The Controversial History of L.A. Noire

[Music] hundreds of video games launched annually each unique in their own right yet so few standout fewer still approved groundbreaking enough to leave an indelible mark on the industry in 2004 the Sydney Australia based Team Bondi embarked on a lengthy development journey to craft such an experienced studio founder Brendan McNamara longed to create a game to rival the likes of Rockstar Games as Grand Theft Auto franchise from McNamara's perspective producing something so ambitious unfortunately necessitated unmitigated sacrifice Team Bondi 2011 detective thriller la noir made for an unprecedented piece of art a rock star published open-world adventure the game boasted a near-perfect facsimile of 1947 Los Angeles thanks to Team Bondi sister company depth analysis the revolutionary technology known as motion scan populated Los Angeles's gorgeously recreated digital world with stunningly realistic characters players explore said world by assuming the role of Cole Phelps a former Marine whose investigative prowess sees him quickly climb the LAPD ranks by solving crimes practically all of which were inspired by period specific LAPD Case Files the final product remains a seminal part of rockstars catalog it's critical acclaim and commercial success undoubtedly a result of the game's meticulous attention to detail however even Cole Phelps would have struggled to unravel the mysteries behind la noir x' circuitous developments beset by oppressive working conditions and a litany of other issues that culminated in Team Bondi story demise this is the history of la noir [Music] I'll think he's with us again only sunshine good to see you again she sleep well you look a little drowsy grievious bring the boy around I want his undivided attention shortly after directing team Soho's the getaway for Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Brendan McNamara returned to his home country of Australia to found Team Bondi bringing along five of his former colleagues the group spent months doing technical research on a new IP for what was then referred to as the third-generation PlayStation before Sony Computer Entertainment America and Team Bondi formally announced their exclusive publishing deal in January of 2004 in an interview with Eurogamer the following month McNamara described a partnership as a long-term exclusive agreement ironically despite a reported three game deal the agreement came to an end approximately two years later Team Bondi unveiled its ps3 exclusive as la noir in July 2005 yet the studio's relationship with Sony had strangely changed by September of 2006 as rock star shared plans to publish la noir merely labeling it a next generation crime thriller and making no mention of specific platforms though a black-and-white teaser trailer accompanied the news another month passed before a lengthier debut trailer hit the web [Music] this initial glimpse constituted a proof of concept above all outs still it was more than enough to draw attention to the work-in-progress especially with rockstars seal of approval but the GTA studios involvement meant more frail a Noir than funding and a well-known company logo attached to an enchanting trailer McNamara addressed the magnitude of rockstar support in Game Informer's March 2010 la noir cover issue praising the company's gameplay expertise and incredible attention to detail he echoed similar sentiments and a gained spot retrospective one month following the project's release explaining that la noir would not exist without the contributions of everyone in the Rockstar family such aid consisting of assistance from several Rockstar satellite studios represented a boon for Team Bondi considering Elena wores unparalleled technical goals the company needed all the extra help it could muster what have we got white female dumped in plain sight I'll bet a month's salary this is a copycat for women all murdered all put on display all with messages The Examiner received a new letter today we got the wrong guy [Music] MacNamaras ambitions extended beyond those of writing and directing a rock star caliber adventure he also dreamed of pioneering a new way to record performances and games essentially aiming to capture more detail in motion capture thus in addition to founding Team Bondi he established depth analysis in 2004 instantly beginning work on a novel technique with the company's head of research and development oliver bow together the duo conceived motion scan technology that abandoned traditional motion capture in favor of an intricate rig composed of 32 high-definition cameras since each camera captured 3d performances at upwards of 30 frames per second motion scan processed approximately 50 minutes of final footage per day a higher rate than industry standard methods in a 2010 press release unveiling depth analysis and motion scan mcnamara claimed no other capture solution could communicate the subtle nuances of la noir the recording process took place in a soundproof and light proof room uniformly bathed in a sterile white light to guarantee the actors face remain and obscured by shadows during capture sessions the actor sat motionless Lee in a chair surrounded by the 32 camera rig depth analysis intricate set up seamlessly converted film visuals into 3d footage eliminating the need for the finer touches of character artists and the phosphorescent paint typically applied to an actor's face though Team Bondi still made use of motion capture for tracking body movements mcnamara viewed motion scan as a solution to the traditional techniques other quirks like the uncanny valley that long played game performances with lip-syncing issues interestingly motion scans speedier capture method presented a few unique challenges most