Yu Suzuki at Gamelab 2014 (Information & Multimedia)

[Axm]

phpBB [video]

[KRaZiGLiTcH]

phpBB [video]

I hope Yu Suzuki does consider kickstarter ^_^,As it is true it helps connect the fans more with the developer of a game or product.

[Giorgio]

Yu Suzuki talked at Radio 3 while at Gamelab 2014: http://www.rtve.es/alacarta/audios/30/r ... 4/2646988/

It is in Spanish, therefore (and obviously) we need an English translation (if it is worth it). The program with Yu Suzuki starts from 11:28. Shenmue starts being mentioned from 19:24.

[japalp]

Has anyone listened to this and is there anything of interest?

[Nahovil]

I found it interesting. I'll translate it.

[Fenix]

He's repeating the same as the interview at gamelab. Do not waste time translating it.

All the interview is going to be put and translated in English.

[Axm]

Ok Fenix, thanks. Since I was already halfway through it, I might as well post it.

One of the most acclaimed people by the spectators over at the Gamelab was Yu Suzuki, the japanese who was Sega's soul for years, father of games like Outrun, Virtua Fighter and Shenmue. He was the recipient of the Legend Award by the Interactive Arts and Sciences Academy of Spain. We had the privilege of chatting with him.


R3: Yu Suzuki, it is an honour to share a moment with a legend such as yourself.


YS: Thank you so much, I am very pleased to be here in Spain, receiving such an important award.


R3: Since it would be understandably hard for you to pick one game from all of those you've created, I'm allow myself to do so. The one which has marked me the most was Outrun, since, I'm not sure you're aware of it, sparked the hope, in the youngsters playing at the arcade, that one day we'd be driving a Ferrari with a marvellous blonde by our side.


YS: It pleases me very much, that there are still people reminiscing about the game. In fact, while developing Outrun, our main goal was to distance ourselves from the racing arcades of the time, in which racing against the time and other cars was the main goal. I wanted to set us apart from that, creating a sense of luxury and fantasy and that's why we picked a red Ferrari and a blonde girl by our side, with an outstretched arm, in a more relaxed setting.


R3: Well, the era of Outrun is the age of excellence of the arcade saloons, places regarded as temples in which people would gather up. Are you in any way sorry about their disappearance? How do you see gaming Industry's evolution?


YS: Truthfully, it saddens me that these places keep on disappearing throughout every city. This demand and way of playing waned due to other platforms such as consoles and, more recently, cellphones and tablets... Times have changed. I feel sorry about it because you no longer touch the machines, such as punching in boxing games, or how friends would laugh at you when you would slap the joystick in frustration when you lost. It was something else.


R3: Well the arcade saloons have faded away because industry has changed the criteria, with new technology arising. With the arrival of consoles, videogaming has also been somewhat democratized. Now, in a new change of paradigm, the internet shows up. How do you think it'll affect the future of videogaming?


YS: I think that, instead of playing solitarily, the experience is always heightened when shared with friends, so the presence of other people beside you is something positive. Nowadays, you can even play with someone who's anywhere in the world, live, and that enhances the experience further.


R3: If you had known more precisely how the evolution of Internet gaming would come about, would you have developed any of your games differently?


YS: If I had know how popular the Internet would become, I'd have made some things differently. For instance, the open-world of Shenmue would have been different, as I'd have made an effort to emulate the real life of a society, we would have striven to create a completely living game because the technology would then have allowed us to.


R3: Let's roll back the years all the way to the mid 80's when an arcade named Hang-On first appeared, the first game I recall in which you could simulate riding a motorcycle. Do you regard these sort of machines as incipient to later technologies such as motion-detecting technology?


YS: At that time, we started creating games and their mechanics with the available technology, such as joysticks - it was simpler, and also less realistic.

(...)

[Giorgio]

I find it very interesting (especially the bit about Shenmue). Thank you, Nahovil, for your effort to translate it so far. If you see that the rest of what Yu Suzuki is saying in that radio program are not the same with the ones he talked about at the Gamelab 2014 conference, then you may revisit that radio program, to translate the rest of Yu's words, if you want so to do.

[ShenSun]

I say translate the entire thing. It's always good to read a Suzuki interview, Shenmue related or not.

[Fenix]

It's the same interview he gave in the conference. And el_clow has filmed everything

[Axm]

I went and translated the whole interview, while I was at it - Yeah, school's over. Thank you for the heads up, though, Fenix.

