What 10 Great Video Games Look Like Without Visual Effects

7. L.A. Noire

In 2020, getting lifelike performances from actors is relatively easy, and every quiver of the lip or scrunch of the nose can translate perfectly from the sequence captured in-camera to the one digitally rendered in the final game.

Back in 2010 though, that level of fidelity was virtually impossible. This proved a problem for L.A. Noire, an ambitious detective game that made judging whether people were telling the truth in interrogations a major part of its gameplay. While grilling potential suspects, the player is encouraged to judge their responses, looking for any facial tics or giveaways that might lead to further lines of questioning.

Back when the title was in development though, capturing an actor's performance that accurately wasn't possible, and the devs at Team Bondi actually had to invent the technology to make it happen.

It took a lot of time, effort and money, but the devs eventually got it working via a huge set up that meant cutscenes had to be filmed twice.

One session would take place on set, and capture the actor's physical performance, while the other would take place in the new 'depth analysis' studio, where the actor's facial movements and voice would be recorded. The face was then transferred to the first character render, and the scene would be finalised.