Shenmue 3 & E3 2017 - UPDATE - Confirmed will NOT be at E3

[JohnBlack]

they're the reason why Shenmue III had to go through Kickstarter in the first place

Theyre also the reason why you know about Shenmue at all

[Spaghetti]

SEGA have done enough licencing the IP. They're keeping the project at arm's length, but without them it would be impossible to even be in the position of having a new sequel. They're very unlikely to involve themselves further, though.

And that's fine. If we relied on SEGA for everything there would be no III. Shenmue is in the hands of the people who care for it, and know what to do with it now.

[Bluecast]

know what to do with it now.

We shall see.

[Spaghetti]

We shall see.

You're removing the context of my post by isolating just that part.

This isn't about an end product's final quality. This is about creative ownership and understanding about what makes it tick.

[Bluecast]

I love Shenmue (not my fave game ever tho) and hope the game delivers on all fronts. I am glad I donated to the KS. That said. These retro revivals have a bad track record so far and the people we thought had the right creative direction bungled it some along the way before the product was delivered. A good many flipped over 10 seconds of a new character. Some hate the idea we may have half spider half man things in the future of the series so not everyone trusts that they do understand. Mr Shenmue Scott Steiner circa 1997 didn't bother me personally tho. I'm indifferent.

[Sonoshee]

Here you have a small team of developers from two gens ago trying to get to grips with UE4 while hiring a lot of rookie staffers and expecting to drop a fully polished open world game within 2 years.

YSNet are only hiring experienced developers, as you can see on the Recruit part of their website.

AJ are a completely different kettle of fish though

[Spaghetti]

I love Shenmue (not my fave game ever tho) and hope the game delivers on all fronts. I am glad I donated to the KS. That said. These retro revivals have a bad track record so far and the people we thought had the right creative direction bungled it some along the way before the product was delivered. A good many flipped over 10 seconds of a new character. Some hate the idea we may have half spider half man things in the future of the series so not everyone trusts that they do understand. Mr Shenmue Scott Steiner circa 1997 didn't bother me personally tho. I'm indifferent.

If you want to compare Shenmue III to other retro revivals you'll need to be specific about which ones you mean.

But for the sake of argument - Mighty No 9 is probably the one you're thinking about. I could go into a longer spiel about where this game stumbled, but for the sake of brevity I'll just stick with two points on what Shenmue III has going for it that's different.

1.) Shenmue was largely a singular vision from the start, and nobody here will deny that it is Yu Suzuki's project from top to bottom. Others helped form and execute it, but there's a lot more auteur-style ownership over it than Megaman/Mighty No 9.

Mighty No 9's Kickstarter tried to frame Inafune in the same way, but even the most basic research into his history with the series will reveal he was not what made it tick. Compare that to Yu Suzuki, who we know from years of development stories to have been largely the one to communicate to the rest of his team what Shenmue/a cinematic game/proto-open world gameplay even was.

He understands it right down to the smallest subtleties too, as the NHK documentary shows when he directs staff to use gentler QTE prompt noises during the sequence when running through the forest with Shenhua. That part of the game is especially distinct for its atmosphere, and he was completely right to request that change from staff. I don't think any of us could even imagine that sequence any other way now.

That's creative ownership. It can't be faked or emulated.

2.) What Shenmue III specifically has going for it compared to these other revival games, is the high staff retention pedigree from the older games in lead technical and creative roles. Mighty No 9 is a black hole in comparison. Many of the lead staff (both directors and head game designers) had limited experience in those roles, and no tangible experience developing a classic Megaman-style game. It is night and day.

I'm going to avoid making this about taste, but even the most ardent critics of what we've seen so far need to relent on the fact that what we've seen so far "isn't Shenmue". It is. Trying to undermine the team when they're the people who defined what Shenmue was then, and will be in the future, is just ignorant, short sighted, and frankly just factually wrong.

YSNet are only hiring experienced developers, as you can see on the Recruit part of their website.

Bingo.

I assume they're going with the industry standard of wanting to see at least one game shipped on the CV of applicants before shortlisting them for interview/further review; and even then they're going to be looking for those who've worked in the AA/AAA space.

Rookie developers they aint', just one of those types of games is 2-3 years experience at least.

[JohnBlack]

Rookie developers they aint', just one of those types of games is 2-3 years experience at least.

