About the character design

[Three Blades]

But why do you think they went ahead and designed those trailer models though? I mean, as opposed to sprucing-up the existing ones? It would have looked nicer, and required less work...

[Shuyian]

I really hope so, as well, and I'm surprised they didn't just use those models for the trailer. Why make a whole new one from scratch if it looks vastly inferior? Even in the Sega Racing game, I was surprised that they had a Ryo that looks exactly like the orginal Ryo, only more detailed.

I'm not talking about the graphics, either- people always say, "don't worry, the graphics will get better because everything is really early"...Really, nobody is talking about the graphic quality. The graphics are fine! The problem is that the character's faces look like completely different people.

I don't care if it has Dreamcast graphics, PS3 graphics, PS4 graphics! But I DO care that the characters look the way they're supposed to! I don't want to continue the story if, the whole time, I'm feeling like I'm playing as different characters that happen to be cosplaying as Ryo and ShenHua.

People need to realize that character designs are important here, because it's one of the things that'll make you feel like you're really continuing the same story that you've been playing. What if, in the Star Wars movies, they had re-cast everybody in Episode 6 as different actors? In effect, it would still continue the story, and maybe still be good, but it wouldn't feel like you're watching a continuation of the same story.
All I'm saying is, characters need to look like they're supposed to.

I agree with you. This reminds me of Xenosaga, where the character design changed drastically from the first game to the second, and then to the third. I actually felt I was playing with different characters.

I hope they make the Shenmue III characters look as they used to.

[SlySpy]

I wonder if they still have the clay busts of the characters?





In the development of the first two games, they made clay statues in order to properly translate the faces into 3D, since they were having difficulties doing it with concept art references. If they still have these, maybe they can refine the models to look a little more accurate.

[ys]

I hope that they strive for this style. Besides the face, the jacket is a bit different over the shoulders and more "worn" in the original.

[Esppiral]

They "should" use the original faces used in the passport, or in the original official art, thats wha I do with my fanart, even If they have lost the original assets, they could rip some of the faces to use as a reference for the models, as many of us have been doing.

[shredingskin]

Both your signature and your avatar look great.

[Namron_Bearded]

Agreed with Three Blades and Esppiral here.

One more thing to add : Ryo's jacket look very odd, like it's brand new or something. I hope that the designer will pay attention to how Ryo's jacket is, how it has aged, the details...

[Esppiral]

I want this



or this



It's kinda weird, those look almost animeish, while other people try to make things look gritty and realist.

It seems that that CGI face is based on the passport aswell,



I hope they do the same for the ingame face on SIII

[FlagshipFighter]

As someone who has spent time working on prototype art for a kickstarter and who's actively employed at an Indie studio I can say you don't always have the time or resources to get it as polished as you might want. I think a lot it is going to just be textural polish as they continue on the project. I'm not worried about it. Sometimes when you spend a lot of time working on a model, or any piece of art, you start to not be a good judge of how it looks. Getting fresh eyes on it is almost always the best way to refine it.

Its good to get feedback like this too. I know we've listened to our player's feedback on many occasions and brought it back into our game. I expect they'll do the same.

Its also worth noting that games are never shown to the public at the prototype stage. Kickstarter is sort of a unique thing in this regard. We're used to seeing mostly polished trailers when games are announced.

[killthesagabeforeitkillsu]

This is a 1999 game.

[Yokosuka]

I asked Reddit about that
http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/3 ... ma/csccfxw

[Master Mo]

As others stated I´m happy beyond believe that we get to talk about these specifics.

I think Ryo looks a little too young. I honestly also prefer his Shenmue II model. But I think in the Famitsu scans he looks very similar to the first two games so they probably will have a really good model for him at the end of the day.

Shenhua however look nothing like she did before. But you can clearly see that they haven`t worked on her as much as they probably did on Ryo. Her model in the Passport is amazing though so that would be what I prefer.

[Yokosuka]

About graphics performance and facial expressions, I expect at least something close to Project Zero 5 on Wii U

phpBB [video]

But the best example is probably Yakuza.

[Pilcher]

I think they are just place shots. a very basic design.

[Your Boy Leroy]

They "should" use the original faces used in the passport, or in the original official art, thats wha I do with my fanart, even If they have lost the original assets, they could rip some of the faces to use as a reference for the models, as many of us have been doing.

Now THIS is what I've always wanted an in-game Ryo Hazuki to look like. I'd be fine with this exact amount of detail, just as long as the animation is fantastic.