Is Blackwater in RDR1?

As a passionate Red Dead gamer, I can definitively say that Blackwater is present in both 2010‘s Red Dead Redemption 1 (RDR1) and 2018‘s prequel Red Dead Redemption 2 (RDR2). But the settlement plays very different roles in each game‘s setting and storyline.

In RDR1, Blackwater is the largest, most prosperous town players can explore across the frontier. In RDR2, the Van der Linde gang‘s robbery-gone-wrong in Blackwater drives them out of the region, making it a forbidden, lawmen-infested area for much of the game.

Let‘s break down Blackwater‘s presence in both RDR games – its place on the map, significance to the plot, accessibility, changes over time, and why it goes from thriving hub to off-limits location haunted by Pinkertons between 1907 and 1911.

Blackwater as Thriving Settlement in RDR1

In Red Dead Redemption 1, set in 1911, Blackwater is located in the northeast corner of the map in the Great Plains territory of West Elizabeth. As an established railroad and industrial hub undergoing expansion, it acts as the largest frontier settlement players can travel to and explore.

[insert map of RDR1 map here]

Right from the introductory train ride at the beginning of RDR1, Blackwater gives off an air of prosperity with its brick buildings, smokestacks, increased activity compared to surrounding countryside. Over the course of the game, players can:

• Take on jobs from residents like sheriffs, ranchers, horse breeders
• Visit the saloons and casino for poker, blackjack, five finger fillet
• Purchase weapons, clothing, medicine from the stores
• Hunt wild animals in the plains outside town
• Take out wanted gang hideouts in the region
• Interact with a vibrant mix of characters, some from John Marston‘s past

From the player‘s perspective, Blackwater is positioned as the most polished, thriving town across Red Dead 1‘s rugged frontier map. It highlights the creeping onset of modern civilization – both its economic promise and corruption.

And despite John Marston‘s history as an outlaw, the residents seem unaware of his past deeds. He can move freely in Blackwater and surrounding region to take on both lawful and unlawful jobs.

Changes From 1907 Map in RDR2

Comparing Blackwater in the RDR1 1911 map to its presence in Red Dead 2‘s 1907 map, we see the town has drifted further south:

[insert maps comparison]

This change reflects Blackwater‘s expansion as roads, railways, telegraphs, and industrial infrastructure extend outward from the settlement over the few years separating RDR2 and RDR1.

As one of the most advanced hubs between the western frontier and eastern cities, Blackwater acts as a gateway bridging these societies – making its growth significant both economically and symbolically.

From my experience playing both games, these map changes also contribute to Blackwater feeling more developed, modernized, and prosperous by RDR1. The activity increases; sheriffs maintain order; residents don‘t shy from strangers. It‘s a town undergoing an evolutionary boom.

Blackwater‘s Downfall & Closure in RDR2

In Red Dead Redemption 2‘s 1899 setting, set 12 years before RDR1, Blackwater again sits on the northeastern edge of the map. But this time in the Great Plains region of the off-limits state New Austin.

[insert RDR2 map]

RDR2 protagonist Arthur Morgan and his fellow Van der Linde gang members rob a ferry boat in Blackwater early in the game. With the reward money, they hoped to travel east and realize Dutch’s dreams of a true “outlaw utopia”.

However, the heist goes terribly wrong due to an inside informant – leaving the gang on the run with little money and mounting law enforcement opposition.

Pinkerton agents and bounty hunters swarm into New Austin looking for the surviving gang members. These hunters set up camp in and heavily patrol around Blackwater, making it extremely hazardous to return.

So for the majority of RDR2, Blackwater and New Austin remain forbidden territory – closed off until the late-game epilogue when John Marston returns.

As an RDR2 player, having Blackwater – expected to be a thriving frontier hub – ripped away so suddenly made an emotional impact and clearly defined the Van der Lindes as threatened renegades. It immediately established the hunted dynamic that fuels the next chapter chasing Dutch’s doomed vision out east.

