Gameblog interview with Yu Suzuki @Gamescom

(Chapter 7 and beyond)

Gameblog interview with Yu Suzuki @Gamescom

Postby Yokosuka » Thu Aug 31, 2017 8:42 pm

http://www.gameblog.fr/interview_1100_y ... n-actuel-m

Translation from French.

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Gameblog: Suzuki-sensei, how are you? How do you feel here at Gamescom after you showed us this first trailer ?

Yu Suzuki: To be honest, it's more a teaser rather than a real trailer! About the Gamescom, I believe hundreds of thousands of people come here, that's truly gigantic. I only visited the business area at the moment, I don't know how things look at the other side, in the public areas. But we will go into it soon, I'm sure that will be great. I have already met a lot of fans and enthusiastic journalists. All these people give me a huge boost.

GB: So far, is the development going well? Are you pleased with your working pace and progress?

YS: We made a lot of research before we signed our partnership with Deep Silver. Since that moment, I feel we now have the full team and I'm relieved. Finally, we can focus entirely on the remaining part, I mean the production.

GB: Does Deep Silver provide you funds for the remaining production? Can you tell us something more about it?

YS: I cannot comment officially or give you precise figures. But yes, there is something...

GB: How close we are actually to the trial version?

YS: I'm currently thinking about the best way to design the demo, in order to show the game to the players. But I'm still unable to tell you when it will be available... It will be sometime!

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GB: What are the main mechanics that you will take back from Shenmue 1&2 and the new ones you're currently creating for Shenmue III?

YS: I could not be really specific about Shenmue 1&2 mechanics but I can tell you that our first priority is to remain faithful to the spirit of the first episodes, the "Shenmue universe".

However, regarding Shenmue 1&2, the constituent elements such as mini-games, jobs and miscellaneous activities were not really linked together. They were simply there, and their connections were not strong enough. In Shenmue III, I want to tie the different elements really tighter, make these connections clearer. This way, the world of Shenmue will be improved. Each gameplay sequence will be included more naturally into the story, the screenplay, then the player feels more involved and focused. I believe this will be one of the strongest and most attractive features of Shenmue III.


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GB: Can you tell us more about the new QTEs we've seen in the extended teaser?

YS: I hope you'll appreciate this new QTE system! Let me give you few examples...

(Yu Suzuki starts his PC which is connected to the television then opens a Powerpoint file with pictures and texts about every elements of the game. He goes directly into the slides about the QTEs)

The most important aspect of the new QTEs is the fun provided to the players. We would like to challenge the QTE concept with a new function called "Variable Speed Play" in order to offer a funny and entertaining experience to the players. It's a style of QTE that has never been seen before.

So far you're only seeing the Circle or Triangle buttons from the PS4 controller but more symbols are yet to come. QTEs might be based on colors seen on the controller buttons, or even on Chinese characters associated with some specific actions. Moreover, we may imagine a system based on specific sounds associated with each controller button. A color coupled with a sound. This way, we could perform QTEs only by referring to a game sound... Well, it's still experimental but I would like to offer that kind of experience to the players.


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GB: What about the battle system?

YS: In Shenmue 1&2, I choose the Virtua Fighter system. It was more about strategy than button mashing. In Shenmue III, I would like a more friendly system and something completely new. One of the most important improvements would be the ability to attack several enemies once, during the same combo. Unlike the previous episodes - and many other games - where you had to fight only one ennemy once, if three enemies surround you, you need to fight all of them at the same time, by doing combos on each other (Suzuki mimes a triple combo with his fists: "bam - bam - bam!").

Of course, if you want to focus on one enemy only, you can do so, but you will have the choice.

GB: Like Shenmue I, can we train our moves to improve Ryo's abilities, skills and techniques?

YS: Yes indeed, I would like to make this happen and I'm still thinking about it. Solo training is definitely part of Kung Fu. The skill tree system is still confirmed as well. (Suzuki opens a new Powerpoint slide named "Skill Tree").

Each blank rectangle you're seeing here represents a skill book. These books can be obtained by several manners. You can buy some books in stores while you can earn the other ones by prizes. They can also have different forms: books, scrolls or sheets...


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GB: Everyone was suprised by the lack of facial motion in the teaser. Can you give us an explanation? By the way, is the charadesign final?

YS: First of all, no the charadesign isn't final. Actually, no character in the teaser is finished. I'm still not pleased with the current design, even if it's way better than the characters we showed at E3 2015. About the facial motion, it was there two months ago, but the developers changed something in the face bone structure then everything started to bug. (The translator is miming with his hand the jaw entering the head). The facial motion no longer worked so we decided to remove it from the teaser.

GB: The logo has changed again too...

YS: Yes, it has been changed because I wanted to remake it myself. By the way, the ideogram you can see on the poster has been made by my father (Suzuki points at the kanji on the poster - see the red circle on the picture below).

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GB: The interview already comes to the end... Shortly, have you got any positive news about Shenmue HD?

YS: As you know, Sega still owns the licence, so I really cannot say anything about it.... but I want to tell something to Sega: please, do it! I really would like to see this happen.
Last edited by Yokosuka on Fri Sep 01, 2017 2:27 am, edited 4 times in total.

