[Inorigo]

I apologize in advance to everyone on NeoGAF for even bringing this subject up in a thread not devoted to it. I hope it won't spiral out of control and ruin the thread. No. I'm not claiming that "games are art" at all, though I'm all for the possibility that a game could be art. And I do think that once people collectively get their heads out of their asses, there are some games already in existence that will retroactively be described as such. I know this showcase is really all about the tech, about how exciting it is and what it could mean for the future of both film and video game development as the same technology is used in both and the lines between film and video games sorta blur further than they already have, and that's cool and all. And I also recognize this showcase is actually just marketing bullshit. But the game's presence at any film festival, even a very commercial one, still seems to imply something about the status of L.A. Noire before it has been released, experienced, and criticized by people who know what they're talking about (and, by the way, I don't think traditional video game critics are those people, necessarily). LAN is in a medium that a ton of people don't even agree is an artistic medium. And yet it's being showcased at a film festival. It just seems presumptuous and... I don't know, gaudy. I mean, L.A. Noire could come out, everyone could play it, and then we could all collectively go, "Wow... outside of the animation techniques, this was a derivative piece of shit!" We don't really know much about it, but: film festival! That's kinda of embarrassing to me, as someone who sees a lot of honest storytelling potential in video games but also sees a lot of attention and praise being directed toward games that do not (or in this case, might not) deserve it. That's all I meant. Now back to the thread already in progress...

Fair enough. And I'm up for games possibly being art myself, so I wasn't taking a shot at you or anything. Sorry if it seemed that way.

[Fjordson]

Yeah arent there supposed to be normal 911 calls as well?

Yep. You can respond to situations/crimes in progress that you get word of over the police radio.

[Inorigo]

Easily my most anticipated game of all-time. Really can't believe this is coming out next month. As Inorigo has been saying, it really seems to be the first game with a deep, abiding reverence for the city, and doesn't treat it as window dressing or an excuse to condescend. On top of that, I think the progression will be more naturally suited for a game than any other Rockstar game as of recent.

Exactly. Rockstar tells some great stories with great characters in general, but when it comes to how they handle their settings, they largely rely on parody.That's fine; it works and if GTA V is really set in Hollywood, I'll likely be as excited for it as I am for this.

Team Bondi is trying to tell a noire story that's believable, and the setting is a key element. They're trying to capture not only the appearance, but the attitudes and atmosphere of the city at that time. They've done much more than put together a few photo albums. If you're at all interested, you should check out the LA Times story I linked earlier. I expect a part of why the game has taken so long to make is because a lot of time was focused on really getting the city right.

[Tricky I Shadow]

Hmm, the city to me looks pretty bland and empty.

Still, this will be fantastic and is a no-brainer day 1.

[Inorigo]

Hmm, the city to me looks pretty bland and empty. Still, this will be fantastic and is a no-brainer day 1.

We still had a lot of open areas and farm land around at that time, so that too is part of the effect/recreation.

I mean, pursuing a career in agriculture in LA made sense then. If you mentioned that now people would wonder what the fuck you've been smoking.

[Sn4ke_911]

This pic pisses me off.

Where the fuck is the Team Bondi logo?? from what i know, the game was NOT made by Rockstar Games. R* just helped out but the main developer was TB no?

[Ihya]

I look forwards to the over-egged Irish credentials of 50 % of the police force.

[GlamFM]

This pic pisses me off. Where the fuck is the Team Bondi logo?? from what i know, the game was NOT made by Rockstar Games. R* just helped out but the main developer was TB no?

Looking at the game and reading about how development went down I´m pretty sure RockStar took over at some point.

[Inorigo]

This pic pisses me off. Where the fuck is the Team Bondi logo?? from what i know, the game was NOT made by Rockstar Games. R* just helped out but the main developer was TB no?

Yeah, it's definitely Team Bondi's game, but I bet one of those guys is Brendan McNamara. If so, it's not big deal really. People going to Tribeca are well-versed in film. Despite being one of the biggest most successful and popular publishers/developers in the world, next to none of them have heard of Rockstar, let alone TB.

[Sn4ke_911]

Yeah, it's definitely Team Bondi's game, but I bet one of those guys is Brendan McNamara. If so, it's not big deal really. People going to Tribeca are well-versed in film. Despite being one of the biggest most successful and popular publishers/developers in the world, next to none of them have heard of Rockstar, let alone TB.

No, i think those are all Rockstar dudes.

Well, you're right but at least a little TB logo wouldn't hurt them UNDER the big R* logo.

[Inorigo]

No, i think those are all Rockstar dudes. Well, you're right but at least a little TB logo wouldn't hurt them UNDER the big R* logo.

