Canceled Bully 2 kickstarted honor system in Red Dead Redemption II
"We really wanted to make sure that people remembered what you did."
Rumors about the canceled Bully 2 resurfaced during a detailed feature by Game Informer. It included an interview with former Rockstar Games developers who secretly worked on the project for 18 months. According to the former devs, Bully 2 would have an AI honor system identical to Red Dead Redemption II – creating scenarios where your actions mattered to NPCs.
As an IP that derived elements from Grand Theft Auto with a school campus overworld, the original Bully has maintained a cult following. Bully 2 would be the sequel made under Rockstar New England, formerly Mad Doc Software. And as Game Informer describes, at least six to eight hours of the game was playable. But Rockstar constantly pulled developers off the project in favor of Max Payne 3 or Red Dead Redemption.
One of the developers told Game Informer that “very deep systems” were in place, “putting it up there alongside a GTA.” Bully 2 would be “three times” the size of the original game, allowing players to enter every single building. It was an ambitious project that kickstarted the AI system where a player’s actions were meaningful and remembered by NPCs. In a way, it was ahead of its time but suffered the old tale of massive studios canceling projects that never lifted off.
Maybe in the future, the Bully series will return. But who can say when Rockstar’s GTA Trilogy Remaster flopped out the gate. Whatever the case, RDRII owes the canceled Bully 2 for its AI system that immersed players worldwide.