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Re: Gameblog interview with Yu Suzuki @Gamescom

Postby WildManofBorneo » Thu Aug 31, 2017 10:11 pm

I'd be very curious to learn the amount of funding YS Net has been able to secure from Deep SIlver.

When you look at Deep Silver as a publisher and their success with the Metro series, they have certainly demonstrated themselves to be a company who is willing to provide the full commitment needed to bring AAA titles to the market.

Take for example Metro: Last Light, a 135 member development team (100 core developers and 2 outsourced teams spread across 35 members), who was provided the full financial support to create a game over a 3 year time frame. This was by no means a cheap investment from Deep Silver. If anything, it can be taken as a sign that Shenmue 3 is good hands.
Last edited by WildManofBorneo on Fri Sep 01, 2017 11:20 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Gameblog interview with Yu Suzuki @Gamescom

Postby Hazuki00 » Fri Sep 01, 2017 3:29 am

Thanks Yokosuka!

"YS: I'm currently thinking about the best way to design the demo, in order to show the game to the players. But I'm still unable to tell you when it will be available... It will be soon!"

Very soon without to have started to create it sounds too optimistic for me but I'm eager to try it!

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Re: Gameblog interview with Yu Suzuki @Gamescom

Postby Kiske » Fri Sep 01, 2017 3:43 am

Thank you Yokosuka! Great job!

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Re: Gameblog interview with Yu Suzuki @Gamescom

Postby ShenmueLegacy » Fri Sep 01, 2017 4:38 am

Trial soon ?? Already ?

Would be neat if they open sourced it for feedback.
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Re: Gameblog interview with Yu Suzuki @Gamescom

Postby Peter » Fri Sep 01, 2017 5:57 am

It's not soon. Julien just confirmed it should be "sometime" and not "soon". I've made the change to the OP.

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Re: Gameblog interview with Yu Suzuki @Gamescom

Postby Let's Get Sweaty » Fri Sep 01, 2017 6:36 am

ShenmueLegacy wrote:Would be neat if they open sourced it for feedback.


I can't imagine anything the devs want less than 200 bedroom coders telling them why their algorithms are poorly designed. They get it bad enough from self-assured photoshoppers.

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Re: Gameblog interview with Yu Suzuki @Gamescom

Postby Peter » Fri Sep 01, 2017 6:40 am

Feedback, feedback, feedback. Opinion, opinion, opinion. It's a Kickstarter, my voice should be heard.

I get that. People are financially invested in this game. But you backed a project based on a person's ideas and vision. If so many people's opinions were taken on board during the making of Shenmue 1 and 2, then we wouldn't have had the great games we know and love today. Can we not just leave them in peace to make the game we have wanted for so long? It's getting tiring now with people thinking they have some sort of creative input into this games development.

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Re: Gameblog interview with Yu Suzuki @Gamescom

Postby shredingskin » Fri Sep 01, 2017 8:14 am

They can take it as a great focus sample and beta testing phase.

Let's stop this "lol they're perfect", no one is going to change his creative vision, but if they set a good feedback framework (basically a detailed optional survey after playing/testing), they can improve a lot of things they have missed or that might turn off potential players, or polish things they may have overlooked.

Every game company does this (on their dime with a reduced amount of people).

Of course, it'll probably just be a little demo, but I don't see why they can't do it.
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Re: Gameblog interview with Yu Suzuki @Gamescom

Postby Let's Get Sweaty » Fri Sep 01, 2017 8:19 am

Y'know what, I think I may have misunderstood what ShenmueLegacy meant by "open sourced for feedback."

What was actually meant was probably "crowd sourcing feedback," rather than what originally came to mind which was allowing fans to poke through the game code...

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Re: Gameblog interview with Yu Suzuki @Gamescom

Postby Yokosuka » Fri Sep 01, 2017 9:46 am

Peter wrote: It's not soon. Julien just confirmed it should be "sometime" and not "soon". I've made the change to the OP.


Oops sorry about that. I did know what Julien meant but "soon" has a straighter sense than I thought. Julien didn't need to apologize.
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Re: Gameblog interview with Yu Suzuki @Gamescom

Postby Chaikilla » Fri Sep 01, 2017 2:11 pm

Thanks for this!

The most interesting part is his comments on the battle system. Shenmue 1&2 were about strategy rather than button mashing and he wants to change that in the third installment? The impression I get is that there'll be some kind of button prompt during melee battles that will allow you to perform a combo on multiple opponents. But when I thought of that, I said to myself "why do that, when qte exists?". Considering his comments about a "new" QTE system, I'm guessing it doesn't rely on merely pressing whatever button comes on screen. So maybe the team just added this feature to melee battles instead.

Yu does seem to suggest that we'll still have the freedom to pick whatever moves we'd like in melee battles, though, so that relives me a bit. The only thing I'm really worried about (and I have been from the start) is how the battle system will be implemented.
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Re: Gameblog interview with Yu Suzuki @Gamescom

Postby adom11800 » Fri Sep 01, 2017 3:06 pm

I bet Suzuki is getting tired of answering about the facial expressions/animations question..
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Re: Gameblog interview with Yu Suzuki @Gamescom

Postby Cranes » Sun Dec 10, 2017 9:54 am

adom11800 wrote: I bet Suzuki is getting tired of answering about the facial expressions/animations question..


Yeah he gets asked this a lot but I like hearing him answer lol.
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