Oh, someone here posted link to personal website of the one guy, who clearly working for YSnet, and he just finished education and has like super small portfolio.

[Bluecast]

A man named after pasta is quite aggressive and no need to talk down to people. Anyway also one of the modelers was just a fan hired I believe. Don't think he had much game developer experience either if any. Oh and the MN9 staff actually had a few ex MM Capcom devs,it's not a game I want to remember I have a credit in. If the series turns into fighting enemies that belong in a RPG (which Shenmue is not) then TBH Yu's vision was never that great to begin with and rather clunky but that's hypothetical at this point. Syberia 3 was another revival that went bad as well as Yooka Laylee. They all have their own individual reasons why. Talking about QTE sounds...QTE's are the worst part about the series aside from the voice acting and writing. I'd prefer they were not in there at all. No not bashing it either,it's just true. Love the hell out of it regardless. (like how Skies is awesome even tho the random battles suck hard or weapons breaking so easy in BOTW,you are willing to over look some things because the rest of the game makes up for it)

Not sure what taste has to do with anything. You don't even know what I like really. One could also Argue . Yu hasn't done much of anything since his days at SEGA and maybe lost in modern development. I guess there was that cancelled Arcade game in the mid 00s which was his last big project not Shenmue Online..also cancelled. 3 years in game development isn't much at all. That's really 1 game development cycle and sometimes not even that. I'm an experienced game developer then if it's just 2-3 years. Anyway I honestly don't care if they are brand new to it or have 35 years experience. Whatever he thinks works..he thinks is right obviously.

Not saying Shenmue III will turn out bad may turn out fantastic,too early to know. His vision seems it could be a bit muddled however since SO and City showed was a bit out there. I do know there is some cause for concern for what they have not shown. People freak out of what character is shown but honestly I'm more worried about what hasn't been shown 2 years later. Certain characters and even basic short clips of presentable game play footage even if only 30 seconds. As much as MN9 is trash we had some substance at this stage of something to show for the public. Also yes the game is much more basic. He might be right in that his vision for the game is larger than the budget which can also be a concern. Shenmue III may end up with a 80-90 meta for all I know and I'd be happy if it did.

For the time being I am just cautiously optimistic. I have my reservations about the game and the man behind it since his rep is pretty empty post SEGA but I am not in a panic about it. Whether is seems like it or not. My thoughts are written very relaxed. Not tense about the game or it's development. Just making an argument that there can be cause.

[Spaghetti]

Oh, someone here posted link to personal website of the one guy, who clearly working for YSnet, and he just finished education and has like super small portfolio.

Mind sharing the link with me or tell me where to find it? I've not seen that so I'd like to have a nose around it.

On-topic though, that doesn't support the claim that anybody who isn't a series veteran is a rookie developer. Skill and experience levels will vary across the studio. An example of one employee does not reflect the whole workforce.

[Spaghetti]

A man named after pasta is quite aggressive and no need to talk down to people.

If that's all you took away from my post, we are clearly not going to be able to discuss this properly.

[Bluecast]

A man named after pasta is quite aggressive and no need to talk down to people.

If that's all you took away from my post, we are clearly not going to be able to discuss this properly.

If that was all I took from it I would not have a War and Peace novel at 5 am as that's something I don't do much anymore. No one is upset or even close to it.

[JohnBlack]

Oh, someone here posted link to personal website of the one guy, who clearly working for YSnet, and he just finished education and has like super small portfolio.

Mind sharing the link with me or tell me where to find it? I've not seen that so I'd like to have a nose around it.

On-topic though, that doesn't support the claim that anybody who isn't a series veteran is a rookie developer. Skill and experience levels will vary across the studio. An example of one employee does not reflect the whole workforce.

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=50804&p=1151099#p1151099

You even posted below

[mjq jazz bar]

Unless I'm misunderstanding, I don't think that guy has anything to do with the game. He sent the team mirrors. He got a letter from Yu suzuki thanking him for the gift. Nothing on his site indicates any connection to Ys Net. I highly doubt they're recruiting Americans who graduated from Full Sail.

[Let's Get Sweaty]

I highly doubt they're recruiting Americans who graduated from Full Sail.

Especially if they've witnessed the crowd at an NXT taping.