L.A. Noire Message Board older than one year ago

"We're not trying to make interactive movies, we're making video games that are cinematic," Rockstar's Simon Ramsey told the audience at the 2011 Tribecca Film Festival. L.A. Noire is the first video game ever to make an appearance at the event. Ramsey presented a walkthrough of one the game's early cases, "The Red Lipstick Murder" on the big screen at Chelsea's SVA Theater in Manhattan...

#blip Here's a little something to adorn your desktop with in the days leading up to L.A. Noire's release. [Rockstar] More »

Rockstar has announced both the in-game and web-based online Social Club features that will be integrated into LA Noire. Within the game itself, logging into the Social Club will unlock the Chicago Lightning Suit, which can be worn by protagonist Cole Phelps once he becomes a detective. For some unfathomable reason, the suit improves Phelps' accuracy with shotguns and machine guns -- we guess they just don't make them like they used to.

Players will also be able to "Ask the Community" when Phelps is interviewing witnesses and suspects. When deciding whether or not someone is telling the truth, Phelps can use Ask the Community to see percentages of what other Social Club members chose in the same situation. The feature requires Intuition Points to use, which Rockstar notes are "in short supply." Again, we're not sure where Phelps acquired his magic, time-traveling, internet-connected notepad, but we suggest everyone just roll with it.

Several features are available via the Social Club website, including a 100 percent completion checklist, game statistics and Achievement and Trophy tracking. The site also includes a Case Tracker that allows players to access Phelps' notebook, which contains "virtually everything" that he has jotted down within the game, letting players stay "on the case and connected with [their] investigation" no matter where they are.

#lanoire The audience laughed loudly once during the first film festival screening I've ever seen of a video game. More »

#shortcutsandobstacles The next big game from Rockstar Games and Team Bondi will be challenging—or easy—in unusual ways. More »

If the bevy of trailers and previews we've seen of LA Noire are any indication, it looks like it might be Rockstar's most cinematic game to date. What about those poor souls who want to enjoy these film-like qualities, but can't manage to virtual-shoot to save their virtual-lives? According to MTV Multipalyer, Rockstar art director Rob Nelson assuaged this group's fears while demoing the game at the Tribeca Film Festival last night, telling attendees that they'll be afforded the option to skip action sequences after failing them two or three times.

Nelson explained, "You can skip those action elements and still experience the bulk of the narrative." Can you? We're not exactly sold on the idea. Wouldn't that be like reading a book, and then skipping those pages where the protagonist shoots hundreds and hundreds of dudes?

#watchthis LA Noire was shown off behind closed doors earlier tonight at the Tribeca Film Festival. It was a strictly no-cameras kind of event, something YouTube user Darkskater7991 seems to have overlooked. More »

While much has been said about the animation technology used in L.A. Noire, a recent piece from the Los Angeles Times reveals that Rockstar and Team Bondi have expended considerable effort in recreating Los Angeles as it was in 1947. The development team used 1930s era Works Progress Administration maps and topographical information from the US Geological Society to create a city layout.

Beyond the city itself, the developers also strove to accurately represent the lives within it. For example, aerial film and photography from the period was used to recreate authentic traffic patterns. Many other factors were researched, from clothing to the levels of smog that were present in 1947. Head over to the L.A. Times site for the full story.

#gallery We're just a few weeks away from the release of Rockstar's next big effort, crime drama L.A. Noire. Today, the people behind Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption give us a peek at L.A. Noire's vice desk, which apparently deals with Los Angeles' "dregs, druggies, pimps, pushers, prostitutes, bootleggers, bookies, mob lords, thugs and gangsters." Yes, they're a busy division! More »

Rockstar said it had some new "Crime Desk" screens from LA Noire, but then we looked through the gallery in this feature and found a knife, a boxing ring, a slot machine and plenty of people ... but no desks. What gives?

Oh, wait -- we get it. "Crime Desk" refers here not to a literal desk, but to the LAPD's Vice division. That's pretty embarrassing on our part. We might have a little trouble with the in-game detective work.

Something something badge something piece something clean up this town!

The rise from lowly beat cop to member of the Vice Squad will be one fraught with danger, but you're up to the challenge, right? The latest trailer for LA Noire certainly hopes so, as it shows off some exciting details leading up to your big promotion. You've only got a few weeks left! Look lively!

