by Tomato Convenience Store » Sat Jun 20, 2015 1:48 pm
I think the improvement in development tools (UE4) and not as much needed R&D as the first two games can make this a solid game without having a true AAA budget. However, it still needs more money than an indie game, and my concern is a barebones shenmue experience if there's not a big enough budget. So my concerns are:
1. The game will need a high art budget because it needs a lot of character models, world art, and animations. Consider that the fidelity will be better than that of the dreamcast days, and it can get pretty expensive.
2. Too much time has passed from Shenmue II that something won't quite feel "right" with the new engine, and the devs have been away from the project for too long.
3. Same with the budget concerns of art - to do this right will require a lot of VO. Conversations are a huge part of this game, and the quality of the VO needs to improve a lot.
4. The entire game is more of a Shenmue II Disc 4 experience (most likely as a result of a smaller budget). I loved Disc 4, but that's because it felt absolutely perfect after the ending of disc 3. I'm not sure a more rural and intimate setting for the entire game would be fun.
So yeah, my hopes are there's enough of a budget to do the game justice, it does well, then the budget increases for Shenmue IV!