LA Noire was not an easy game to make
Matt Hawkins Some time ago, there were rumblings that all was not well behind the scenes as it pertained to Rockstar’s latest. Details have finally emerged at last, and sadly, the road to LA Noire was just as bad as expected.
Some say it’s a sad fact of life when it comes to the business of making video games, that the very best products are often a result of working people to near death, literally at times. Personally, that shouldn’t be the case, and definitely isn’t. Otherwise why have we not heard such stories from EVERY game company producing awesome stuff? You surely don’t hear any complaints from ex Bungie or Valve (and in the case of the latter, their employees sure seem happy with where they work).
Meanwhile, a number of former Team Bondi members (the team that created LA Noire) have broken their silence and the not so pretty details are finally known. Working conditions apparently were inhumane at the studio, in which someone was working on something 24/7, and turnover being quite high. There’s be times in which folks worked 80-110 hours in just one week. This went on for seven years btw. The biggest problem with everyone busting their asses is how no one got compensated properly. IGN Australia, who broke the story, tried asking Team Bondi’s big bossman Brendan McNamara what the deal is (whose apparently a real douche apparently). His response was, some people were paid overtime (though clearly not all), but in the end, he ultimately didn’t have to do jack in the first place, so everyone can please shut up now.
Other tidbits from the report includes word of how the game was originally supposed to be Sony it would seem, since they published the Getaway, which was McNamara’s previous game while at Team SoHo. “Tens of millions” was spent on tech on the game (which is readily apparent, even today), which threw the studio upside down, to the point that McNamara had no choice but to align with his now former rivals, the Houser brothers, who run Rockstar. From that point forward though, the game was ported (I guess it was originally a PS2 title), revamped, and delayed four times. As much cash Sony plunked down for the project, which seemed doomed at various points, Rockstar spent more.
The full report can be check out here, and it’s quite amusing, McNamara’s responses to be exact. In response to his managerial methods, which apparently were not very good, his retort was simply “I’m the boss, I can do whatever I want.” And regarding his penchant for yelling and screaming, there’s: “Am I passionate about making the game? Absolutely. Do you think that I’m going to voice my opinion? Absolutely. But I don’t think that’s verbal abuse.” I love it when people use passion as an excuse for being a dick, don’t you?
The most distressing thing is this quote from one of the former team members: “You were just a resource to be burned through… Their attitude is: ‘it’s a privilege to work for us, and if you can’t hack it, you should leave’. I heard one of the upper echelons say pretty much that. I thought it was disgusting. I don’t understand how they can’t see that maintaining talent would actually be good for them.” With the truly sad thing being, the game did eventually turn out okay (though it’s hardly the glorious work of art that some, especially Rockstar, would have one believe), and thus such horrible business practices will continue forth, unabated. Such a shame. Can’t wait to hear the next round of horror stories after Grand Theft Auto 5 hits the shelves.
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