raunchy wrote: you know, ive been thinking about this a lot lately. its hard to remember the scale of the originals because its been so long. i doubt even $4 million from the kickstarter will make a dent in the scope of the game. I think we have to set ourselves up for a very different experience. maybe a lot more linear. I just can't see how, even using a cheap engine and graphics, you could make it as open-world as the originals or more. Even the yakuza games were like $20 million+
I'm with you in thinking that we probably shouldn't start forming expectations so much on what came before. Supposedly Sony is contributing to the effort, but I don't believe any particular amount has been disclosed, and I don't anticipate that we'll find out. However, at this point, consensus of the fan-base (at least, prior to the announcement) seemed to be not in worrying whether Shenmue III was the best game in the series; in fact, it seemed that many people didn't care if Shenmue III was a game at all. That said, the fact that we're getting a playable continuation is huge. I'm with you in thinking that certain elements will be sacrificed or changed, but I'd be feeling that way even if the game had the budget of the first two games.
In one sense, including a city this time around would require much greater resources. Take people, for example. 20 or so people walking around on a city street just wouldn't cut it at this point. And adding more people, yet keeping with Shenmue's immersive nature (daily routines and dialogue) for each person would be a huge undertaking. It makes a lot more sense, then, to focus on smaller, less populated areas where focus will be given to more intimate details and objects. In that way, I agree again with you that there may be a greater sense of linearity. I don't think it will be totally linear, but it certainly won't be as open.