PART 1: Yu Suzuki Interview (May 9 Bessatsu Shonen Mag)

(Chapter 7 and beyond)

PART 1: Yu Suzuki Interview (May 9 Bessatsu Shonen Mag)

Postby Switch » Fri May 20, 2016 7:32 pm

Here is a translation of part of a Japanese magazine interview with Yu Suzuki that was published in the May 9 (2016) edition of the Bessatsu Shonen magazine. The article scan was obtained by Ziming.

(Original scans provided by Japanese Shenmue fan @da34ss on Twitter)

In this part, Suzuki talks specifically about Shenmue III, although it is pretty short.

Note: the rest of the article covers topics like Suzuki's background in designing arcade games, the gaming industry in Japan, and how RPG and text adventure games of the time were influences on his design for Shenmue etc. I selected the part below as a priority for translation since it relates most to Shenmue III and the other topics have been discussed in previous talks & interviews.

We Talk With a Gaming Legend!

Shenmue III, the Game the World Eagerly Awaits, is in Development!

Image

Game Creator Yu Suzuki Envisions
the Future for the Game Industry


Yu Suzuki developed the Shenmue series for the home console from 1999 through to 2001, and is a game developer respected by video game fans and game developers the world over. Reporter Ikeda from the MMR* investigation team has carried out this personal interview as Suzuki works with youthful enthusiasm on his latest game, Shenmue III. Suzuki speaks with passion about Shenmue III and the Japan game industry.

* MMR stands for "Magazine Mystery Reportage", a manga series involving investigation of mysteries and the unknown.

    Interviewer Profile
  • Name: Ikeda
  • Reporter for the Weekly Shonen Magazine “Magazine Mystery Reportage”. During the 1980s he wrote under the pen name “Akira Hibiki” as a game journalist.


Growing Anticipation for Shenmue III

What Lies Behind the Veil of Secrecy?


Q: Getting straight to the point, what kind of game will Shenmue III be?
YS: With Shenmue III, I have taken a different approach compared to Shenmue I and II. Normally, a video game is planned around a pre-determined budget, but with Shenmue III money collected through crowd funding is allotted to the development budget, so I designed it so the design could scale flexibly to match. In addition to the open-world gameplay aspect (which I termed "FREE" at the time of the first game), I also prepared new and attractive features that could be incorporated elsewhere. In saying that, the creation of a video game that can be packed with open-world style elements will always be swayed by the development budget. Rather than there being say 10 mini-games to play in a certain town, an even greater number like 20 or 30 is more enjoyable, right? However, creating a game this way has a direct impact on the cost.

Image

Q: The development cost of Grand Theft Auto, a game which popularized the open world concept, is said to have been over 10 billion yen (US$100m).
YS: Trying to compete directly with Grand Theft Auto and its vast difference in budget would be like a puny 10kg guy taking on a 100kg sumo wrestler. In which case, the video game fans may as well just play Grand Theft Auto, wouldn’t you say? (laughs)

Q: Trying to compete in terms of quantity would be a losing proposition, wouldn’t it.
YS: The story for the Shenmue series is made up of the 11 chapters that I planned out, with Shenmue in 1999 being Chapter One, and Shenmue II in 2001 being Chapter Two. Actually, my intention for Chapter Three has always been for a scenario that digs down into a single theme. Across the course of the first two games of the series, the player’s degree of freedom increases, their field of exploration widens and the scale of the game grows to having around 450 NPCs. By comparison, although Chapter Three will give the appearance of growing further in scale, it will focus on digging deeply down into one particular matter, just as I planned out almost 20 years ago. And I’m aiming to do so in a way that the fans will enjoy, placing importance on originality.

Q: What do you have in mind when you say “originality”?
YS: For example, when characters are talking to each other, it would be weird for them to stand almost touching if they’re meeting for the first time, right? In real life, they would maintain a certain distance between each other.

Q: Their personal space... That’s true, if someone you haven’t met before stands too close it’s threatening rather than friendly.
YS: Conversely, when you’re with someone with whom you get on well... when you are with your girlfriend, you’ll be closer together, right? So if we introduce a new “intimacy” parameter setting, for example we could set the distance between characters according its value. If the game contains many of these subtle but natural experiments then I think it will make for a much more believable world. It will give the game a more gentle feeling. Right now I’m working on overlaying these kind of subtleties.

Q: It makes me look forward to Shenmue III even more! And finally, actually there’s something I want to ask personally: I’ve heard that when deciding the name of the hero of Virtua Fighter, Akira Yuki, the “Yu” in his surname was taken from your name. If that is the case, how about “Akira”?
YS: Well, I took it from the pen name you yourself used when you were a gaming journalist: Akira Hibiki.

Q: What... really?!
YS: It’s true. Both “Akira” and “Yuki” sound cool, don’t you think? I think the name of the hero of a game should sound cool. Akira Yuki sounds way better than say “Torao Daimoji” (laughs).

Q: To me, Torao Daimoji sounds pretty cool too though. It sounds like the name of a heavy-set guy with chiseled features (laughs).

<End of article>
Last edited by Switch on Fri Jun 10, 2016 8:39 am, edited 2 times in total.

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Re: Yu Suzuki Interview (May 9 Bessatsu Shonen Mag)

Postby Snakiest » Fri May 20, 2016 9:59 pm

I guess at this point we should just give up on any attempts to figure out the order of chapters. -)

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Re: Yu Suzuki Interview (May 9 Bessatsu Shonen Mag)

Postby FlagshipFighter » Fri May 20, 2016 10:37 pm

Great interview, thanks for your efforts OP!

