LA Noir (by Rockstar Games) wow...

[vinny-b]

a title not remotely on the radar. And then i checked Game Informer's extensive article unveiling this title.

the 2 words in my mind after reading the article: revolutionary. wow.

the GI article explains the game's character animations. Well, there are none. There are no animation artists on the development team. Instead, 300 live actors in perfect full wardrobe & makeup. The Team Bondi development studio resembles that of a movie set. Will let you know, my limited technical knowledge will not do this article any justice. The best way i can explain it is: the actor's dialog and actions are all performed and captured via the same time by countless camera angles and then input directly into the game. No need for character animation artists etc. This is a new techology, in which everything is pipelined from video cameras directly into the game. The benefits of this technology are detailed in the article and look to be 10-fold. Efficiency, lifelike movement, perfect expression of speech, etc. As stated, revolutionary

did i mention 2,000 pages of script. This efficiency mentioned above, permits this.

the title takes place in 1947 Los Angeles. A perfect recreation, street by street. The likeness is said to be, if you went back in a time machine. You play as a police man. The premise: you try to climb the career ladder from cop on the beat. Then to the 'desk' of traffic, vice, burglarly, arson, and finally to make it to homicide detective. The developer cites the title as an adventure game which can play like GTA. Yes there will be shoot-outs, and car chases. However, the main portion of the title is interviewing suspects. Taking note of any clues in the environment, and carefully observing the subject's body language. When interrogating the suspect you have the choice of 3 options: force, coax, or accuse. To me, this looks like what Heavy Rain should be. At least, what i would prefer

this title looks deep, huge, and expensive.

_

[vinny-b]

front cover: http://gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/ ... ealed.aspx

[JRod]

I wish Red Dead was more like this...

[Rodster]

Hopefully the game all comes together and it should as these are the types of games Rockstar excels at. Looking forward to the demo.

[vinny-b]

I wish Red Dead was more like this...

Jrod: am wondering what type of title 'Agent' will be. No One Lives Forever, spiritual successor??

never did play above title. It sucked not bein a PC gamer, in the day

_

[greggsand]

Being an LA resident with a strong interest in 'old LA' (esp Downtown) INSTANTLY SOLD!

[vinny-b]

Hopefully the game all comes together and it should as these are the types of games Rockstar excels at. Looking forward to the demo.

yes. Don't know when that will be. The release date is September. However, based on the size/magnitude of the title, would not be suprised if it is 2011.

what i do know: Mafia II is no longer a Day 1 purchase. This looks better

_

[vinny-b]

Being an LA resident with a strong interest in 'old LA' (esp Downtown) INSTANTLY SOLD!

if you have the chance, check the 10-page GI article

[Diablo25]

I saw the issue at Gamestop when I was there trading in games. Looks pretty cool. I'll keep my eye on it.

[vinny-b]

the 10-page article, for anyone without a GI subscription. Reommended reading

http://www.gamegrep.com/photos/29933-la ... ns_leaked/

[pigpen81]

a title not remotely on the radar. And then i checked Game Informer's extensive article unveiling this title.

the 2 words in my mind after reading the article: revolutionary. wow.

the GI article explains the game's character animations. Well, there are none. There are no animation artists on the development team. Instead, 300 live actors in perfect full wardrobe & makeup. The Team Bondi development studio resembles that of a movie set. Will let you know, my limited technical knowledge will not do this article any justice. The best way i can explain it is: the actor's dialog and actions are all performed and captured via the same time by countless camera angles and then input directly into the game. No need for character animation artists etc. This is a new techology, in which everything is pipelined from video cameras directly into the game. The benefits of this technology are detailed in the article and look to be 10-fold. Efficiency, lifelike movement, perfect expression of speech, etc. As stated, revolutionary

did i mention 2,000 pages of script. This efficiency mentioned above, permits this.

the title takes place in 1947 Los Angeles. A perfect recreation, street by street. The likeness is said to be, if you went back in a time machine. You play as a police man. The premise: you try to climb the career ladder from cop on the beat. Then to the 'desk' of traffic, vice, burglarly, arson, and finally to make it to homicide detective. The developer cites the title as an adventure game which can play like GTA. Yes there will be shoot-outs, and car chases. However, the main portion of the title is interviewing suspects. Taking note of any clues in the environment, and carefully observing the subject's body language. When interrogating the suspect you have the choice of 3 options: force, coax, or accuse. To me, this looks like what Heavy Rain should be. At least, what i would prefer

this title looks deep, huge, and expensive.