#watchthis As Rockstar's L.A. Noire approaches release, we're getting a closer look at how you'll rise through the ranks of the L.A. PD and solve "unassigned cases." More »

L.A. Noire is nothing if not ambitious. At first glance it may seem to tell a simple story; that of Cole Phelps decorated WWII veteran and his rise through the Los Angeles police force. Given that he moves from case to case, and desk to desk: from beat cop through traffic, arson, vice and homicide, it's not hard to see gamers thinking that this is a linear game; that players aren't necessarily active agents in the narrative. But that's a long way from the case...

When L.A. Noire ships for PlayStation 3 next month, the game will include an exclusive mission called "Consul's Car Traffic Case." Details about the mission are not known. A Rockstar representative said they'll have more information coming soon. Separate case missions are also available to those who pre-order the game at participating Walmart stores called "A Slip of the Tongue" and at GameStop called "The Naked City" for both PS3 and Xbox 360...

While catching up on our everyday viewing of The Daily Show on Hulu, we noticed an advertisement for Team Bondi's forthcoming detective drama, LA Noire. According to a note displayed at the end, the "Consul's Car Traffic Case" will only be available in the PS3 version. Though we weren't quick enough with our cameras, a cheetah-like commenter on Rockstar's blog snapped the pic you see above, confirming the case. Red Dead Redemption fans will no doubt remember Rockstar offering similarly exclusive PS3 content in last year's Wild West shooter.

As VG247 reports, a Rockstar staffer allegedly told the commenters to "Look for more details on that, coming soon" with regards to the PS3-exclusive DLC, but that comment has since been removed. Either way, with just over a month until the game's official launch, we expect to hear more about the Consul's Car Traffic Case soon.

[Thanks, MLC]

Edge recently visited the offices of Alan Wake developer Remedy Entertainment, where the studio is hard at work implementing brand new facial animation technology. Created by lead animator John Root, the system uses motion capture to generate scans of actors (accurate to within 0.02 inches) and encapsulates 64 different facial poses.

Root claims those are a basis for every possible human expression. Animators can manipulate faces in real-time rather than rely on canned recordings, and future improvements to the technology may allow them to adjust coloring based on simulated blood flow beneath the skin. The first showcase for Root's kit is a new model of Alan Wake -- a fitting subject, considering he had some trouble with lip syncing in his debut game.

Remedy CEO Matias Myllyrinne says Rockstar and Team Bondi has "set a bar" for facial animation, but that the studio wants to push it higher. Further clarifying via Twitter, Myllyrinne complimented LA Noire, saying it remains "the benchmark for emotional characters today." It looks like Remedy doesn't have any hard feelings toward Rockstar for that whole, you know, May 2010 thing.

We're not the only ones impressed by the facial mapping in LA Noire. Edge visited the offices of Alan Wake developer Remedy Entertainment recently, sampling some of the developer's new motion-capture tech for its next game, and the studio is apparently quite enamored with what its seen in LA Noire so far.

Remedy CEO Matias Myllyrinne says Rockstar and Team Bondi has "set a bar" for facial animation. Further clarifying via Twitter, Myllyrinne says it's "the benchmark for emotional characters today." With Remedy's upcoming game the studio hopes to raise the bar even further, hinting at a feature in the works that will allow developers to adjust coloring based on blood flow -- a furrowed brow would reflect the shift in blood flow through a change in coloring. Of course, Remedy didn't offer anything concrete on its upcoming game.

In the end, we're just glad that Remedy doesn't have any hard feelings toward Rockstar for that whole, you know, May 2010 thing.

When we first saw the facial-mapping in LA Noire, we must admit we were taken aback. The level of realism is something amazing to behold, as we've said in the past, but we're not the only ones impressed. Edge toured Remedy Entertainment recently, sampling some of the developer's new motion-capture tech for it's next game, and the studio is apparently quite enamored with what they've seen in LA Noire.

Remedy CEO Matias Myllyrinne says Rockstar and Team Bondi has "set a bar" for facial animation. Further clarifying via Twitter, Myllyrinne says it's "the benchmark for emotional characters today." With Remedy's upcoming game, the studio hopes to raise the bar even further, hinting at a feature in the works that will allow developers to adjust coloring based on blood flow -- a furrowed brow would reflect the shift in blood flow through a change in coloring. Of course, Remedy didn't offer anything concrete on its upcoming game.

In the end, we're just glad that Remedy doesn't have any hard feelings toward Rockstar for that whole, you know, May 2010 thing.

