Former Team Bondi writer Daniel McMahon has shed light on Whore of the Orient, the cancelled detective game meant to follow up on L.A. Noire. Speaking with YouTube creator Cade Onder, the writer laid out how the project was supposed to work before funding fell apart. It was incredibly ambitious. Set in Shanghai during 1936, this spiritual successor traded the sunny streets of Los Angeles for a dangerous prewar metropolis.
Players would take control of a young British detective placed into a politically unstable city. Because most British officers could not speak Mandarin or Cantonese, the developers planned to turn the language barrier into a main gameplay mechanic. As players progressed, they would learn the local dialects to unlock better dialogue options and clues. McMahon explained that the goal was to keep players from relying entirely on violence to solve cases.
The deeper you dig, the better you master the language, the better you can communicate and investigate, instead of just grabbing a gun and shooting everyone.
Team Bondi also wanted to move away from the linear case files of their previous work. Instead, they designed a living version of Shanghai where players could investigate multiple cases at the same time. The interrogation system was also slated for a massive overhaul. Rather than guessing if a suspect was lying, players had to actively read the suspect and then decide on a specific approach like intimidation or calm persuasion.
These interrogations offered different layers of success. A perfect approach would yield all available information. A bad attempt would leave you with almost nothing, forcing you to find other avenues of investigation. Sadly, the game never made it past the early stages. McMahon confirmed that the project was only about 10% to 15% complete when it was shut down, leaving behind only a vertical slice prototype and some leaked footage.
