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L.A. Noire Devs Speak Out On Credits Snub

by Jeff Cork on Jun 03, 2011 at 09:56 AM

Some L.A. Noire developers at Team Bondi are claiming that the names of more than 100 employees have been omitted from the game's end-credits sequence. In addition to some names being missed altogether, the devs say that some employees were given special-thanks nods instead of the full credit they deserved.

The developers have set up a site to explain the situation, which has potential fallout beyond simple vanity. Developers use these credits as resumes of sorts, which helps them get future jobs in the industry. If their names are missing from a game as high profile as L.A. Noire, it means that years of work could be effectively vaporized.

"Over 100 L.A. Noire developers are not listed anywhere in the game or the game's manual," says one post on the site. "Others have been credited under 'Special Thanks,' where they would be eligible to be credited under their relevant discipline. These people devoted their talent, creativity and passion towards the project 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. A significant portion of these people did not leave Team Bondi by choice: they were made redundant as art production wound down, and as Quality Assurance work was shifted off-shore to Rockstar's studios.

"The IGDA's Game Crediting Guide makes it quite clear that a professional credits standard should be independent of Human Resources issues. As long as developers meet the Guide's rules for Inclusion, they are eligible for a credit (an Additional credit if they had contributed at least 30 days to the project; a Full credit if they had contributed at least 8 months to the project)."

We've contacted Rockstar about this issue, and will update the story if we hear anything back.

 

[Via Destructoid]