The future is uncertain for Whore of the Orient, the next game from LA Noire developer Team Bondi. Kennedy Mitchell Miller (KMM) absorbed the staff of Team Bondi, but has now reportedly shut down the division making the game and laid off much of the staff, leaving the game adrift.
Whore of the Orient, Team Bondi's follow-up to the stylish L.A. Noire, is apparently in pre-production and is expected to be "similar" to its predecessor, according to some job listings uncovered by super sleuth superannuation. The title will supposedly go into full production next year.
Welcome to the Friday edition of the Morning Caffeinated, folks. Read it for your you morning jolt of gaming goodness to get you through the day leading into the glorious weekend.
I don't know about you, but the season premiere of Doctor Who is looking really good for tomorrow evening. If you've been in Chatty, then you know I've been enjoying the Pond Life prequel episodes. From the good Doctor alarming Rory and Amy into a sleepless night or the "Ood on the loo" (as Ambient80 so eloquently put it), they have been pretty entertaining and a good tease for season 7. The last one is up today and is a bit more ominous than the last four. Will be interesting to see how it all ties together with the Daleks tomorrow night.
More details are emerging on Whore of the Orient, the next title from L.A. Noire developer Team Bondi. Warner Brothers will be publishing the title, which is aiming for release on next generation consoles and PC.
Last week, Rockstar Games released a new version of LA Noire with touch controls. But you'd be forgiven if you didn't know about it--it's a touch version created exclusively for OnLive. It's easily the best showcase of OnLive's ability to stream games to Android phones and tablets. However, the experience is marred by many of the same issues that plagued the launch of the service.
It's hard not to be stupefied when LA Noire is running as it should on the phone. After playing Angry Birds Space, it's hard not to be floored by the graphics. Whether on wi-fi or on 4G, my connection provided a clear image that let me appreciate the detailed environments and impressive facial capture technology developed by Team Bondi. This is the complete game experience running on my handheld. "This is the future," I thought.
George Miller may be best known for his work on Mad Max, Mel Gibson's futuristic action flick. However, he's found success with Happy Feet, and most recently, Happy Feet Two.
Ever since LA Noire developer Team Bondi closed its doors, Miller's studio, KMM, picked up many of the pieces. KMM is now home to a number of Team Bondi developers, including controversial director Brendan McNamara, who is now working on a new game for Miller, currently titled Whore of the Orient.
LA Noire received critical praise and a lot of attention for its facial animation tech, but its launch was amid buzz of studio troubles. Now studio head Brendan McNamara has commented on Team Bondi's shuttering, blaming it on poor project timing. He also talked about his relationship with Rockstar, and compared his reputation to a sandwich spread.
The studio behind LA Noire may be no more, but that hasn't stopped the game's writer and director, Brendan McNamara, from pursuing a new title, one that expands upon the lessons learned from his crime drama for Rockstar. "I learned a ton of things from doing LA Noire which will hopefully play into what we do next," he said.
But what's the game about? Apparently, "one of the great untold stories of the twentieth century."
If you've spent some time investigating crimes in LA Noire, you know that detective Cole Phelps has the ugly tendency to treat everyone as a hostile witness if you pick the wrong option. Grandmothers, children, the weeping families of deceased victims -- none are safe from Cole's reign of arbitrarily aggressive terror.
So what's the deal? Apparently in the recording sessions, actor Aaron Staton was given slightly different phrasing to describe Phelps' reactions, resulting in the disconnect.
Sometimes, don't you wish Cole Phelps would forgo questioning a suspect? Maybe you've wanted to just beat an answer out of someone, instead of having to use an Intuition Point in L.A. Noire? Jeronimo Barrera, VP of Product Development at Rockstar Games, talked about how that once was an option for players to take in the game.
"The team did experiment with implementing a 'force' option that would encourage Phelps to get physical during the interrogations," Barrera said. So why was it taken out?
Publisher Rockstar announced last month that the PC version of L.A. Noire would be a 'Complete Edition,' including every downloadable content pack, and now it's confirmed a similar package for consoles. While PC gamers have had to wait a few months for Noire, they will at least get the Complete Edition first.
A new report indicates that over 75% of the debt that ultimately forced L.A. Noire developer Team Bondi to close its doors came from unpaid wages at the studio.
Of the AU$1,425,156.78 ($1.4M USD) owed to creditors when the studio shuttered, over one million was intended to pay employees, along with tens of thousands owed to developers who defended the studio's working conditions. Additionally, documents filed with the Australian Securities And Investments Commission note the company's controversial executives were owed nearly $100k a piece.
Troubled Australian developer Team Bondi entered administration at the end of August in a bid to stay open, but new documents filed with the Aussie government show the creator of L.A. Noire couldn't be saved, and is now shutting down.
PC gamers may be getting LA Noire a few months later than console gamers, but unlike PS3 and Xbox 360 players, they are getting the "Complete Edition" of the game. On November 8th, Team Bondi's detective thriller will be available on PC, Steam and OnLive.
The PC version is being developed by Rockstar Leeds and will offer "increased resolution and graphical detail." In addition, the publisher is planning a complete keyboard remap for the controls, as well as support for NVIDIA 3D Vision.
L.A. Noire's deeply troubled developer Team Bondi has entered administration in a bid to keep from going under, official documents show. It's far too early to say whether the process will save the Australian studio and pay off its debts or see it close.
Australia administration is similar to the USA's Chapter 11 bankruptcy. It allows failing companies to keep from shutting down while an appointed administrator attempts to regain solvency, reorganising the business, selling off assets, and laying off staff if needs be.
"With a name like that, it won't be historical. Probably just a buncha BS."
- Xulu See all 12 comments