L.A. Noire immediately struck players as a completely new experience. I've heard comments from non-gamers about how much they enjoy the game from Team Bondi and Rockstar Games. Their typical reply is that it's much like an interactive movie. Of course, getting the 1940s crime drama to the state it's in now was not an easy road.
Reports are coming from anonymous developers in Australia about the conditions during development of the game, with particularly pointed comments aimed at management and development leads. With an entire website dedicated to uncredited developers of L.A. Noire already established, claims about working conditions haven't held back any punches. One report states specifically:
I can certainly attest to the appalling working conditions, the angry and abusive boss [Lead Developer of L.A. Noire Brendan McNamara] and the ineffective leads who were completely unwilling to do anything to protect their team members.
Another states:
It's abhorrent that these young kids are being thrown into a 24/7 corpse grinder with perpetual crunch and weekend overtime.
When presented with claims that he "just won't listen to reason" or that he was "making this unreasonable demand", McNamara responded by saying:
I can go to anyone I want. It's my game. I can got to anyone I want in the team and say, "I want it changed."
Game development jobs are notorious for their crunch time near the end of development, but working such hours through a seven-year-development cycle would not be fun.
[Source]
