It’s been 15 years in the making, but Rob Wiethoff, the voice behind John Marston, finally cracked the mystery of why the character is always yelling. As it turns out, Rockstar only recorded one version of every single line in the game’s epic adventure.

If you’ve spent time in the world of Red Dead Redemption, you’ve probably been absorbed by its sprawling landscapes and gripping storylines. Yet, fans have long wondered why John Marston shouts so much while riding alongside NPCs, without any obvious reason. This quirk has been discussed ever since the game launched in 2010, and now Wiethoff himself has stepped up to reveal what was going on.

As GamesRadar+ reports, Rob Wiethoff is playing through Red Dead Redemption for the first time and sharing his thoughts on YouTube, offering fans a rare behind-the-scenes look. “Everyone knows we did motion capture for the game,” Wiethoff said. “But for these scenes, where you’re on horseback talking to someone… those were done in a sound booth.”

“What’s funny is that John sometimes just screams at people,” he added. “Back then, Rockstar didn’t have the tech they do now. If you’re close, the game uses the quiet version. If you’re far, it uses the loud version. In the second game, we recorded everything twice. For this one, we did it just once.”

That meant Rockstar needed John Marston’s lines to be crystal clear, no matter what. “I remember them saying, ‘You have to deliver the lines so they can be heard, even if you’re riding next to a freight train in a thunderstorm,’” Wiethoff said. “So, just yell! Because you want the other person to hear you. And that’s exactly what we did. It worked great in some scenes. In others… [laughs] I think that’s when they said, ‘Alright, we’ll polish this up later.’” And that’s how Red Dead Redemption 2 ended up with more natural dialogue recordings.

Meanwhile, Roger Clark, the actor behind Arthur Morgan in Red Dead Redemption 2, has also been sharing stories—and even called on Rockstar to release a next-gen version for PS5 and Xbox Series consoles.

Source: GamesRadar+