by SMDzero » Mon May 30, 2016 4:59 pm
FAKE - NOT A REAL INTERVIEW
May update interview:
With the ending of Shenmue 2, you branched the series into an entirely new fantasy genre. The game sold very poorly and yet, it was praised by critics. Were you happy with the game?
Suzuki
: You know what, I think I was happy to the extent that we finished it on schedule! The first two games were sort of a first for us. The team that I worked with is pretty much the same team that I'm working with on Shenmue 3. Shenmue 3 is our third time together, but my first game away from Sega, so there is a lot that we are having to learn! You know, using the Unreal 4 engine and doing a home game for the first time in nearly two decades is a big step for me. In a way I'm still used to working on Sega's coin-op hardware and such. So you know, like I say, I was happy that we managed to get the original Shenmue games out on time.
I think the games had their problems. I do think that gamers who played Virtua Fighter and were familiar with it and familiar with a lot of the moves, probably enjoyed the game. Somebody who didn't play Virtua Fighter that much or at all -- they weren't going to walk up to those game and be converted. So in that sense I don't think we did as well as we were hoping.
But the first Shenmue sold okay on Dreamcast and we still have our fan-base after all these years. People that know how to play Virtua Fighter really well probably won't struggle at all with Shenmue 3 and then, on the other hand, people who don't like Virtua Fighter or people that have never played it may not have an easy time at all.....
How does Shenmue 3 compare to Shenmue 1 and 2? Is it more story-based like disc 4 of Shenmue 2 or is it a fighter?
Suzuki
: It's not much like disc 4 of Shenmue 2, which was in essence just following a linear path. The pacing of Shenmue 2 was more based on throwing QTE's at the player. And there were real simple exploration elements; you know, find a key here in Yuanda Zhu's office, pick it up and go find the secret door that it opens.
Shenmue 3 is a little bit different in that, because you are actually traversing in a massive open world 3D environment, we can sort of slow the pacing down a bit. We don't have to constantly throw QTE's at the player. Shenmue 2 was set up so it was a trial and error thing you try a QTE, you fail, you reset and try the QTE again. This one isn't based around this at all. It's different in that sense. There is still a large exploration element, there is still a large fighting element to the game, quite obviously because it's a Shenmue title. I'd say right now we're about 40-50% exploration and the rest is fighting. Of course, that can change a lot as we're real early in development. Who knows what it's going to end up as?
Exactly what genre would you classify Shenmue 3 under?
Suzuki:
: It's a FREE game (Full Reactive Eyes Entertainment), other than that I don't know. It has similarities to Uncharted in its actual exploration and such but it's not really like Uncharted. Our camera setup is more like a Zelda or a Mario.
The battle system in Shenmue had the feel of a 2D fighting game set in 3D environments. What made you decide to go for full 3D fighting this time around? Were you influenced by the success of Fighting Force, for example?
Suzuki
: Yeah, obviously that games was successful. Actually, with the first Shenmue our original plan was to go for a full 3D fighting mechanic, but our team was really inexperienced, motion capture was something we were just getting into and our schedule was really tight. There was just no way, especially with a team that had never worked together. This time around, you know, we've been through the ringer; we've done games on home consoles already so we had a real base to work from and we were much bolder in the approach. I think because of that Shenmue 3 is looking great and it's playing great.
How will fighting be handled in the game? Do you bump into characters and the game switches to a quasi-Virtua Fighter mode, or is it more real-time based like, say, Fighting Force?
Suzuki
: No not at all. It stays 3D. The way we're handling it right now is that you basically lock down on a character once you hit him and you don't have to aim at an enemy if anyone is in your striking vicinity -- a player's character will react. So if a guys behind you, you'll do a spinning back-kick and if you continue on with the combat you will be attacking that particular enemy.
There are a few enemies you will face at a time. You know, it's kind of like in the movies. A lot of Kung Fu movies do this, where there are all these guys surrounding the hero and the hero is beating the hell out of one guy and the others are just standing around watching. It's based around that and it's kind of fun to watch because it does work well and obviously we can't have everyone just ganging up on you.
Will there be a combo system of sorts?
Suzuki
: Yeah, we're working on it. I'm not going to say it's similar to Virtua Fighter because it kind of isn't. We're kicking around ideas to make everything really intuitive and very easy for a first time player to walk up, grab the pad and just be able to run around. We want players to be able to fight real easy and, at the same time, we're trying to give it some depth as well. It's a tough thing to balance. However, we are still in early development and right now I think it's working great. Our plan is ease of use.
I think that with the first Shenmue we sort of chained ourselves to the Virtua Fighter system. We wanted to stay true to the Virtua Fighter sensibilities and in doing so, that gave birth to our dodge button [Ryo dodged attacks via pressing the Y button] being there. But with Shenmue 3, it's kind of not necessary. We're freeing ourselves of that a little bit and I think in doing that we're keeping it so that people who are familiar with Virtua Fighter will recognize the control.