_

Considering my Grandfather was an LAPD Officer in 1947, this will be real cool.

Thanks for the heads up, I will keep a close eye on it.

[pk500]

Sounds like a James Ellroy novel is coming to virtual life. Should be interesting and quite cool, as Rockstar always pays so much attention to detail.

If you're interested in some true L.A. Noir, read Ellroy's "Black Dahlia" or "L.A. Confidential." Great books. Ellroy is my favorite writer.

[vinny-b]

:

[LAking]

Being an LA resident with a strong interest in 'old LA' (esp Downtown) INSTANTLY SOLD!

Ditto! So glad you posted about this Vinny. Finally a game that recreates Los Angeles in full detail, and better yet, old LA. I cannot wait to check out the Theater District in downtown LA. Angels flight! Oh, the possibilities. Witht his and Heavy Rain I am extremely excited about the future of gaming.

EDIT: I just saw the pics and it's EXACTLY what i was hoping. In the shot with the two yellow cabs you can see the marquee of the Los Angeles Theater. I LOVE that place. It's an amazing theater from the early 1930's.

[XXXIV]

If you're interested in some true L.A. Noir, read Ellroy's "Black Dahlia" or "L.A. Confidential." Great books. Ellroy is my favorite writer.

This guy actually made books out of those two movies?

Really like the idea of this game. I hope they come through.

[pk500]

If you're interested in some true L.A. Noir, read Ellroy's "Black Dahlia" or "L.A. Confidential." Great books. Ellroy is my favorite writer.

This guy actually made books out of those two movies?

Other way around, matey. The movie "L.A. Confidential" actually was a halfway-decent rendition of an incredibly dense, rich, detailed book.

Never saw the film version of "The Black Dahlia."

[XXXIV]

If you're interested in some true L.A. Noir, read Ellroy's "Black Dahlia" or "L.A. Confidential." Great books. Ellroy is my favorite writer.

This guy actually made books out of those two movies?

Other way around, matey. The movie "L.A. Confidential" actually was a halfway-decent rendition of an incredibly dense, rich, detailed book.

Never saw the film version of "The Black Dahlia."

.... It was a goofy Ali G reference. When he offers a publisher the idea of writing a book based on LotR.

Never read the books. As for the movies. I liked LA Confidential. Black Dahlia not so much.

[Zeppo]

I like the idea of the game, but I'm not sure we will ever see it.

It is interesting to me, however, that we are fully in the time where games and movies are beginning to merge wholly. In games, from the Uncharted games, Mass Effect, Heavy Rain and its previous incarnation, Alan Wake (if we ever see that one), Red Dead, so many games are aiming directly for that 'interactive movie' goal, and they are coming at it from different directions and with all manner of different techniques.

Let's just look at how the 'cut scenes' are different between Uncharted and Mass Effect. In Mass Effect, the goal is to create a truly interactive experience in terms of the dialogue and outcomes (or at least the gamer's sense of the cause of the outcome) through strongly interactive dialogue and animator-built facial expressions and so on. Uncharted takes a different tack, by building purely non-interactive cut scenes, but with techniques that mix those of stage and film, and use the new technologies of motion capture, in order to create more compelling dramatic scenes rich with character and performance - basically capturing the performance of effective actors working together in the same space, capturing not only the voice work, but also the physical performances into the game. (Most games record voice-over dialogue in sterile audio facilities, and without direct interaction between the actors). Uncharted's cut scenes are much closer to the Navi sections of Avatar than other games, by far, and yet on the other hand the dialogue system of the ME games are setting a different standard of gamer input into the story.

Now with this LA Noir, here we have more new ideas and methods of capturing and/or creating human characters in games, and telling narrative stories in games. Also, with the phenomenon that is Avatar, and to a degree the new Star Wars films and the Gollum character in the LoTR movies, there is a lot of game-making technique folding into modern filmmaking.

It's interesting to me how these media are merging in many ways, and how different the styles of interaction and story telling are coming from different game studios. Is Heavy Rain a game, or more of an interactive movie? Is Avatar really a piece of filmmaking, or a mix of live-action and Final Fantasy style cut scenes made from purely computer generated animation (with plenty of motion capture, sure)?

