McNamara explains why LA Noire's Cole seemed like a 'psycho'
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Former Team Bondi head Brendan McNamara recently illuminated why L.A. Noire's Detective Cole Phelps would often ... overreact during interrogations.
"When we originally wrote the game the questions you asked were coax, force and lie. It was actually force because it was a more aggressive answer. That's the way we recorded it," McNamara explained at the Bradford Animation Festival, reports Eurogamer. "But when the game came out it was truth, doubt or lie. Everyone always says Aaron on the second question is a psycho. So that's not his fault."
McNamara also feels the reason some players felt the characters were dead from the neck down was because they were so lively in the face. He believes that players got used to seeing the facial detail and started getting picky about other stuff.
"It's a subtle thing, but once you attune to that level of realism then you start looking for the other things," he said. "And we had some criticism from people saying people were a bit stiff in their clothes and from the way they were done. But they were only stiff in comparison to real life."
"When we originally wrote the game the questions you asked were coax, force and lie. It was actually force because it was a more aggressive answer. That's the way we recorded it," McNamara explained at the Bradford Animation Festival, reports Eurogamer. "But when the game came out it was truth, doubt or lie. Everyone always says Aaron on the second question is a psycho. So that's not his fault."
McNamara also feels the reason some players felt the characters were dead from the neck down was because they were so lively in the face. He believes that players got used to seeing the facial detail and started getting picky about other stuff.
"It's a subtle thing, but once you attune to that level of realism then you start looking for the other things," he said. "And we had some criticism from people saying people were a bit stiff in their clothes and from the way they were done. But they were only stiff in comparison to real life."
Reader Comments (34)
Posted: Nov 10th 2011 11:06AM Faceless Troll said
Force makes a lot more sense than "doubt".
Posted: Nov 10th 2011 12:49PM Hyperion45 said
@Faceless Troll
Especially at times when I pick Doubt (because I didn't have the right evidence on me for Lie, or just a wrong pick) thinking Cole will be suave and try to coerce the information out, but then heyells at a (relatively) innocent old lady that she was a murderer having filthy lesbian sex with the murder victim. Ok so that's a bit of a hyperbole, but you get my point.
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Especially at times when I pick Doubt (because I didn't have the right evidence on me for Lie, or just a wrong pick) thinking Cole will be suave and try to coerce the information out, but then heyells at a (relatively) innocent old lady that she was a murderer having filthy lesbian sex with the murder victim. Ok so that's a bit of a hyperbole, but you get my point.
Posted: Nov 10th 2011 12:57PM Faceless Troll said
@Hyperion45 I just started mentally replacing "Doubt" with "Douchebag". It made things less frustrating.
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Posted: Nov 10th 2011 11:09AM Dirty said
Yea he was a Mad Man.
Posted: Nov 10th 2011 11:09AM dez said
Oh, I see, I was just playing it wrong, looking at the bodies and judging them D=
Posted: Nov 10th 2011 11:13AM Softserve said
@dez I think he has a point there, though. The animation on characters was no worse than any other game we'd call well animated. The improved facial animation really just highlights that games in general do have some way to go with animation and clothes physics.
Can't have it all, I guess lol
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Can't have it all, I guess lol
Posted: Nov 10th 2011 11:10AM copa said
This doesn't really explain why Brendan Mcnamara seems like a psycho.
Posted: Nov 10th 2011 11:13AM sammo21 said
Makes sense now. My wife liked to watch me play this game and always was like "that escalated quickly" when I chose doubt.
Posted: Nov 10th 2011 11:13AM cantwait2bhome said
Yeah, I'm playing this game right now, and it can be a little confusing on the answers.
I'll think, "Well, I'm not sure this person is being honest, so I'll hit doubt." And then he freaks out and starts yelling at them, and I'm like, "No, you weren't supposed to practically accuse them of murder, but just say, I don't think you're telling me everything."
I like the game so far, but I'm always afraid I'll pick the wrong thing...
I'll think, "Well, I'm not sure this person is being honest, so I'll hit doubt." And then he freaks out and starts yelling at them, and I'm like, "No, you weren't supposed to practically accuse them of murder, but just say, I don't think you're telling me everything."
I like the game so far, but I'm always afraid I'll pick the wrong thing...
Posted: Nov 10th 2011 12:53PM Hyperion45 said
@cantwait2bhome
I feel if they had given you a small sample of what Cole would say on each choice would make the game a hundred times better. Like Deus Ex's conversation system. It gives you enough information for each choice so you can gauge the outcome, without telling you everything Adam's going to say.
Instead it's like playing Russian Roulette with 4 bullets.
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I feel if they had given you a small sample of what Cole would say on each choice would make the game a hundred times better. Like Deus Ex's conversation system. It gives you enough information for each choice so you can gauge the outcome, without telling you everything Adam's going to say.
Instead it's like playing Russian Roulette with 4 bullets.
Posted: Nov 10th 2011 1:05PM cantwait2bhome said
@cantwait2bhome
Wow. I got upvoted and I didn't even try to make any witty comments. I was just stating how I felt about the game. That's new...
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Wow. I got upvoted and I didn't even try to make any witty comments. I was just stating how I felt about the game. That's new...
Posted: Nov 10th 2011 1:21PM kentuckyfried said
@cantwait2bhome
Thank goodness they did make the game forgiving, otherwise everybody would fail the missions and be unable to finish the game!
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Thank goodness they did make the game forgiving, otherwise everybody would fail the missions and be unable to finish the game!