notably casting proved a Herculean effort because every character needed to be fully animated and voiced random pedestrian's included the delicate way in which motion scan operated further exacerbated casting Louis Cole folks actor Aaron statin divulged performers were only allowed about 45 degrees of head movement when sitting in the rigs chair these stringent limitations were particularly taxing on Australian actors who struggled to remain still while speaking in an American acts in part such peculiar circumstances inform depth analysis decision to move its operations from Sydney to Los Angeles in late 2009 despite the extra hassle motion scan epitomized team bond eyes groundbreaking aspirations which were additionally elevated by another piece of custom technology [Music] [Music] in accommodating motion scan la noir became one of the few posts 2006 Rockstar projects to not run on its 4-h game engine with the team bond I designed proprietary engine powering the detective thriller instead the studio's initial proximity to Sony saw Team Bondi base its technology on the ps3 cell microprocessor taking advantage of its synergistic processing units to fully realize the dynamic weather physics traffic systems and day/night cycle in la noir these efforts proved integral to the game's innumerable triumphs nearly every facet of team bond eyes and depth analysis as technological advances warranted praise upon release specifically Elena wores most marketed feature interrogations regardless of whether protagonist Cole Phelps was a beat cop decorated LAPD detective or slumming at post emotion in arson squad interrogations were paramount to the experience your husband is missing and after our search I'm willing to call the circumstances suspicious can you account for your movements last night you're not accusing me are you thing to say investigations began with Cole visiting a crime scene and scouring the area for evidence players then utilize newfound intelligence to question witnesses and ultimately bring in suspects enter the significance of motion scan which allowed players to analyze the facial expressions of every witness and suspect depending on how a character reacted to close questioning players could select truth doubt or lie in order to advance the interrogation process thus a player's attentiveness or lack thereof could either make or break a case incorrectly accusing a witness of lying could result in their refusal to disclose further information doing the same to a suspect would elicit similar consequences the gameplay mechanic itself isn't without flaws however choosing doubt during interrogation sequences sometimes led to Cole's response seeming overly hostile Gabriel's been in trouble before he left you here alone dancer form and you expect me to believe that his motive was honor please don't yell at me I've done nothing wrong McNamara told an audience at Bradford animation festival 2011 that this wasn't team bond eyes intention interrogation segments were written in film to support coax force and lie options doubt then became a substitute for force a more aggressive answer interestingly rockstars le noir remaster changed the dialogue choices once more to good cop bad cop and accused the arduous effort that went into capturing facial features wasn't similarly applied to body movements consequently critics and players alike critiqued le noir for its characters appearing dead from the neck down according to McNamara's talk at Bradford animation festival achieving realism in a character's expressions led some to expect an equally unprecedented level of detail would be reflected in the way clothes and bodies moved at the time video games were not yet capable of replicating said behaviors regardless le noir technical flaws were far and away superseded by numerous strengths evidenced and its earning quite a few perfect and near-perfect review scores Team Bondi primarily garnered praise for the impressive manner with which investigations were handled apart from the aforementioned bewilderment concerning some of Cole's questionable responses the gameplay mechanics embedded within investigations were also generally well received however many reviewers felt the overarching narrative namely that which centred on Cole Phelps personal life considerably lacked emotional weight the Rockstar published titles commercial success was no slouch either less than a month after its ps3 and xbox 360 release la noir boasted sales of 899 thousand copies in the United States alone in early 2012 rockstars parent company take-two interactive revealed a sales total of nearly five million units worldwide Team Bondi and rockstar didn't get to bask in the adulation for long reportedly le noir s praiseworthy triumph came at us deep cost [Music] that's him get him from conception to its May 2011 release la noir seven year development cycle endured many hardships while the challenges involving motion scan certainly played a part some developers blamed ineffective leadership compounded by the unpleasant studio culture the first complaint went public in January 2010 weeks after the Rockstar spouse controversy first rocked the industry earlier that month spouses of Rockstar San Diego personnel took to Gamasutra airing their grievances about alleged six-day work week's pay cuts and the degradation employees suffered because of crunch practices according to a series of anonymous Suites the Rockstar spouse allegations were identical to those from unnamed sources familiar with team bond dyes operations following the game's launch ieg and Australia published a comprehensive look at why La Noir took 7 years to make the site's findings were based on testimonials from eleven former developers dubbed the Bondi 11 all of whom preferred to remain anonymous