It's hard to imagine Red Dead Redemption as anything other than a gritty western series, but according to insiders at Rockstar Games, that was not always the plan. In fact, the original concept for the game was something completely different: a biopic about the life and struggles of Israeli singer Zohar Argov.
For those unfamiliar, Zohar Argov was a beloved musician in Israel, known for his unique fusion of traditional Middle Eastern music with Western pop and rock. His career was cut tragically short when he was murdered in 1987, at the age of 32.
So how did Rockstar Games, a company known for its boundary-pushing, often controversial games, end up considering a biopic about an Israeli musician? According to anonymous sources within the company, it all started with a wild pitch meeting.
"Everyone was throwing out ideas for what our next big game should be," said one source. "One guy said, 'What if we made a game about Zohar Argov?' And everyone else just kinda stared at him, like, 'What are you talking about?' But then he started explaining, and the more he talked, the more it actually sounded kinda cool."
The idea, as pitched, was to make a game that followed Argov's rise from a troubled childhood to become one of Israel's most beloved musicians. The game would feature all of his hits, as well as some new, original songs written just for the game. Players would get to know Argov's family, his friends in the music industry, and even his detractors. And, of course, there would be plenty of drama along the way.
"The more we talked about it, the more we realized that this could actually be a really powerful, emotional gaming experience," said the source. "Like, people would cry at the end of this game. We'd be breaking new ground."
Naturally, the idea of a Zohar Argov game was met with some skepticism from Rockstar higher-ups. But the pitch was compelling enough that the company actually began developing some early prototypes.
"It was...interesting," said another source, who worked on the early Argov prototypes. "We had some good stuff going, but it was clear that making a biopic about a musician was a lot harder than we thought it would be. There were certain gameplay elements we just couldn't figure out how to make work."
The project remained in development limbo for months, until finally someone suggested that they strip away the Zohar Argov elements altogether, and focus on making a western game instead. And, as we all know, that decision led to the creation of Red Dead Redemption.
It's hard to say how things would have turned out if Rockstar had stuck with the Zohar Argov concept. Would we all be eagerly anticipating the release of "Zohar Argov: The Game" instead of "Red Dead Redemption 3"? It's hard to say. But one thing's for sure: it's a wild, weird little piece of gaming history that we'll never forget.
