A Take on Tribeca 2011: ‘L.A. Noire’ Makes History, Wows Crowd at Tribeca
By Paul Squire | May 3rd, 2011
The Quad will be giving away the L.A. Noire prize pack handed out at the panel. Details can be found at the end of the article. The winner will be announced Friday.
While documentaries and other feature films played just down the road at the 10th annual Tribeca Film Festival, the School of Visual Arts Theatre was home to a different, historic kind of entertainment. On April 25, L.A. Noire, a detective video game based in 1940′s Hollywood, became the first video game featured at the Tribeca Film Festival after a live demonstration and panel about the game.
(From right) Tribeca Film Festival CCO Jeoff Gilmore and Rockstar Games employees Rob Nelson and Simon Ramsey discuss the upcoming detective game "L.A. Noire" | Photo by Paul Squire
L.A. Noire, created by Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption developers Rockstar Games and Australian developer Team Bondi, has players guide war veteran Cole Phelps as he works he way up the LAPD from recruit to Vice. Along the way, Phelps will encounter Tinseltown corruption and solve arsons, murders, and other crimes based on actual incidents from the era in an 8-square-mile recreation of Los Angeles.
The live demo showed the first homicide mission Phelps would be assigned, called the “Red Lipstick Murder.” The case showed off many of L.A. Noire‘s unique game elements when Phelps picked up and manipulated objects in the game searching for clues; inspecting the naked mutilated body of the victim and sketching out a hidden message on a notepad using a pencil.
Another key feature of the game is the new MotionScan technology, which allows for super-realistic facial animations. The system used 32 HD cameras to capture an actors performance from every angle. The team then took the 2D video and meshed it together to form an accurate recreation of the actor’s performance in 3D. The result is arguably the most impressive, expressive faces in games yet.
“It’s not animation,” said Rockstar art director Rob Nelson, “It’s a performance capture.”
This new technology is put to good use as much of the game focuses on Phelps reading if a suspect is lying or telling the truth. In the demo, the distinction was made obvious to show off the technology. Truthful characters stared Phelps in the face, while lying suspects shifted their eyes and squirmed in their seat. Reading these conversations correctly will open up new clues and paths for the player to follow, while guessing incorrectly will lead players into different situations.
“If you’re making a game about a detective and the main game mechanic is asking people questions…you need to get the best performances,” said Rockstar developer Simon Ramsey. Ramsey said the game features some 400 characters and more than 2,200 pages of dialogue – as much as two seasons of a television series.
The same mission was previewed at the Penny Arcade Expo East convention in Boston in March, but only featured the first half of the 45-minute mission. Rockstar showed the entire level at Tribeca, and did not provide commentary, excluding the first few minutes to explain the game’s mechanics. At times this made the game seem like any other film at the festival. The audience, mostly gamers with some intrigued festival-goers, laughed at the banter between Phelps and his partner and giggled when Phelps bowled over a pedestrian during a tense car chase.
While the game doesn’t feature a multiplayer option, Rockstar hopes that players will play the game together and share their unique experiences afterward. The game is also designed to be more cinematic to appeal to non-gamers, though Rockstar assured the crowd it wouldn’t mean an easier game. L.A. Noire will include pitched firefights and chase scenes, but the majority of gameplay will focus on the storyline.
“We’re not trying to make interactive movies,” Ramsey said. “We’re trying to make games that are cinematic.”
Tribeca Chief Creative Officer Geoff Gilmore lauded the game’s narrative as “unique and compelling,” if “crude.” The highest praise came from an attendee during the Q&A section after the panel. The young woman said she wasn’t a gamer, and only went to the panel as an anniversary favor to her gaming boyfriend.
“I’ve watched him play Mass Effect… [but] I’ll play this,” she told the developers. “This is absolutely incredible to see.”
L.A. Noire will be available on May 17th for Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles.
L.A. Noire Giveaway!
Winners will receive an L.A. Noire prize pack, including one (1) large T-Shirt, an L.A. Noire police flashlight, a game booklet, posters, and stickers.
Fabulous Prizes! | Photo by Paul Squire
To enter, leave a comment on this story and say what feature in L.A. Noire you are most looking forward to. The winner will be chosen at random and announced on Friday.
The feature I am most looking forward to is seeing Mad Men’s Kenny Cosgrove solve some crimes like the badass he is. He should really make a career shift from ad man to P.I. on the show.
Excellent article. It’s great to see LA Noire bridging the game-movie gap. The feature I’m most looking forward to has gotta be the investigation. I’ve longed for a police-sim type game that wasn’t Police Quest for years and finally to see the black veil lifted on LA Noire, I’m simply amazed and astounded. I can’t wait for the release.
