Arduino Adds Realism to Red Dead Redemption 2 Horse Riding

Realistic horse riding in Red Dead Redemption 2
(Image credit: Teenenggr)

We’ve seen microcontroller boards used to play Snake or Pong, but Red Dead Redemption 2? That had seemed out of the tiny boards’ reach, until we spotted a remarkable video from Jatin Patel, AKA Teenenggr. 

In it, Patel hooks up air cylinders to his desk and programs a microcontroller, an Arduino in this case, but it could easily have been a Raspberry Pi Pico, to match the horse’s gait and take the noble steed's speed from the game via a serial link.

There’s nearly an expensive accident during testing, but after carefully taping his monitor to his desktop, he sets his new pneumatic horse loose in the snows of RDR2. The video is well worth watching for the hilarious moment his desk comes alive.

If you want to create your own equine escape simulator, Patel has placed a tutorial on his site, there’s code on GitHub, and a roll of Duck Tape is less than $6. The highest cost in this project are pneumatics used to simulate the horse. Patel has form in this area, having previously created a desktop rumble solution, and a sniper recoil replicator. We’re surprised he’s still got a desk.

Ian Evenden
Freelance News Writer

Ian Evenden is a UK-based news writer for Tom’s Hardware US. He’ll write about anything, but stories about Raspberry Pi and DIY robots seem to find their way to him.

  • dimar
    For the next step challenge, I'd like them do air-powered house thinks it's a horse
    Reply
  • LolaGT
    Why am I laughing like a maniac?
    Haha, someone needed to do this.
    Reply
  • JarredWaltonGPU
    HIlariously bad idea! I'd think maybe a bit less jostling on the desk, and maybe put pneumatics on the chair as well. I'd also skip the duct tape and bolt the monitor to the desk, and frankly I'm surprised the monitor stand didn't just snap off! Some sort of monitor arm that helps to absorb the shock of the "horse" would be a good idea.
    Reply
  • freedizzle
    This is the most ghetto motion sim rig I've ever seen and I like it! (I'm one of those sim racing people) The actuators hitting his garage floor sounds like horse hooves, clopping along.
    Reply
  • russell_john
    The Mission Impossible theme song was a nice touch ..... then segways into the X-Files theme ......
    Reply