Crime and drama are present and accounted for in the latest trailer for Rockstar and Team Bondi's noir crime drama L.A. Noire. So is another well-known addition to the cast: John Noble, who plays Dr. Walter Bishop on Fox's sci-fi series Fringe (and was Denethor in the third Lord of the Rings film).

Noble and the rest of the cast are looking better than ever in this new footage that seems to show the game in its most current form -- one in which the characters' facial animation is still fantastic, but looks much more refined (and thus way less creepy). There's probably, oh, a second or two of actual gameplay, but what do you expect ... it's a Rockstar trailer.

Investigate it for yourself after the break.

#video Back in the days of Rockstar's L.A. Noire, the Los Angeles Police Department was a haven for corruption, where bribery, cover-ups, and extortion were common practices. Thank goodness detective Cole Phelps got that all cleaned up. More »

The City of Angels is afire with corruption in this trailer comprised entirely of in-game footage for L.A. Noire!

#goldenoldies Rockstar and Team Bondi's upcoming crime drama LA Noire is showing off its "bemused broads" and "dapper hats" technology in these four new screenshots for the game. More »

The Hollywood Reported chatted with Rockstar's Dan Houser at the Tribeca Film Festival (where L.A. Noire is being shown off as an "interactive screening") and he said that, despite all of the attempts at solid transmedia properties recently, "no one has done it very successfully yet." The issue, in his opinion, is that companies are all too often going for money rather than what's right for the medium. "Too often, however," he said, "the aim appears to be to cash-in on the success of a particular game, book, pop singer, website, etc., and that usually produces mediocre results."

Houser also said that Rockstar has "explored a lot of movie deals," but wants to stick with games for the moment. He's personally enamored with two genres: Westerns, which were explored in Red Dead Redemption, and film noire, which developer Team Bondi plays with in this latest game.

Providing some insight into its development, Houser said that his company "employed a massive number of actors in the game -- over 400," along with "hair and make-up artists, a great television director ... and a lot of original costumes, props and other research from the studios themselves" to recreate the golden era of Hollywood. We'll see if Rockstar can make up that virtual fedora budget on May 17.

#grandtheftauto The makers of Grand Theft Auto, Red Dead Redemption and the upcoming L.A. Noire haven't hopped on the "transmedia" bandwagon yet, meaning they haven't tapped their best known franchises for movies, television shows or comic books. Why not? More »

Just about every human being that's laid eyes on the eerily accurate visages of L.A. Noire have had roughly the same reaction of shock and awe. Every human being, that is, except for Quantic Dream's David Cage, who spoke to CVG about Team Bondi's mocap process, saying, "I think it's an interesting solution to a problem for now." He later expounded, "Their technique is incredibly expensive and they will never be able to shoot body and face at the same time."

Cage revealed that Quantic Dreams is leveraging just that kind of tech for an unannounced title, saying, "We see a huge difference between shooting the face and body separately and shooting everything at the same time. Suddenly you've got a real sense of acting that is consistent." Well, there's our first hint about the studio's follow-up to Heavy Rain: Its characters will have both faces and bodies. Not one or the other, as was the case in Quantic's earlier, far more upsetting game, The Disembodied Faces vs. The Disemfaced Bodies.

Stepping into April means we're one month closer to L.A. Noire's May release, but it's not enough. We just can't wait to hit the streets of 1940s Los Angeles as a hard-boiled beat cop, and this update from the official Rockstar blog isn't helping. Not only are there new screens to see, but we get details on two early cases in the game. One's a standard "robbery in progress" call tasking you with delivering a bit of shotgun justice to the local grocer, and the other one's a crime scene investigation, where you've got to hunt for a murder weapon in the dark.

Rockstar also says that walking the beat and solving these crimes is "how you pay your dues" as a uniformed officer, so not only are you out to right wrongs, but you're trying to impress the higher-ups and make detective as well. It just sounds like too much fun -- come on April showers, bring us a new Rockstar game already!

#preorderbonus Preorder Rockstar's L.A. Noire from GameStop and you get a thrilling homicide case. Preorder the game from Walmart and you're stuck on traffic duty. More »

There are plenty of similarities between LA Noire and Rockstar's other crime-centric franchise, Grand Theft Auto. Namely, the former contains a lot of grand theft auto. Check out the trailer for "A Slip of the Tongue," a case offered exclusively as a Walmart pre-order bonus, posted just below.

A simple case of a stolen vehicle reveals a plot much more sinister in the downloadable Slip of the Tongue Traffic Case!