L.A. Noire developers are upset that their names aren’t included in the game some worked on for seven years.
This collective of more than 100 uncredited developers formed a website and Facebook group to call attention to this issue – an issue they say is bigger than L.A. Noire and developer Team Bondi. The group says the way they have been treated reflects poorly on the Australian game industry and could hurt grassroots efforts by new Aussie developers.
Although some were listed in the game and manual’s credits, they were only given a “Special Thanks” rather than listed for their proper role. In response, these uncredited developers listed their names and roles on their website, which also contains a lengthy message from those involved.
Being unlisted in the credits goes against the Independent Game Developer Association’s guidelines which state anyone involved with a game for at least 30 days of a 12-month or greater project must be credited. Those who worked on a game for at least 30 days receive an Additional credit, while those who have been on a project for over seven months receive a Full credit.
“These people devoted their talent, creativity and passion towards the project,” the website’s About section reads. “And, as is common in the games industry, have not been credited because they were not there during the final month or two of production, or other subjective criteria.”
The message goes on to state that many of these developers did not leave Team Bondi by choice. Rather, they were let go of “as art production wound down, and as Quality Assurance work was shifted off-shore to Rockstar’s studios.”
As the message points out, first-time developers worked on L.A. Noire for many years only to leave with one game on their resume. Not being properly credited in the credits of that one game they worked on certainly isn’t going to help their chances of getting hired elsewhere.
“If we can be a precedent for other developers around the world to take an interest in how they wish to be credited and how they should credit their peers,” the message concludes. “We believe we have done the right thing.”
Source: L.A. Noire Credits via Kotaku