It's funny isn't it? How Shenmue 1 and 2 had basically all the money in the world at the time but had to deal with the constraints of technical/storage limitations whereas Shenmue 3 it's effectively the opposite.

To be honest, I think some level of constraints do wonders for projects, and Yu dealt with them amazingly in the first 2 games. Remember in that documentary, how Yu drew that CPU to efficiently allocate rendering resources. Usually being in a situation that allows you unlimited resources causes issues, to which time defaults to becoming the most precious part of the equation. Obviously some games like gta, halo and naughty dog games thrive, but majority of boxed games and annual games suffer.

Yu's biggest benefits here are definitely the ease of use for engine, fast pre-production as well as the productivity tools that exist today to ensure smooth development.

Considering they had great cutscenes from the very beginning/first month is promising to me. I know Yu likes to take his time but he seems so much different today then back the dreamcast era, he seems to have a level head, clear and realistic approach to getting Shenmue 3 done, which is exactly what this project needs! #Hype!

Don't know about anyone else here but I would love to watch a Doublefine 'broken age' style documentary of Shenmue 3's development after the games release. I'm sure they'll have something akin to the kickstarter interviews...

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Re: Yu Suzuki Interview (May 9 Bessatsu Shonen Mag)

Postby Yokosuka » Fri May 20, 2016 11:05 pm

Good.
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Re: Yu Suzuki Interview (May 9 Bessatsu Shonen Mag)

Postby Englishhedgehog » Fri May 20, 2016 11:23 pm

So, Yu Suzuki is so determined to make Shenmue feel real that he's even putting tons of effort into the distance between characters when they interact. I think calling Shenmue 3 detailed will be quite the understatement.

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Re: Yu Suzuki Interview (May 9 Bessatsu Shonen Mag)

Postby iyapol » Sat May 21, 2016 3:10 am

It's Suzuki's attention to detail which will make this game so special. Can't wait!

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Re: Yu Suzuki Interview (May 9 Bessatsu Shonen Mag)

Postby Hyo Razuki » Sat May 21, 2016 5:51 am

This chapter number thing is fucked up. 8-[ :jump:

We should probably just stop worrying about it.

Personally I don't give a damn what chapter or chapters S2 is and what chapters S3 is gonna be. I just hope that S3 is gonna be succesful and Yu can finish the story in S4 or S5.

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Re: Yu Suzuki Interview (May 9 Bessatsu Shonen Mag)

Postby Yokosuka » Sat May 21, 2016 6:33 am

Englishhedgehog wrote: So, Yu Suzuki is so determined to make Shenmue feel real that he's even putting tons of effort into the distance between characters when they interact. I think calling Shenmue 3 detailed will be quite the understatement.


Shenmue has always been one of the most immersive games in history, and still is. These Suzuki's words, that''s 100% Shenmue.

By the way, a "psychogical distance", what I believe belong to the "Rapport System", would not be so complicated to reproduce in my opinion. You need to couple a lot of different dialogues with linear factors depending the player's choices. Don't need ton of dollars to do that and I've the feeling that was already something in mind when Shenmue III was still planned on Dreamcast. With modern technologies, the result will be 100x better.

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Re: Yu Suzuki Interview (May 9 Bessatsu Shonen Mag)

Postby Giorgio » Sat May 21, 2016 1:40 pm

Thank you very much for the translation, Switch!

If the game contains many of these subtle but natural experiments then I think it will make for a much more believable world. It will give the game a more gentle feeling. Right now I’m working on overlaying these kind of subtleties.

Love this! :heart: Touches the essence of the Shenmue series. Delightful to read Yu-san's perspective on Shenmue III is of a youthful enthusiasm and passion.

Would be nice to read the rest of the article, because every time you have something new to learn from Yu's way.
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Re: Yu Suzuki Interview (May 9 Bessatsu Shonen Mag)

Postby Skillz » Sat May 21, 2016 4:59 pm

Interesting news, I have not logged on in a while. I wonder how the old members took this news, and when or if they are coming back.
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Re: Yu Suzuki Interview (May 9 Bessatsu Shonen Mag)

Postby Switch » Sat May 21, 2016 9:28 pm

Giorgio wrote:Would be nice to read the rest of the article, because every time you have something new to learn from Yu's way.

Translation of the rest of the article is coming soon. :)

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Re: Yu Suzuki Interview (May 9 Bessatsu Shonen Mag)

Postby badamn » Sun May 22, 2016 9:44 am

i don't think he is talking about chapters...he's really talking about the game numbers shenmue 1,2 and 3
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Re: Yu Suzuki Interview (May 9 Bessatsu Shonen Mag)

Postby Peter » Sun May 22, 2016 11:33 am

Skillz wrote: Interesting news, I have not logged on in a while. I wonder how the old members took this news, and when or if they are coming back.



Hey Skillz!! Good to have you back! Yea it's been a crazy year in this place. It's never been as lively as this. There is a main Shenme 3 topic in here somewhere for when the news was announced. Flick back through the pages, it's a huge topic. Also in General Discussion there was a topic for all of the older members who returned. It's a great read with lots of nostalgia, you should check them out.
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Re: Yu Suzuki Interview (May 9 Bessatsu Shonen Mag)

Postby Skillz » Sun May 22, 2016 12:12 pm

General discussion i'll have to look through there. I remember you too peter.
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Re: Yu Suzuki Interview (May 9 Bessatsu Shonen Mag)

Postby KiBa » Sun May 22, 2016 12:29 pm

Enlightening interview.
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