Why Is Blackwater Closed Off?

But from a gameplay perspective in RDR2, why is New Austin and Blackwater completely closed off? After all, it was fully explorable territory in RDR1.

Well for starters, the region isn’t finished. Dataminers and glitchers have found that major chunks of New Austin aren’t properly developed beyond inaccessible background models. Bringing Arthur there reveals missing terrain textures, buildings without interiors, floating wagons, non-functional NPCs.

Clearly the developers focused resources on completing other areas first. But narrative reasoning also backs the decision:

• Creates urgency chasing Dutch’s vision out east away from civilization
• Law enforcement barricade sells gang’s identities as wanted fugitives
• Hazardous New Austin reinforces deadliness of Pinkertons
• Locks away fan familiar sights from RDR1
• Lends return to Blackwater more weight during epilogue

Does the off-limits frustration suck for us gamers? Absolutely. Parts of me wishes New Austin was fully built to let Arthur navigate the dangers.

But from Rockstar’s story perspective, keeping Blackwater and New Austin cut off reinforces central RDR2 themes in a way revisiting the familiar may undermine. It intentionally denies us that homecoming until John’s later return.

Secrets & Rumors Around Closed Blackwater

Because New Austin remains locked down for most players, rumors swirl about what mission content could have been cut from an explorable Blackwater and surrounding region.

Some dug up lore refers to gang members who died during the botched ferry job like Jenny Kirk or Davey Callander. Players speculate side missions may have let us see more of the heist aftermath or encounter their graves in a fully built Great Plains.

Other cut rumours involve a love interest for Arthur named Lillian Powell. Her family gravestone can be found in Blackwater during the later epilogue, leading to theories she could have played a Mary Linton-like role for Arthur. But without access to flesh out these stories, they remain locked away secrets.

Stranger characters like Gertrude Braithwaite and Jon were also reportedly cut from New Austin missions along with various terrain clues about the vanished Princess Isabeau.

I would have loved chasing down some of those tantalizing plot threads or seeing Arthur reunite with old flames. But alas the lawmen blockade keeps these rumors locked away in a forbidden Blackwater. Maybe I‘ll signal the Pinkertons and try sneaking past…

Blackwater‘s Evolution Across the Red Dead Series

Examining Blackwater across the series clearly shows an evolution both within its fictional existence and real-world development role:

• Thriving hub openly explored in RDR1 (1911 map)
• Drifter southwards across 1907-1911 maps as infrastructure expands
• Site of heist-gone-wrong that kicks off decline in RDR2 (1899)
• Locked forbidden territory occupied by lawmen hunting Van der Lindes
• Eventually redeveloped into more modernized version seen in RDR1

In Red Dead Redemption 1, Blackwater represents a gateway into an industrial future – both of better opportunities and increased corruption.

In RDR2, Blackwater begins symbolizing the fatal flaws in Dutch‘s idealistic vision of progress and racial unity. Modern civilization creeps westward as much through rivers of blood as the railroads Dutch rages against.

The settlement itself drifts south, developing along the tracks of expanding progress. By RDR1 it‘s been rebuilt, the Van der Linde disaster haunting its past like Dutch‘s ancestors killed in a prior camp assault.

For players, Blackwater evolves from vibrant, familiar hub we lose too soon to forbidden wasteland stalked by Pinkertons. Eventually it returns as a bittersweet homecoming; the frontier now clearly disappearing into history.

That history lives on in tales of tragic characters like Arthur Morgan who suffered between the birth pangs of Blackwater‘s past and future – unable to reach that sanctuary fading just over the horizon.

But at least in my console, I can mount my horse and try to outrun progress‘s creeping dread during the fleeting hours I have left before darkness falls on that lively, lost town. Before the lawmen gun me down again to continue chasing ghosts towards destinies as both hopeful and doomed as Blackwater itself.