On Tuesday, Rockstar Games (developers of Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption) released their latest game, L.A. Noire. The game is a crime thriller set in Los Angeles in the late 1940s. The player controls a newly-promoted detective as he investigates crimes in one of the city's most decadent periods. Most of the gameplay consists of investigating crime scenes and interrogating witnesses.
Rockstar's biggest success in L.A. Noire is their new MotionScan technology for capturing an actor's expressions. They use 32 cameras positioned around the actor to capture his face as he emotes, and they convert that into CG to use in the game. It allows for a depth of facial expression never before seen in the gaming industry. L.A. Noire was the first game to be shown at the Tribeca Film Festival, where it received near-unanimous praise. It's absolutely breathtaking.
It's also one of the few examples of using better graphics to enhance gameplay rather than for the sake of having better graphics.
The power of modern gaming consoles and PCs means that games can achieve hyper-realistic graphical quality. Franchises like Uncharted have created experiences that could easily pass for Hollywood blockbusters. Unfortunately, this level of visual excellence is incredibly expensive. Games cost upwards of $50 million to make, and much of that goes to the art teams.
The problem with this is that generally the hyper-realistic graphics don't accomplish anything. Games have whiz-bang graphics purely for the sake of whiz-bang graphics. Most games that strive for realism would be equally enjoyable with half the graphical quality. Good gameplay can make up for weak graphics, but good graphics can't make up for weak gameplay.
That's why L.A Noire is so groundbreaking. The technology used to better display facial expressions is vital to the game; players need to watch characters for eye contact and facial ticks to know if the witness is lying or witholding information. I'm glad to see someone finally using their incredible graphics to improve the experience. And thinking back, it should have been obvious that if anyone would do this, it would be Rockstar.
Rockstar's biggest success in L.A. Noire is their new MotionScan technology for capturing an actor's expressions. They use 32 cameras positioned around the actor to capture his face as he emotes, and they convert that into CG to use in the game. It allows for a depth of facial expression never before seen in the gaming industry. L.A. Noire was the first game to be shown at the Tribeca Film Festival, where it received near-unanimous praise. It's absolutely breathtaking.
It's also one of the few examples of using better graphics to enhance gameplay rather than for the sake of having better graphics.
The power of modern gaming consoles and PCs means that games can achieve hyper-realistic graphical quality. Franchises like Uncharted have created experiences that could easily pass for Hollywood blockbusters. Unfortunately, this level of visual excellence is incredibly expensive. Games cost upwards of $50 million to make, and much of that goes to the art teams.
The problem with this is that generally the hyper-realistic graphics don't accomplish anything. Games have whiz-bang graphics purely for the sake of whiz-bang graphics. Most games that strive for realism would be equally enjoyable with half the graphical quality. Good gameplay can make up for weak graphics, but good graphics can't make up for weak gameplay.
That's why L.A Noire is so groundbreaking. The technology used to better display facial expressions is vital to the game; players need to watch characters for eye contact and facial ticks to know if the witness is lying or witholding information. I'm glad to see someone finally using their incredible graphics to improve the experience. And thinking back, it should have been obvious that if anyone would do this, it would be Rockstar.
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