New Study: Playing Red Dead Redemption 2 Can Make Us Care More About Animals

Gim Red Dead Redemption 2 (Redbull)

YOGYAKARTA - In the last few weeks, the industry and game fans have been busy with the presence of Red Dead Redemption 2 (RDR2). A video game that invites you to explore the United States in a time full of cowboys and indians. To be precise, the United States at the end of the 19th century.

In the game, players can loot trains, much like scenes from cowboy movies like the Dollars Trilogy. Not only that, as is generally the case with cowboys, players can also shoot criminal gang members, steal horses, and study the wild.

However, who would have thought if this game also attracted the attention of researchers. Scientists surveyed 586 players from 55 different countries. 444 of them are already playing RDR2. From the research, scientists found that those who played the game became better at identifying the animals shown in the photos.

In fact, there are approximately 200 animals that have been implanted by the developer in the image. Each animal is designed to be able to interact directly with the player – with the behavior of wild animals that we meet in the wild.

"The level of detail in Red Dead Redemption 2 is known to be high, and it includes animals," said social and environmental scientist Sarah Crowley of the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom, via Science Alert, 19

According to Sarah, it is not only the depiction and behavior that are shown that are closer to reality. But, how do these animals interact with one another. Like an opossum pretending to be dead, a bear roaring to bully anyone it meets, and an eagle hunting for a snake.

In the study, participants were asked to identify 15 animal species in the form of photographs. These 15 animals are also among the types that appear in the game. These include white-tailed deer, jackrabbits, crocodiles, freshwater sturgeon, green iguana, American bullfrog frog, and many more.

When RDR2 players are shown pictures of animals in the form of multiple choice quizzes, on average they get a score of 10 out of 15 questions. While those who have never played the game only get a score of 7 only.

The difference in the ability to recognize animals is even greater when it comes to species that are very useful in the game. Like fish, which can be caught and eaten by players in the game.

Players who have completed the RDR2 story (which is approximately 40 to 60 hours of play), players who have just started playing it, or players of the online version, score the highest from the trial.

Not only that, players are also able to explain how the habits of animals to the ecology of their habitats through RDR2. One player even stated that the game taught them how to spot wild sheep that would attack them in the wild.