Rockstar's open world western, Red Dead Redemption, takes place in an American and Mexican frontier that mirrors the real life historical period of the early 20th century. Red Dead Redemption takes place in 1911, a time when the Wild West is becoming tamed by the increased expansion of American industrialization. This is heavily featured in the game's main story, where the prospective governor of West Elizabeth enlists the Bureau of Investigation to eliminate the surviving members of the Van der Linde Gang, but is also a prominent theme in Red Dead Redemption's world building.
Much of Red Dead Redemption takes place southwest of the Great Plains, in deserts that are analogous to those in New Mexico and Texas. After finding Van der Linde gang members Bill Williamson and Javier Escuella hiding in Mexico, John Marston returns to West Elizabeth, where American Bison can be encountered for the first time. By 1911, the American Bison is an endangered species due to its natural habitat being taken by the expanding American ranching economy, over-hunting, and government sponsored programs to destroy the Bison population in order to rid Native Americans of a valuable resource.
In Red Dead Redemption, there are only 20 American Bison to be found in the plains of West Elizabeth. Unlike the other animals that can be hunted in the game, the Bison do not respawn, and killing all 20 renders the species extinct. For completing this feat of extermination, Red Dead Redemption even has an achievement called "Manifest Destiny," an aptly-name reward.
Manifest Destiny in Red Dead Redemption's Frontier
Manifest Destiny was a popularly held belief that American expansion to the west was inevitable, preordained, and even divinely inspired. Many were of the opinion, such as West Elizabeth's governor-t0-be, that the western frontier was something to be conquered by American civilization. The outlaws and vigilantes who made the west violent would be replaced with law and order, a task undertaken with federal oversight from the recently formed Bureau of Investigation.
Civilization demands growth, an economy to sustain it, and the elimination of competing populaces. Thus, natural resources such as the plentiful herds of bison were hunted to near extinction. Red Dead Redemption lets players revel in American exceptionalism, being the one to snuff out the existence of an entire species. Red Dead Redemption 2 takes a much more pointed look at the effects of Manifest Destiny on Native Americans, when the Wapiti tribe is repeatedly antagonized by the U.S. Army despite multiple treaties being signed. Red Dead Redemption is more singularly focused on the story of John Marston, while constructing a world synonymous with that of real life early 20th century America.