Posted: Nov 10th 2011 11:26AM MLS said
I gathered quickly that "doubt" meant "push" like in Pheniox Wright, but there were a few times even thinking on those terms I was surprised by how my line of thinking (I think you're fibbing) was translated into Psy-Cole with just the push of a button.
Posted: Nov 10th 2011 11:30AM TheShaper said
You know... I think I should play this.
Posted: Nov 10th 2011 11:32AM Startingline13 ArmlessOctopus said
Why is this just being reported here now? He explained this the week that the game came out.
Posted: Nov 10th 2011 11:35AM FlashJS said
"And we had some criticism from people saying people were a bit stiff in their clothes and from the way they were done. But they were only stiff in comparison to real life."
In comparison to real life. Lol. As opposed to stiff in comparison to a dead body...?
(I know what he meant, but it still sounds funny to me.)
In comparison to real life. Lol. As opposed to stiff in comparison to a dead body...?
(I know what he meant, but it still sounds funny to me.)
Posted: Nov 10th 2011 11:37AM Cole Phelps said
Hey, hey, hey! Don't you think that's a bit rude? I'm not as aggresive as you make it sound like Brendan...
Posted: Nov 10th 2011 4:55PM Cole Phelps said
@Dickhole Pasta
WELL, I DOUBT THAT YOU ACTUALLY ARE A PIECE OF PASTA LIVING IN A DIKCHOLE, SO ADMIT IT, YOU ARE THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDERER!
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WELL, I DOUBT THAT YOU ACTUALLY ARE A PIECE OF PASTA LIVING IN A DIKCHOLE, SO ADMIT IT, YOU ARE THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDERER!
Posted: Nov 10th 2011 11:40AM Zal said
Woo I was in that talk! :D
At the end he showed a hilarious clip of at least a dozen bloopers all done in engine. I know it was filmed so it should be online somewhere.
At the end he showed a hilarious clip of at least a dozen bloopers all done in engine. I know it was filmed so it should be online somewhere.
Posted: Nov 10th 2011 11:47AM Koming said
So, the actors thought it was
coax, force and lie
but the developers,
truth, doubt or lie.
No wonder the "gameplay" is broken, and sometimes doubt didn´t meant what it happened.
It´s like pressing a button called "jump" that actually it meant "shoot".
coax, force and lie
but the developers,
truth, doubt or lie.
No wonder the "gameplay" is broken, and sometimes doubt didn´t meant what it happened.
It´s like pressing a button called "jump" that actually it meant "shoot".
Posted: Nov 10th 2011 11:51AM GeraltRivia said
The only bad thing I can say about the characters body movements is that everyone in the entire game walked and ran the exact same way.
Posted: Nov 10th 2011 11:57AM PointlessPuppies said
@That One Guy
Yep. Interesting how he's talking about "psycho", right?
Yep. Interesting how he's talking about "psycho", right?
Posted: Nov 10th 2011 12:06PM Dick Socrates said
"It was originally meant to be 'Insane anger' and that's how we told him to deliver the line, but when the game shipped it mysteriously turned into 'be very nice and understanding'.
It's those gremlins again, changing code when you're not looking.
It's those gremlins again, changing code when you're not looking.
Posted: Nov 10th 2011 12:09PM KungFuChaosNinja said
I thought L.A. Noire was pretty incredible. Too many people enjoy tearing it apart. Yes, the studio was run poorly, but congrats to the workers that put up with the B.S. and made a really neat game. It surely wasn't perfect, but it was different and a step towards what games can be.
Posted: Nov 10th 2011 1:23PM kentuckyfried said
@KungFuChaosNinja
Honestly, I haven't had time to play it. It's slower-paced than what I'm accustomed to and tends to lull me into sleep if I was trying to play on a weeknight.
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Honestly, I haven't had time to play it. It's slower-paced than what I'm accustomed to and tends to lull me into sleep if I was trying to play on a weeknight.
Posted: Nov 10th 2011 12:13PM Jeremy White said
What a great explanation which really explains everything. Whenever I used doubt, I always wanted him to say something like: Oh, so why did Herp report seeing you at Derpington around 2AM?"
Instead... "Look, you better start giving answers before things turn ugly!" in the most aggressive tone to the nicest people. Coax, force, and lie should have remained in the game because even truth didn't fit in some places.
Instead... "Look, you better start giving answers before things turn ugly!" in the most aggressive tone to the nicest people. Coax, force, and lie should have remained in the game because even truth didn't fit in some places.
Posted: Nov 10th 2011 12:34PM captplut9465 said
Please make that Cole Phelps face another Dead Space Girl.
Posted: Nov 10th 2011 1:21PM kentuckyfried said
@PointlessPuppies
How ironic...
How ironic...
Posted: Nov 10th 2011 3:21PM IAmTheBabyJeezus said
"But sir, I swear I didn't steal the cookie from the cookie jar!"
"ARRRGBLARGHARGAAAAAA"
"ARRRGBLARGHARGAAAAAA"
Posted: Nov 10th 2011 6:08PM Dooliss said
I SWEAR TO GOD, YOU PITIFUL EXCUSE FOR A PERSON, TELL ME WHERE THE GODDAMN MORPHINE IS HEADED!
*said to 80 year old woman on side of road, who subsequently had a heart attack
*said to 80 year old woman on side of road, who subsequently had a heart attack
Posted: Nov 10th 2011 9:00PM Gun said
"Everyone always says Aaron on the second question is a psycho," needs to be changed to "Everyone always says [Aaron Staton, the voice of Phelps,] on the second question is a psycho."
Can't refer to characters by first name without introducing them.
Can't refer to characters by first name without introducing them.






