May 21, 2011

How Archivists Helped Video Game Designers Recreate the City’s Dark Side for ‘L.A. Noire’

Earlier this week, video game enthusiasts and fans of L.A. history cheered the release of Rockstar Games’ L.A. Noire, a police procedural game noted for its faithful reproduction of Los Angeles circa 1947. To recreate a city now hidden beneath 64 years of redevelopment projects and transformed by age and expansion, production designers with the game’s developer, Team Bondi, consulted several Los Angeles area archives.

posted by in archaeology, architecture, archives, big board, cities, crime, culture, design, dreams, education, entertainment, environment, fiction, games, geography, history, libraries, photographs, pop culture | * | 7 comments 

comments

  1. Renee on May 21st, 2011 at 1:37 pm

    Excellent! This makes me want to get a gaming system and play this game. I know someone who works at Rockstar Games. I will endeavor to ask him if he worked on this project.

  2. Sheila Ryan on May 21st, 2011 at 1:38 pm

    It’s pretty appealing to me, too, Renee.

  3. Renee on May 21st, 2011 at 2:05 pm

    Until that day comes, I’ll have to live it vicariously through the clips on their website.

  4. Sheila Ryan on May 21st, 2011 at 2:07 pm

    You and me. I’m waiting for my ship to come in.

  5. Phil Bebbington on May 21st, 2011 at 4:07 pm

    Love the photo.

  6. Sheila Ryan on May 21st, 2011 at 4:11 pm

    Gorgeous, ain’t it?

    You’ve got to get yourself to LA one of these days, Phil, even though most of this stuff is no longer around.

    I’m sure Amanda will show you a good time!

  7. Blaine on May 23rd, 2011 at 7:11 pm

    I have it on PS3 (no overheating on my Fat 80;). I have been driving around in the game and looking up the archive pictures of various intersections and landmarks. Man this must have taken some time because it is so authentic! RockStar Rules!

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