Agreed. That would've been fair. You sure that's not him? The guys with the hat on.

[TheVampire]

Has it been mentioned what happens if you go out into the game world and start causing chaos like in GTA?

Im just wondering how they will handle that since your character is a good cop and I allways like screwing around with these open worlds.

[_tetsuo_]

Yep, Rockstar was involved in this.

[jgminto]

Reaally excited for this game as both a gamer and an Australian. I hope this game puts Team Bondi on the map because it looks astonishing.

[Sn4ke_911]

Agreed. That would've been fair. You sure that's not him? The guys with the hat on.

Tbh i don't know. I think the guy with the hat looks skinnier and is not bald like McNamara.

Btw. New screens:

[Inorigo]

Has it been mentioned what happens if you go out into the game world and start causing chaos like in GTA? Im just wondering how they will handle that since your character is a good cop and I allways like screwing around with these open worlds.

GAME. OVER.

No, seriously, you can't do that.

[Sn4ke_911]

GAME. OVER. No, seriously, you can't do that.

What do you mean you can't do that? How will it work? If you shoot a civilian will the screen turn black? Or will the bullets just go through the guy? Or will Cole say "No can't do that"?

[TheVampire]

Yeah same with me hitting an old lady with my car.
What is she going to some how do an automatic matrix dodge at the last second everytime?

[soultron]

One thing that I was concerned about was lack of path-routing on the minimap.

It might not fit into the timeperiod's fiction (no GPS back then) and while I enjoy "learning" the cities in open-world games, it's going to be frustrating for casual or inexperienced gamers if it's not there.

[JBuccCP]

Yeah same with me hitting an old lady with my car. What is she going to some how do an automatic matrix dodge at the last second everytime?

Worked for Driver

edit: I can't really think of any elegant way to handle it. I'm betting they'll give you the benefit of the doubt if you just kill one person and they'll let you go on a rampage but unlike GTA you won't be able to lose your "stars" so guys will just keep coming until you die then reload, and missions will be locked if you're wanted.

[Dragonzord]

So can we confirm if you run someone over as a cop you get in a whole lot of shit?

[Net_Wrecker]

So can we confirm if you run someone over as a cop you get in a whole lot of shit?

Nobody knows.

[greycolumbus]

Worked for Driver edit: I can't really think of any elegant way to handle it. I'm betting they'll give you the benefit of the doubt if you just kill one person and they'll let you go on a rampage but unlike GTA you won't be able to lose your "stars" so guys will just keep coming until you die then reload, and missions will be locked if you're wanted.

Perhaps they could treat sidewalks as barriers when you're driving making a system similar to whenever a horse nears a cliff in Red Dead. It would probably frustrate a lot of people though.

[jgminto]

I'm guessing that killing a civilain will add to your damages during a mission. Probably some other consequences as well.

[Sn4ke_911]

If you are worried about the game being linear or not being able to explore 1947 L.A., you will be pleasantly surprised. In fact, I encourage you to go find famous landmarks that are strewn throughout the city. You are in total control of the case and the speed at which you decide to go. After I completed a few cases I decided to go out on a scenic drive. I was blown away at how large the city was, and how real everything looked. One of the other guys who played it drove to the Roosevelt Hotel where we were staying just to check it out - that's how realistic the game is! While driving around you will hear a crime come over the radio and you have the option to go investigate it or continue on with your case. If you decide to do the "side mission" you won't screw up your case in progress, it just gets put on hold until you are ready to proceed. In between cases, I decided to go cruise around town and check the physics of the game out. The damage modeling on the cars are amazing, they seem to be greatly improved from GTA: IV. I crashed the car into a light pole and where the car hit the pole, it wrapped around it - I was floored! I also took the car off a few cliffs - and I never did get thrown out of the car like in GTA: IV…but you do get a fair amount of damage to the car when you nosedive it from a 200ft cliff! I hate to keep comparing L.A. Noire to Grand Theft Auto, but in this instance I think it's necessary. While I was on a case, I parked the police car and went and did some investigating. When I came back out I decided to not take my police car, but to grab a civilian car. We all know how to "jack" a car in GTA - you run out in front of it, they stop, and you get in. In L.A. Noire, you stop a vehicle and Cole flashes his badge, then the people step out of the vehicle and you legally commandeer it. No punching, no head butting, no shooting a gun, you just get to take it! And I forgot to mention, I did this in front of a police officer walking down the street and I must say it felt weird doing it and not getting chased!

http://slumz.boxden.com/f13/l-noire-...eview-1531963/

[odhiex]

This pic pisses me off. Where the fuck is the Team Bondi logo?? from what i know, the game was NOT made by Rockstar Games. R* just helped out but the main developer was TB no?