And as these games aim to provide more cinematic experiences, it's clear that the value or mass, if you will, of gameplay is a question - is there enough real gameplay; is it truly interactive, or is the gamer just pushing the cut scenes from one to the other without making any difference himself?

It seems to me that we are deeply into the sloppy phase of the merging of narrative filmmaking and interactive gaming, and I don't know if there's any clear goal to aim for. It's obvious that most story-driven games feed the same appetite as movies and TV dramas, and seek to do so in a way that feels interactive and satisfies other appetites that don't apply to traditional motion pictures.

More of these kinds of off the wall attempts to do things differently will continue to come down the pike, and they may not all be successful or well done, frankly, but to me, the more the merrier. It's interesting stuff, and this game, if it does get released, could have a huge impact in both media.

[LAking]

I like the idea of the game, but I'm not sure we will ever see it.

I don't know about that. It looks like it is well into development. They have a trailer, they have images, they are letting members of the media see their work. Based on the article it seems like they have invested a ton of money into it already. They're already recording dialogue. They hired a known up and coming actor int he main role. If this game were never to see the light of day it would be a colossal waste of time and money.

[LAking]

http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/adventure/l ... ler-2?hd=1

A trailer for the game. For those of you who don't live in Los Angeles it may be hard to appreciate how cool some of the details are in this game. At the beginning of the trailer the car passes by Clifton's Cafeteria. This is a downtown LA landmark. A disneyland-like forest themed cafeteria on Broadway in Downtown LA. It is still open today and stands as a classic example of post war LA kitsch. Sadly there has been talk of it closing recently.

[pk500]

I like the idea of the game, but I'm not sure we will ever see it.

Does Rockstar have a history of sh*tcanning games well into development? I ask that sincerely.

My reference point for Rockstar is a company that pushes the limits of development, as it did for the GTA series. Yeah, it's had a few duds like State of Emergency and Bully, but it usually delivers on its promises.

[Zeppo]

I just remember reading something about Rockstar games not doing well financially, but I can't find where that was or remember the details. Maybe they are fine, but this game is a long way off. I certainly didn't know any of the details Kings mentioned. My apologies.

[greggsand]

I like the idea of the game, but I'm not sure we will ever see it.

Does Rockstar have a history of sh*tcanning games well into development? I ask that sincerely.

My reference point for Rockstar is a company that pushes the limits of development, as it did for the GTA series. Yeah, it's had a few duds like State of Emergency and Bully, but it usually delivers on its promises.

No, Rockstar isn't in the habit of announcing vaporware (the stockholders would lose their sh*t). They have (famously) missed released dates, but I can't think of a reason why this wouldn't be released.

[vinny-b]

My reference point for Rockstar is a company that pushes the limits of development, as it did for the GTA series. Yeah, it's had a few duds like State of Emergency and Bully, but it usually delivers on its promises.

Paul: not able to counter you on State of Emergency

however, have never heard a negative statement/review pertaining to Bully. Look forward to finishing it. Am at the Halloween party/stage

[Naples39]

Zeppo's not alone---there have long been rumors about the lengthy and mysterious development of this game.

For instance there was this post on Kotaku last month, talking about how the game started development at Sony in 2003, was eventually dumped by Sony, and continued to suffer serious problems along the way despite the 'target render' trailer kings posted above, which btw was released in 2006!;

It became obvious that year that McNamara had little clue what he was doing and was just following his arbitrary whims...He had no clue how to manage a work environment—creating a horrible standard for quality of life with an ineffective human resources team...SCE's development structure changed that year, and McNamara found himself again under the more keen eye of his old SCEE superiors....The new bosses found that Team Bondi had little to show 2+ years of development, except an unplayable game filled with superfluous content...However, the project had already cost Sony USD 20 million+; a cost high enough that they attempted to spend the few months salvaging LAN.

...

The 2006 LAN teaser was a target render done by an art outsourcing firm in Sydney...Since then, the game has been revamped, ported, and delayed four times. Rockstar spent more Sony in their efforts to make it not suck...Also, if you want to go to that Rockstar SD Spouse post and replace studio names and games, you have a good idea of Team Bondi as of present.

http://kotaku.com/5456884/rumor-la-noir ... d-imagined

Hopefully, however, the game will see an actual release.