I've had the old Ryo model (shown below) but never felt very satisfied with his geometry, so I've finally decided to rebuild him from scratch (though I may use the old model for slower computers running the game). I'm nearly done with the head's geometry and this time Ryo has eye sockets for moving eyes and an open mouth that will feature teeth and a tongue; Ryo will have an animated face for speaking. Although I've never attempted this, it will be a fun learning opportunity and pushing myself is one of the more enjoyable aspects of creating a game. I'm pouring all of my love into this project as I did when I created Shenmue Zero, but with five years more experience making games and better tools, I can't wait to see how far I've come.
Not to say this is a solo project, as many Dojo members from 2007 agreed to sign on and create content or pitch in their talents to help see this project come into being.
Some of my expectations:
- Fully interactive environments not unlike Shenmue where Ryo can pick up objects and search rooms.
- A recreated diary featuring entries from Shenmue and updated with new entries for his trip on the boat.
- Similar inventory featuring many of the same items Ryo had, including the cassette tapes to listen to.
- Voice acting and text to accompany the short story; ideally, there would be a Japanese vocal track as well. Realistically, I will make it a mission to include several text translations to accompany the game for players of many langauges to enjoy. (Please contact me if you wish to translate the game into your native tongue [Spanish, German, French, Korean, Mandarin, Cantonese, Dutch, etc.].)
- As faithful as an experience to the Shenmue canon as possible.
- Released before 2009.
- Xbox 360 control pad support will be implemented from the beginning with the classic Dreamcast/Xbox control scheme (D-Pad [walking] + Right Stick [camera] + Right Trigger [running]).
- Cleverly placed Sega and Shenmue eastereggs.
- Original music and remixed Shenmue music.
- HDTV support and surround sound.
- Free of charge (no duh!)
And now to some of the work-in-progress images.
Actual / Recreated Boat Comparison (mostly finished boat, few proportions off, missing anchor)
The most frustrating yet somehow addicting programming experience, collision detection
The old Ryo Hazuki model, likely to be used for low graphics settings in the final build
On the boat in the back.
Three images of Ryo's new head; to feature facial animation (most likely for high graphics settings); note the head itself is over 500 polygons