I just asked my friend the same thing and he told me that Team Bondi is not handling the whole jobs. While TB only made the cinematography and screenwriting stuffs, many of developers (about 30+) from Rockstar were sent to Australia and co-developed the technology and designs. So Basically, it is also Rockstar developed Game.


But don't quote on me, I know nothing about that... maybe he (my friend) does :D

[lantus]

Do we know what they demoing on? System wise?

[Sn4ke_911]

Do we know what they demoing on? System wise?

PS3.

Edit:





HYPE

[Acquiescence]

Sorry Portal 2, but come the end of May you won't be GOTY anymore. Eh, it was nice while it lasted.

[sun-drop]

is the team that made this the getaway developers?

[Sn4ke_911]

is the team that made this the getaway developers?

Team Bondi is an Australian independent third-party game developer, especially for the current-generation game consoles. The company was founded by Brendan McNamara, who was the former Director of Development for Sony Computer Entertainment’s Team Soho Studio in London and writer and director of The Getaway, which has sold over 4 million units on the PlayStation 2 console.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Team_Bondi

[Kermit The Dog]

Yep. You can respond to situations/crimes in progress that you get word of over the police radio.

Fucking sweet! I haven't been this excited for a game since Call of Duty 4. 20 DAYS!

[Kermit The Dog]

So I happened across something called the '1947project', which is basically a blog dedicated to chronicling the history of Los Angeles in the 1940's. It's run by a couple of historical experts, who are known for their painstaking accuracy in their work.

Rockstar invited them to play LA Noire, and from the looks of it, he wasn't overtly complimentary about Team Bondi's efforts in recreating 1947 LA. In some parts, he is impressed, but in others, he tears shreds off the game's recreation efforts.

Read it here: 1947p plays LA Noire.

It's long, but interesting and very well written.

Some quotes:

"I ran up the rest of the staircase (without expending any actual energy or effort...doubling the appeal!) and turned to ask...where was the Astoria? This game's early promise was dwindlling rapidly. The Hillcrest had a butcher instead of its dry cleaners? This was not boding well.

The most-used phrase to describe LA Noire is "perfectly recreated." Now, let me say that I'm not trying to be needlessly critical, but this is criticism after all, and it's the only kind of criticism I do. A post such as this merely underscores that we at 1947p take our re-presentation of a world dear to our hearts with unyielding gravity. To put it nicely, omission of oft-photographed (disinclude Angels Flight Pharmacy? Really?) buildings is a bit perplexing. That the repetition of perplexing omissions was disheartening and maddening I trust is a given.

But it was the Spring Arcade...that really showed me the true virtue of the game. I was busy crashing Chryslers, gazing gape-mouthed as I pummeled pedestrians, blah dee blah, video game stuff, when I screeeee parked my car lengthwise across Broadway. Exited said car, walked with dedicated purpose across the street -- traffic came to a halt, ladies in veils waved their begloved fists at me -- and I stepped into the quietude of the Spring Arcade. It was a revelation. Deep into our maniacal race to experience all we could see in this recreated world, I was now in the Arcade sans crap electronics and discount socks: a place of peace and elegance, as anathematic to 1947 as it is to 2011. People of 2011 (that's you) can and should traverse what is LA's most sublime space. That you may imagine its former glory, courtesy of and via this game, is rather lovely.

[Net_Wrecker]

So I happened across something called the '1947project', which is basically a blog dedicated to chronicling the history of Los Angeles in the 1940's. It's run by a couple of historical experts, who are known for their painstaking accuracy in their work. Rockstar invited them to play LA Noire, and from the looks of it, he wasn't overtly complimentary about Team Bondi's efforts in recreating 1947 LA. In some parts, he is impressed, but in others, he tears shreds off the game's recreation efforts. Read it here: 1947p plays LA Noire. It's long, but interesting and very well written. Some quotes:

GotDAMN, I think they're almost expecting too much out of the game with some of those nitpicks, and also don't seem to have a firm grasp on the concept that videogames are still very much limited by the hardware. I will commend him on the amount of information in that article, but it's a little overboard IMO. And with no mention of the face capturing tech + hiring all these actors to actually play their parts, someone should tell him that the huge budget he mentioned couldn't all go towards recreating a perfect 1947 LA brick by brick.

[MrTroubleMaker]

The city looks awesome.

Yeah it does, I can't wait to take a cruise around the town to checkout all the details.