Wow great coverage. The event sounded awesome. I am an avid movie watcher and gamer. The only problem is my wife will often share the movie experience with me but not videogames. I’m 38 and have seen it all when it comes to games. Sure 14 years ago my wife would play a few puzzle games with me and maybe the occational fighter but that’s it. When I heard about this title I got excited. I’ve been waiting along time to for games to become even more cinematic. Heavy Rain was a move in the right direction but the tech/actors of La Noire are closer to cinema performances. For to long games have seemed awkward in terms of expression and emotion which makes it hard get into the story like a movie. My wife loves a good mystery book and likes TV crime dramas. You can understand my excitement when I first read about this game. Finally, a genre my wife may enjoy and a level of polish that could appeal to a none gamer. I had a failed attempt at faxing and calling David Cage in hopes of getting a press box for Heavy Rain. I wrote a letter, much like this one, and faxed it. When I called overseas, his secretary simply said they didn’t have anymore kits. I never heard from Cage. I wanted to make a big deal about the game and the kit would have made a possible impression on my wife. I also thought it would make the game more special and given her more back story.
The feature I’m most looking forward to in La Noire is being able to share the story and interrogation scenes with my wife. I would love to have her play a game with me that she got into and wanted to see it through to the end. La Noir seems to be that game. I was alittle bummed about not gettig the Heavy Rain kit. As a result it was harder for me to get her motivated to watch me play. I never dreamed It would be this soon for me to be given the opportunity again to share a cinematic game with my wife. I love what games are doing now days and love my relationship with my wife more. La Noire just may be the game that allows me to have my cake and eat it too. Thanks for reading.
MonkeyHero
Saw the demo of Red Dead at Jacob Burns as well, bringing games to festivals is a great way to introduce non-gamers to games. The thing I’m most looking forward to is…playing it. Not really one thing in particular. I just cant wait to get my hands on it, there’s a certain void in the entertainment aspect of my life that I think can only be filled with LA Noire.
Hi,
I am most looking forward to seeing the scope of this game. This will be the first game where you feel that I have control ovewr the outcome, also using the new hardware being able to see who is telling the truth and who is lying is not only the single most important element to this game but will also be groundbreaking and the way games will follow suit here on in.
CANT WAIT!!
Definitely excited to see how the interrogation sequences work out, but also going around ’40s era Los Angeles.
It’s really great to learn about how many different people have been able to appreciate and enjoy L.A. Noire at Tribeca Film Festival no less! Having studied film and been an avid gamer for more than a decade, the slow approach of thee two mediums to some sort of middle ground has always fascinated me. Games like Final Fantasy and Metal Gear Solid back in the early nineties started to show the trend of developing a more compelling narrative in video games but it hasn’t been until the last few years that games like Uncharted, Metal Gear Solid 4, and of course, Rockstars last two hit titles, GTA IV and Red Dead Redemption, demonstrated the universal appeal of a well written, well crafted, and cinematically appealing video game. Based on the first impressions from your article, it seems like Rockstar and Team Bondi are pursuing that same goal to great effect. In some ways, I feel like L.A. Noire as a video game will be to movies as Watchmen as a graphic novel was to novels. I really hope it plays out well. To that end, I think that what I’m most excited to see in action when I get my hands on L.A. Noire is how well the HD Performance Capture fits into the game world to create a strong narrative and also, how close it comes to the Uncanny Valley of digital characters. There’s a lot of potential here and it sounds like it went over fairly well at it’s showing, so I’m super excited to see what happens when Rockstar and Bondi bring all of these elements together to make one of my childhood dreams come true; feeling like Sam Spade.
Thanks!
As a video game fan it’s good to see a story like this one by Paul Squire. It gives game enthusiast insight into how video games are being accepted into the mainstream entertainment and arts community. To be a part of Tribeca is another key indication of the soundness and momentum of the industry. I can see that games are beginning to have just as much heart as motion pictures in their own respect. There’s always a risk introducing new technological aspects into the mechanics of gaming. Albeit I think Team Bondi just may be on to something that will influence developers in the future. I’m glad that Rockstar and Team Bondi have gotten together to offer fair that more mature players can relate to. I’m 56, so I have a connection to film noir that the average “gamer” probably doesn’t . I’m looking forward to the direction, the production, the shades and shadows. The lighting and the music. The organ grinders, milk men and ice men. The fashions, deco architecture, traffic, street cars and autos. Taverns and burger stands and the like. All the things going on in the background that tell the stories just as much as the primary focus. I’m really glad to see a game where you’re challenged to do more than just run around pulling triggers for hours. I have, from what I’ve seen of it so far, a reasonable amount of anticipation for this effort. I’m confident that Rockstar will live up to their reputation as a groundbreaking and progressive entity in the industry.