la noire

LANGTON - LA NOIRE case study - May 2014

L.A. Noire


L.A.NoireType of Game: “an action-adventure,

neo-noir, crime solving” game.Developed by: Team BondiPublished by: Rockstar GamesFirst Published: beginning of 2011Consoles: Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and

MS Windows (PC).


SalesLA Noire took seven years to produce and

had numerous cancelled launch dates. Originally designed for a single platform

before adaptation.The game had sold almost 5 million copies

by February 2012.It was the best-selling game in the US in May

2011, selling 899,000 copies that month. It stayed at the top of the UK games chart

for three weeks.


Reception The game was widely praised on its

released and received high scores from the major gaming magazines.

Its use of Motion-Scan gained LA Noire very high praise for its realism and its role in advancing the storytelling / narrative and facial animation in games.

“compelling characters and innovative gameplay” – Official PlayStation Magazine.


CriticismsSome gamers suggest that the player

themselves have too little control over the action of the characters.

The story-lines can be over-long and tedious.

The Motion-Scan technology tends to over-emphasise facial features, but isn’t very good at body movements, making some of the action stiff and robotic.

The character of Phelps apparently also becomes randomly psychotic in certain scenarios.


Marketing 1Used numerous internet and TV trailers which

played on its film-noir heritage and origins. Trailer was shown at the Tribeca Film

Festival – the first video game to be shown there.

Pre-release competitions stressed game’s nods to the film industry.

Pre-release - used numerous internet, TV and cinema trailers playing on its movie heritage / background.


Marketing 2Rockstar collaborated with several retail

outlets to promote the game – mainly t-shirt tie-in promotions.

Bonus game add-ons and disc carry-cases were offered as pre-order special offers.

A collection of noir crime short-stories set in Los Angeles was released as a tie-in.

Rockstar Games Social Club features stats, competitions and awards for the game.


Special edition launch pack.


Gameplay 1Set in 1947 Los Angeles – themes of glamour,

fame and wealth as well as crime, vice and corruption.

The player takes the role of Cole Phelps who is an officer in the LAPD.

Phelps’ career progresses through Traffic, Homicide, Vice and Arson – with a series of cases to be worked on.

Clues appear in newspapers and by talking to witnesses and suspects.

The player has a option of working with a partner.


Gameplay 2A mixture of mystery and crime solving

with fast-paced action sequences including on-foot and car chases.

The game uses “MotionScan” technology (similar to FIFA Capture), which uses 32 cameras to record a real-life actor’s movements and then translates them into game animation.

The game has “motion-scanned” famous TV actors to play some of the roles in the game.


Motion-Scan technology


Aaron Staton – also Ken Cosgrove in Mad Men


Action scenes


Car-chases


Crime scenes


Gameplay 3In the interrogations of suspects the Motion-

Scan technology allows the officers to make judgements about their guilt from their facial expressions and challenge their alibis.

There is a clear moral element here – the need to “do the right thing”, but corruption is rife.

Other game options allow the player to drive around a reasonably accurate portrayal of 1940s Los Angeles.


Realistic detail


MusicOfficial music soundtrack featured re-recorded 1940s “style” songs.

A second soundtrack album featured jazz classics from the era – Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington, Louis Armstrong, etc.

The second album was also re-mixed by contemporary DJs – ugh!


Soundtrack albums


SummaryLA Noire blends the style of the film-noire

genre with video gameplay.It is an attempt to add intelligent crime-solving

/ mystery with action adventure scenes such as car-chases.

The use of Motion-Scan technology makes it innovative and entertaining.

It would appear to have a limited audience due to its themes and its promotion links with the Hollywood films of the 1940s would attract a very specific Target Audience.

la noire

Entertainment & Humor

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sales la noire

noire type of game

video game

bestselling game

bonus game addons

games nods

filmnoir heritage