L.A. Noire
A detective game where you question suspects and judge truthfulness in 1940s Los Angeles.
Where L.A. Noire comes up2 episodes and tests
Gcreator of Game Maker's Toolkit testThe 3 Types of Detective Game
Gcreator of Game Maker's Toolkit testHow To Combine Video Game GenresL.A. Noire built its detective play around questioning suspects, judging truthfulness from body language or disproving lies with hard evidence. It avoids procedural red herrings by pointing players to locations, since exploring all of Los Angeles is impractical. It also lets players skip failed shooting sections. Lesson: anchor the core loop in one clear mechanic and don't let secondary genres block progress.
- 1Question the suspectHear each claim in turn
- 2Read body languageJudge truthfulness from behavior
- 3Check against known factsSpot the contradiction
- 4Prove the liePresent hard evidence
From Page notes on L.A. Noire
What was said about L.A. Noire
L.A. Noire tells players where to go instead of building dead ends. Investigation games need many dead ends and red herrings to hide the real answer, which is expensive to author. Exploring all of 1940s Los Angeles would be impractical, so L.A. Noire simply directs you to each lead.
Other games supply the dead ends cheaply: Shadows of Doubt generates hundreds of citizens in seconds, Hypnospace Outlaw uses a fake 90s web portal, Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective buries addresses in a phone book, and Her Story hides answers in a clunky clip archive. The source calls L.A. Noire's choice sensible.
L.A. Noire's interrogations work as a lie-spotting contradiction game. You question suspects and judge truthfulness from body language, or prove a lie with hard evidence. Like Ace Attorney and Papers, Please, it asks you to check each claim against facts you already know.
The source compares this style to "spot the difference" and says it needs a keen eye and deep knowledge of the facts. In Lucifer Within Us, presenting a witness's statement makes a suspect admit his lie and give more detail.
L.A. Noire lets players skip shooting sections they have failed. Its secondary genre, the shooting, does not block progress. A player who fails a shooting section can skip it and carry on with the detective story.
The source groups it with Shovel Knight: King of Cards, whose card battler is optional, and Yakuza, which lets you drop the management side after the tutorial. Making extra genres skippable means players are not forced through a mode they did not come for.
The 3 Types of Detective Game
You judge truthfulness from body language or prove a lie with hard evidence. It simply tells you where to go, since exploring all of Los Angeles is impractical.
L.A. Noire tells players where to go instead of building dead ends. Investigation games need many dead ends and red herrings to hide the real answer, which is expensive to author. Exploring all of 1940s Los Angeles would be impractical, so L.A. Noire simply directs you to each lead.
Other games supply the dead ends cheaply: Shadows of Doubt generates hundreds of citizens in seconds, Hypnospace Outlaw uses a fake 90s web portal, Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective buries addresses in a phone book, and Her Story hides answers in a clunky clip archive. The source calls L.A. Noire's choice sensible.
L.A. Noire's interrogations work as a lie-spotting contradiction game. You question suspects and judge truthfulness from body language, or prove a lie with hard evidence. Like Ace Attorney and Papers, Please, it asks you to check each claim against facts you already know.
The source compares this style to "spot the difference" and says it needs a keen eye and deep knowledge of the facts. In Lucifer Within Us, presenting a witness's statement makes a suspect admit his lie and give more detail.
How To Combine Video Game Genres
It lets you skip shooting sections you have failed, keeping secondary genres from blocking players.
L.A. Noire lets players skip shooting sections they have failed. Its secondary genre, the shooting, does not block progress. A player who fails a shooting section can skip it and carry on with the detective story.
The source groups it with Shovel Knight: King of Cards, whose card battler is optional, and Yakuza, which lets you drop the management side after the tutorial. Making extra genres skippable means players are not forced through a mode they did not come for.
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