L.A. Noire is a dark and violent detective thriller set against the backdrop of Los Angeles in the post-war years of the late 1940s. The game draws stylistically from the film noir genre of movies, which were popular in the 1940’s and 1950’s.
Gamers can expect themes of crime, sex, corruption, drugs, and moral ambiguity against a post-World War II backdrop.
In L.A. Noire, players will take the reins of newly minted detective Cole Phelps (played by Aaron Staton of Mad Men) as he solves gruesome and mind-bending cases, interrogates suspects, and rises through the ranks of the LAPD.
MotionScan – L.A. Noire’s Revolutionary Technology
The foundation of L.A. Noire is a brand new technology called MotionScan that enables developer Team Bondi to capture and scan every nuance of a real actor’s facial performances and put them right into the game itself.
Team Bondi claims via press release that “it provides a level of realism, detail, performance and emotion never seen before in a videogame, and brings them to life in a totally new way. This goes beyond the limited grid of data points delivered by traditional motion capture – these are the actual performances themselves, scanned and placed onto our digital characters.”
“This marriage of gameplay and technology allows players for the first time ever to truly feel like a detective, reading the emotional behaviour of every character. Furthermore, MotionScan lends itself perfectly to this type of game: one that focuses on characters and performances where everyone has something to hide.”
‘A picture speaks a thousand words’ as the old adage goes, and seeing the facial animations in action proves that Team Bondi and sister company Depth Analysis might indeed have a technology worth boasting about.
Facts About MotionScan
– MotionScan utilizes 32 high-definition cameras that completely surround the actor and capture the performance in 3D at 30 frames-per-second.
– MotionScan is a technology provided by Depth Analysis, a sister company to Team Bondi and part of a special partnership with Rockstar Games.
– Every character in L.A. Noire uses MotionScan technology and over 400 actors were filmed making the game.
– L.A. Noire will be the first video game ever to utilize MotionScan technology.
Publisher Rockstar Games and developer Team Bondi aim to release the game mid-year 2011. However, L.A. Noire has had a history of production delays so don’t be too surprised if it doesn’t quite make it to stores shelves by that time. The game will be released for Xbox 360 and PS3.
Discuss L.A. Noire motion capture technology on the MyGaming forums.
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