[SolidSnakex]

GotDAMN, I think they're almost expecting too much out of the game with some of those nitpicks, and also don't seem to have a firm grasp on the concept that videogames are still very much limited by the hardware. I will commend him on the amount of information in that article, but it's a little overboard IMO. And with no mention of the face capturing tech + hiring all these actors to actually play their parts, someone should tell him that the huge budget he mentioned couldn't all go towards recreating a perfect 1947 LA brick by brick.

Rockstar had to expect some nitpicks by inviting someone that's done a ton of research on LA during that period. He still enjoyed it quite a bit since he mentioned at the end that he ordered a PS3 and a 60inch HDTV in order to play it. That's more telling than his criticisms.

[Net_Wrecker]

Rockstar had to expect some nitpicks by inviting someone that's done a ton of research on LA during that period. He still enjoyed it quite a bit since he mentioned at the end that he ordered a PS3 and a 60inch HDTV in order to play it. That's more telling than his criticisms.

I got that he still enjoyed it, but I feel like maybe if he stated some of his complaints in front of the Rockstar reps, they could've or should've explained how they couldn't afford to focus on recreating a 100% perfect city because they're building a GAME, and not a 1947 LA simulator. While he does point out that he pushed the "game aspects" to the background for that article since that's not where his areas of expertise lie, I think doing that does a disservice to just how much work the team has to do when making all this stuff.

I'd like to hear his opinion of the game after he puts 20 hours into it, and whether or not he's still looking at what's NOT there instead of the whole picture.

[Kyoufu]

Why isn't it May yet :(

[Kermit The Dog]

GotDAMN, I think they're almost expecting too much out of the game with some of those nitpicks, and also don't seem to have a firm grasp on the concept that videogames are still very much limited by the hardware. I will commend him on the amount of information in that article, but it's a little overboard IMO. And with no mention of the face capturing tech + hiring all these actors to actually play their parts, someone should tell him that the huge budget he mentioned couldn't all go towards recreating a perfect 1947 LA brick by brick.

I see where you're coming from, but he explicitly noted he had no idea about video games or the industry, and was really only brought in to sample the world, not the game.

I think he was credited as a consultant too, so he probably invested considerable emotion regarding the ultimate recreation of LA.

[StevePharma]

I was busy crashing Chryslers, gazing gape-mouthed as I pummeled pedestrians, blah dee blah, video game stuff,

:-(


Makes me kinda sad. It seems I'm going to role-play the shit out of this to not break the immersion.

[Lord Error]

Yes cuz there is another open world game with better animation o wait...

o wait what? The video is taken down but based on other videos, if he's talking about 'tankish' movements, I'm guessing he's talking about gameplay animation, and this doesn't even hold a candle in that sense compared to Infamous 2.

[nismogrendel]

Any word yet on which version is the best? I want to pick this up for my brother, he has 360 and PS3. I know the PS3 version comes with an extra case file. I'm always iffy on buying PS3 versions of multiplatform games based on how in the past the 360 versions always seemed superior.

[bud]

i can't wait for this.

[Chinese Electric Batman]

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/a...sequences.aspx

Rockstar recently showed of this skip feature during the Tribeca Film Festival. Players who find themselves struggling to get past a section of the game more than two or three times will be prompted with a choice to skip through the action and pick back up where the narrative left off. "You can skip those action elements and still experience the bulk of the narrative," explained Rockstar's art director Rob Nelson.

Rent at most for me now, don't wish to support this garbage.

[Angry Fork]

I am embarrassed that this was showcased at a damn film festival. I love games and am all for "games as art" but come on. And I really want to play it, too!

Film festival people know about Noir films, noir films are generally liked and respected in the film community, so showing this game there might peak their interest. That's all there is to it really, I don't think it's some huge effort to try to make LA Noire appear as art or anything, just a way to get some more buyers/players that might not have known about the game before.

[cackhyena]

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/a...sequences.aspx Rent at most for me now, don't wish to support this garbage.

I hope you're joking. If not, ugh.

[Vinterbird]

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/a...sequences.aspx Rent at most for me now, don't wish to support this garbage.

Why not? Thats great for people who struggle at a certain sequence. Every gets to experience the important part of the game, the narrative, so thats a good thing.

[Marleyman]

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/a...sequences.aspx Rent at most for me now, don't wish to support this garbage.

Don't skip - problem solved.

[abundant]

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/a...sequences.aspx Rent at most for me now, don't wish to support this garbage.

Did you buy RDR? It had the same exact feature.

[Zoso]

Intuition points, replaying cases, & now skipping action scenes? At least they're all optional, but it seriously sounds like they're trying to make this way too easy.

I want the cases to be hard.