E3 2011 Fact Sheet for James Noir’s Hollywood Crimes, plus an interview with James Noir himself.
Short Version: Solve murders and puzzles on your 3DS. Set on a TV show in the 60s, you must solve whom is killing previous participants before you are killed yourself.

Full fact sheet and interview after the jump.

Product Description

James Noir’s Hollywood Crimes for Nintendo 3DS makes you the main character of a mind-twisting puzzle adventure in an interactive 3D world! Live the thrill of mastering tailor-made mind games as you solve over 150 intriguing puzzles to explain a deadly mystery.

Hollywood, 1961.
As an expert of puzzles and riddles, you have been selected to participate in a famous TV game show. But the set of the show is in danger: as you play, you discover a series of murders hitting former candidates. The FBI needs your talent to solve the puzzles left by the killer and track him down… but be sure to find him before he finds you!

Key Features

• Play the main character and live a real immersion through the 3DS camera
  • The criminal master mind provokes you by using your own private details.
  • The crime-scene clues and the storyline have a strangely familiar feeling.
• 1960’s realistic art using the power of the 3DS
  • Appealing and trendy art direction that puts you back in the best of the 60’s – luxurious settings and a dashing crime-busting partner
  • The game alternates between the 60’s TV game show setting and the mystery investigation.
• A variety of 150 puzzles, classic and 3D puzzles using the upper screen
  • Puzzles cover a range of classic types: Images, Wordplay, Numbers, Drawing, Shapes and Colors, Tiling Puzzles, Grids, Problem solving, Labyrinth, Physics.
  • Also play a range of 40 fun mini-games
  • Use the accelerometer through actions and puzzles
• CONSTANT performance tracking
  • All puzzles are adapted to your ongoing performance through difficulty level: as long as you progress, the difficulty will be adjusted so you can be challenged & entertained accordingly.

Product Specifications

Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
Ship Date: 1/09/2011
Category: Puzzles / Mind Game
Rating: 12+
Website: www.jamesnoir.com

 

James Noir Interview

Hello James, can you tell us a little about yourself?

I am not a man who likes to tell much about myself. I am in my forties, I live in Sausalito… not much to say here… I’m fairly inconspicuous, you know!
I grew up abroad and met some people who initiated me into what was to become my passion in life; solving cases… real life cases or puzzles… I’m a solver … that’s pretty much it!
I got my 15 minutes of fame some years ago, as a world record holder for solving the Rubik’s cube. I ended up working as a toy inventor, and even set up a small company making toys in New York.
Now, I have the chance to tell my stories… That said, these are not just stories, they are true tales, unearthed, dusted down, and re-told… for your enjoyment!

How did the story of Hollywood Crimes come to be?

Oh that’s a story in itself!
You should know… I barely knew my mother… unfortunately she passed away when I was an infant. But I got to meet several former lovers of hers…
One of them told me the Hollywood Crimes tale shortly before his death. I decided to dig into it, do some researches on the sixties in Hollywood. It took me at least a year… but I found out evidence that the heart of the story was indeed true: a serial killer who played with the Police, leaving clues and Puzzles to resolve … he was teasing his next murder. Pretty creepy, don’t you think?

How did you begin work with Ubisoft? Who made the 1st move?

That’s something that I’m not willing to disclose now. Let’s just say I know people who know people…

Do you feel attached to the Entertainment world? For instance, do you play video games?

Well… I enjoy music, I actually own many vinyls. Among my favorite recordings… Gorecki’s 3rd Symphony, Elgar’s Enigma Variations, Handel’s Messiah, and most things by Bootsy Collins and Gil Scott Heron. I’m not that much into movies, expect for David Lynch… partly because of the music as well… Badalamenti… what a composer!
Regarding video games, it’s not what I do every day. Maybe it’s too ‘virtual’ for me, I prefer reality! However, the Nintendo 3DS brings something I like, the feeling of being fully immersed in the story; part of the case. I love how device uses new ways of telling a story.

Who are your favourite authors? What are your favourite books ?

I read a lot, I always have. I travel a lot you know, almost half the year, researching and collecting evidence. And I travel alone, so I read! Agatha Christie, Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler are always with me.
When I am not reading, I am writing. Although, when engaged in the task of writing I tend to become obsessive and quite the recluse…

Have you previously published any novels/stories?

(laughs) … now it’s your turn to investigate!

What are your plans for the future? (Including projects with Ubisoft?)

That’s a bit too soon to be revealed… but let’s say I have some interesting new tales to be told!

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