IGN additionally interviewed McNamara to garner his impressions of the claims the Bondi eleven all shared similar anecdotes about Team Bondi studio culture according to them the early days were quite tough but good in fact within the first year Team Bondi delivered a couple of milestones to Sony even though they were unimpressive consequently managers became aggressive and demanding ex-employee spoke of ominous crunch that culminated in unrealistic goals unreasonable deadlines and verbally abusive behavior an artist reported having worked 60 hour work weeks on average for three years which sometimes leads past 100 hours and anyone who clocked out at 7:30 p.m. would get evil eyes each of IGN sources claimed they never received overtime pay team bond dyes and formal hierarchies served as another point of contention often resulting in McNamara directly approaching staff with critiques as opposed to consulting team leaders when questioned the studio head countered that since la noir was his game he could approach anyone on the team and enforce changes with regard to intense work hours McNamara insisted he stayed longer than anyone else furthermore because they were producing something wholly unique he felt that his staff should have been willing to put in whatever labor necessary while McNamara conceded the hours were abnormal he argued those wanting a nine-to-five would do best to pursue another career he applied a similar thought process to verbal abuse allegations one source described McNamara as the angriest person he'd ever met citing instances of the studio hit screaming at developers McNamara didn't consider his behavior verbally abusive though reasoning that his passion led to arguments which in turn began progress unsurprisingly the poor state of affairs resulted in loss of turnover where by developers seldom stuck around McNamara admitted more than 100 staff departed during La Nina wash production according to him most were inexperienced but the bond I 11 argued the studio purposefully hired junior personnel considering them disposable resources if they couldn't handle long hours and work filled weekends they were encouraged to leave worse still dozens of employees didn't receive credit for their contributions in July 2011 former staffers launched an la noir credits website stating that over 100 ex developers weren't mentioned in the credits apparently these workers failed to garner mention because they weren't at the studio when production concluded a significant number of them reportedly didn't exit Team Bondi by choice either rather they were made redundant as art production wound down others were shuffled out once Quality Assurance roles moved to rock stars offshore studios most devastating about such omissions was la noir as importance to Australia's then acent development community without their work properly credited some developers may have been forced to pursue other careers [Music] [Music] Team Bondi immediately received contempt due to IG on Australia's article much of the heat came from the International Game Developers Association or IG da whose Board of Directors launched an investigation to determine the reports veracity the IG da encouraged others to come forward to Andrew Macmillan the writer of the IGN piece received messages from two staffers in particular both of whom corroborated the Bondi 11 story they leaked additional emails detailing team bond eyes deteriorating relationship with rock star according to Macmillan sources Rockstar presented Team Bondi slack of direction because the latter insisted on insane decisions Rockstar producers became increasingly influential throughout the last two years of la noir adduction assisting programmers animators and artists supposedly there were plans to bring Team Bondi on board as Rockstar Sydney but these never came to fruition before long Rockstar withdrew as support forcing Team Bondi to find another entity to fund its next project la Noir spiritual successor horror of the Orient film production company kennedy miller mitchell absorbed the developer in august 2011 yet studio closures and soured publishing deals ensured horror of the orient never saw the light of day Rockstar retain the rights to la noir allowing for a remaster to his stores in 2017 on the Nintendo switched ps4 and Xbox one the VR Case Files followed soon thereafter featuring several cases retooled for virtual reality many a fan hoped these releases were a sign of Rockstar testing the waters perhaps insinuating production on a proper sequel apart from unsubstantiated rumors however such hopes remain only that the franchise arguably deserves a second chance a new installment whose finer qualities won't be sullied by behind-the-scenes controversy just as Team Bondi success represents a pivotal moment in the mediums technological and storytelling evolution so too does it illustrate the pains of unhealthy working conditions an issue that the gaming industry is all too familiar with [Music] you thank you for watching our video our documentaries are crowdfunded and made possible by your continued support for us we'd like to thank by name the generous patrons who have pledged to our highest rewards here Caleb she's keifa CH Daria top-secret zone mu movies.com Jefferson dos Santos Oliveira Maktoum Saeed Al Maktoum Nick Timor to this bake-off if you enjoy our content please consider subscribing to our channel and joining us on patreon thank you Cole we've got things to do

Channel: GVMERS

Views: 565,172

Keywords: LA Noire, L.A. Noire, Remastered, Remake, VR Case Files, LA Noire 2, L.A. Noire 2, Whore of The Orient, Team Bondi, Rockstar Games, Documentary, Brendan McNamara, 4K, Gameplay, Behind The Scenes

Id: KO53rj04-ls

Length: 20min 2sec (1202 seconds)

Published: Wed Apr 29 2020