Apart from his fighting moves, what kind of actions will Ryo be able to perform?
Suzuki
: Travelling-wise there is a whole myriad of jumps that you can do -- real acrobatic jumps and such. There is also the standard climbing crates and stuff. The motion in this game is going to be one of the things that is really going to stand out. We've learned a lot from the guys working on Yakuza and some of the other things. Our method of doing motion capture has really evolved.
Because of that, Shenmue 3 is looking fantastic. There are a lot of great console games out there and you can tell the ones that are key-framed and you can tell the ones that are motion captured. Sometimes it's good going one way and sometimes it's good going the other, but our game is looking great. I think the motion capture is real fluid.
Are you planning to implement weapons as well? What kinds?
Suzuki
: Yeah, with the game being based on revenge and Ryo and Shenhua there is a violent element to it. They have a magical sword they use.
The Shenmue series is known for it's huge lineup of characters. What made you pick Shenhua as the protagonist for Shenmue 3?
Suzuki
: You know what, I had a few different ideas with different characters and different paths that the story was going to take. I think this time around we didn't want to base it on one character, but instead we thought it would be nice if you could pick between a couple. We thought it would be nice to select between a male and a female so Ryo and Shenhua were the first to come to mind. And because of Shenhua's mystical background it enables us to sort of get away from some of the realistic themes in the first two games. The story starts out as semi-realistic game and it's mission based. As the story evolves there are more supernatural events like the ending of Shenmue 2. It's actually kind of a nice flow that's working out real good.
Our environments are very varied. You start off in an rural type environment it slowly gets more and more exotic looking like locations. It's kind of a cool progression with the story. You start off in a very realistic world and things slowly get cooler. We've made a real conscious effort on that progression.
What other Shenmue characters will appear in the game?
Suzuki
: Lan Di is their main enemy. He does bad things and they chase after him, basically. He has a gang that he belongs to called the Chi You Men that we haven't really met yet, so we are creating a slew of new characters. And then there is a host of other characters that you may be familiar with -- Niao Sun and a few other guys.
Are they going to help illustrate the story line? Maybe real-time cut-scenes?
Suzuki
: Well, our story this time around is being handled with real-time graphics using existing models from the game rather than streaming the video.
Will there be a multiplayer mode, or is it strictly a one-player game?
Suzuki
: Right now it's straight single player action. We'd like to do a split-screen kind of a thing, but polygon count-wise were reaching the top, so we're probably going to stick with the single player.
Are you planning to release the game on the PS4K?
Suzuki
: We're planning on it. A high-resolution mode is most likely one thing we are going to do with that.
Can we expect the traditional "Shenmue experience "?
Suzuki
: Obviously it's the true sequel to Shenmue 2 so you can expect a lot of detail. For example, one thing we have right now is, if you hit a guy blood sprays out and hits the wall and drips down. It looks really nice.
What about QTE's?
Suzuki
: Yes, but QTE's will probably only be used in certain cutscenes or maybe all cutscenes, but definitely fewer than before.
What platforms is the game coming to?
Suzuki
: Playstation 4 and PC so far. We don't have anyone working on the NX yet. We're putting out an HD version of Shenmue 2 for NX that's going to look great.
How Complete would you say the game is?
Suzuki
: Oh, we are way early on it. We're currently about 30% complete.
At what pace does the game move? Similar to Uncharted or is it more slowly paced?
Suzuki
: It's not as face paced as Uncharted. In Uncharted you do a lot of wandering around with no one near you and with Shenmue 3 there is always somebody. If it's not an enemy it's just a civilian just cruising by. We're trying to populate the worlds in that sense so it doesn't feel like it's just you. In one of the segments of the game you're in this little town in the desert in North-Western China and it's populated. It has civilians and bad guys cruising around. The civilians kind of dumbly wander around and some of them are at the fruit stands just going about their business. What's funny is that you can walk up to a civilian and you can slug 'em, which is really mean because they're not hurting you or anything. They put their hands up as if to say 'Please don't hit me again.' It's kind of sad to see it happen to some little guy just pushing his cart but it's also kind of funny in a way.
Finally, what is the difference between the PlayStation 4 and PC versions of Shenmue 3?
Suzuki
: Really not much. The PS4 version will choreograph all the cut-scenes just like the PC. The PC version may have the edge in terms of graphic quality just because its perspective correction and things like that really cleans up the game. At the same time, with the PS4 we have the ability to stream audio for the cut-scenes. That said, we're working on the compression for the audio so we can put all the audio on the blu ray. But like I said PC really has the edge with the quality of the graphics.
Last edited by
SMDzero on Mon May 30, 2016 5:24 pm, edited 2 times in total.
SMDzero has received a thanks from: FlagshipFighter