the impact it would have had on the game. Redditor no_sight thinks that Arthur’s original look would have resulted in less debate about whether he was a good person, while Gloomy_Albatross3043 thinks the final design is a bit too romanticised.
I love his final design but his concept definitely fits way more who he is and the life he lived.
Meanwhile, Mental_Freedom_1648 thinks that fans who played the game would still love the character just as much, but that Arthur probably wouldn’t be as iconic with general audiences. Considering how easy it is to find tweets and posts about what a good and handsome boy Arthur is, I can’t say I disagree.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Overall, even though everyone agrees that Arthur’s character is what really matters, it’s hard to imagine him being quite as popular with his concept design, especially since it arguably suits his history even more. On my end, I’m happy with the western himbo we ended up getting, and wouldn’t change a darn thing.
M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Use of Drugs and Alcohol
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is exactly the sort of game to win Best Independent Game. They just don’t usually win Game of the Year too.
We want to hear from you! Share your opinions in the thread below and remember to keep it respectful.
Please respect our community guidelines. No links, inappropriate language, or spam.
