L.A Noire MotionScan tech 'won't work for every game'

L.A Noire's stunning new motion capture technology may not spread across Rockstar's future catalogue of games, according to Rockstar's VP of product Development, Jeronimo Barrera.

While Barrera is clearly a big fan of MotionScan, which takes credit for some of the amazing facial animation in Team Bondi's upcoming detective thriller, he has implied that some titles just won't warrant the use of the technology:

"We would love to see it implemented as widely as possible, whether it is appropriate will depend on the project. MotionScan is more than just the end result;" he told IGN. 

"It's an entire approach to game development, so it will not work for every game. It's a huge part of L.A. Noire because it's tied to the core mechanics of analyzing a suspect's behaviour during interrogations and reading their emotional cues. It's a pioneering form of technology that breaks new ground for gameplay."

Rockstar revealed that specific release date soon. 



Report: CVG

“Opens Up Whole New Avenues in the Medium” – The Daily Telegraph and Gizmodo Talk L.A. Noire Tech

MotionScan technology behind LA Noire’s hyper-realistic faces is as much a marvel of technological process as it is impeccable design. Recently, several journalists worldwide had the opportunity to visit the studio of Depth Analysis, the sister company to Team Bondi and the creators of the MotionScan technology. To compliment the release of last week's video, "The Technology Behind Performance", The Daily Telegraph andGizmodo wrote about their experiences with the technology, and on the process that brings these characters to life. Here are a few choice excerpts:

“The woman I’m speaking to is lying. I don’t need to listen to what she’s saying; I can tell from her body language that she is unnerved by my questions. Her body is slightly turned away from me, her arms are folded and she is nervously chewing her bottom lip. Most telling, however, is the look in her eyes and the way that she refuses to make eye contact. The woman I’m referring to, however, isn’t real. She’s a computer generated representation of an actress playing a character in an upcoming video game called L A Noire. The technology being used to display her face captures every detail; every line and every facial tick. Not only is it an incredible piece of work, it has an immersive effect on the player. In no time at all, I’ve begun to think of this collection of pixels as a living, breathing person.”

Read more from The Daily Telegraph at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/video-games/8204296/L-A-Noire-preview-finally-the-videogame-that-feels-like-a-film.html

“From the moment Rockstar unveiled their trailer for upcoming detective thriller, L.A. Noire from Aussie developers Team Bondi, we’ve known that the bar for motion capture in video games has not only been raised, but sent through the roof. Animators have been flirting with the edge of the uncanny valley for years, but now using some incredibly intelligent and advanced technology, the guys from Team Bondi have created the 21st century version of Pinocchio, turning digital game characters into realistic, animated people.”

Read more from Gizmodo at: http://gizmodo.com/5714436/how-la-noire-conquered-the-uncanny-valley-with-a-tech-called-motionscan

More DLC for Red Dead Redemption?

Rockstar had a bunch more ideas for Red Dead Redemption that just didn't make the cut.  This is surprising considering the wealth of content that Red Dead Redemption did include.  In a recent issue of Official PlayStation Magazine, Rockstar VP Jeronimo Barrea told the magazine.  " For all the games we work on, we have a massive number of ideas that don't make it in".  So let's cut to the chase Jeronimo, there's more DLC coming isn't there?  As much as we would like there to be.  This was not mentioned.

The article also did not mention whether there was a sequel in the works, but in this day and age of milking cows until they fall over and die it would not be surprising to hear about a Red Dead Sequel in the near future, right after GTA V, LA Noire, AGENT, and whatever else the developing titan is going to bless us with in the near future.

Source: CVG

Grand Theft Auto V going Hollywood?

Grand Theft Auto V going Hollywood?
Multiple rumours suggest that the next Grand Theft Auto game may be set in and around Hollywood (or at least a parody thereof) and not a new city.

The rumours began over the weekend with a peculiar report on website vg247 which suggested the game was 'set in Hollywood'. 

There was no more detail than that, expect the suggestion that a reveal may be planned for an upcoming Max Payne 3 event (which seems unlikely to us, Rockstar would surely want to make a bigger fuss than that). 

Subsequently a number of other websites, including Eurogamer, began to confirm - from typically unnamed sources - that Rockstar is 'ramping up research on locations around Hollywood'. 

Now that doesn't mean exactly the same thing, and in fact doesn't even confirm it's anything to do with Grand Theft Auto, but it is interesting nonetheless. 

Whether the next game really is Grand Theft Auto V (i.e. a new game using an entirely new game engine) or a spin-off using the same graphics as Grand Theft Auto IV (as Vice City and San Andreas were to Grand Theft Auto III) is not clear.
The whole thing does seem rather odd though as San Andreas already includes a Hollywood parody (called Vinewood) and the actual town in real-life is quite small - so it seems a poor choice for a whole Grand Theft Auto game. Especially as Rockstar are still working on L.A. Noire anyway.
The only people that could tell you for sure are Rockstar but as you might imagine the only comment they're prepared to make is "no comment". 


article by: metro.co.uk