One of the most acclaimed people by the spectators over at the Gamelab was Yu Suzuki, the japanese who was Sega's soul for years, father of games like Outrun, Virtua Fighter and Shenmue. He was the recipient of the Legend Award by the Interactive Arts and Sciences Academy of Spain. We had the privilege of chatting with him.



R3: Yu Suzuki, it is an honour to share a moment with a legend such as yourself.

YS: Thank you so much, I am very pleased to be here in Spain, receiving such an important award.




R3: Since it would be understandably hard for you to pick one game from all of those you've created, I'm allow myself to do so. The one which has marked me the most was Outrun, since, I'm not sure you're aware of it, sparked the hope, in the youngsters playing at the arcade, that one day we'd be driving a Ferrari with a marvellous blonde by our side.

YS: It pleases me very much, that there are still people reminiscing about the game. In fact, while developing Outrun, our main goal was to distance ourselves from the racing arcades of the time, in which racing against the time and other cars was the main goal. I wanted to set us apart from that, creating a sense of luxury and fantasy and that's why we picked a red Ferrari and a blonde girl by our side, with an outstretched arm, in a more relaxed setting.




R3: Well, the era of Outrun is the age of excellence of the arcade saloons, places regarded as temples in which people would gather up. Are you in any way sorry about their disappearance? How do you see gaming Industry's evolution?

YS: Truthfully, it saddens me that these places keep on disappearing throughout every city. This demand and way of playing waned due to other platforms such as consoles and, more recently, mobile phones and tablets... Times have changed. I feel sorry about it because you no longer touch the machines, such as punching in boxing games, or how friends would laugh at you when you would slap the joystick in frustration when you lost. It was something else.




R3: Well the arcade saloons have faded away because industry has changed the criteria, with new technology arising. With the arrival of consoles, videogaming has also been somewhat democratized. Now, in a new change of paradigm, the internet shows up. How do you think it'll affect the future of videogaming?

YS: I think that, instead of playing solitarily, the experience is always heightened when shared with friends, so the presence of other people beside you is something positive. Nowadays, you can even play with someone who's anywhere in the world, live, and that enhances the experience further.




R3: If you had known more precisely how the evolution of Internet gaming would come about, would you have developed any of your games differently?

YS: If I had know how popular the Internet would become, I'd have made some things differently. For instance, the open-world of Shenmue would have been different, as I'd have made an effort to emulate the real life of a society, we would have striven to create a completely living game because the technology would then have allowed us to.




R3: Let's roll back the years all the way to the mid 80's when an arcade named Hang-On first appeared, the first game I recall in which you could simulate riding a motorcycle. Do you regard these sort of machines as incipient to later technologies such as motion-detecting technology?

YS: At that time, we started creating games and their mechanics with the available technology, such as joysticks - it was simpler, and also less realistic. With Hang-On, we were able to deliver an all but total sensation of realism. What I really wanted to have was a real motorcycle, instead of the ones made of plastic, with it's working engine, blowing out smoke and all - but, obviously, that would have made for unbearable maintenance costs.




R3: And what do you think of new technologies, such as XBox's Kinect, or even Oculus Rift's and Project Morpheus' virtual-reality proposals?

YS: More than ten years ago, while I was still a part of Sega's developing team, we already experimented with virtual-reality, and now I believe it is almost ready to be shown to the public, and not only concerning video-games. Virtual-reality has immense potential in fields like Medicine and Tourism.




R3: Reviewing your creations, it would be impossible not to address the arrival of the polygons. You are the developer of Virtua Racing and Virtua Fighter, the unforgettable fighting game, which incorporated those big pixels and enormous polygons in order to convey depth. How, do you think, should gaming industry acknowledge that massive generational leap?

YS: Before the use of polygons became widespread, graphics were much better, as the drawings were really good and colourful, but a more realistic perspective was the important thing lacking. Surely, with Virtua Racing and Virtua Fighter, the graphic design was a step behind, regarding two dimensional games, but we were able to convey real life depth and perspective in a much more accurate way. I felt like that was the right time to make the leap over to the new 3D technology, aware of how drastic of a change it would be.




R3: After the 3D world, the next big step for video-gaming has been drawing itself closer to photorealism, to the hyper-realist graphics. You have, for instance, experimented with it in what many hold as your masterpiece, Shenmue. Do you believe the industry has adapted itself well to this new tendency?

YS: When it came to start developing Shenmue, the cinematic scenes were fundamental, because it was a game in which the story, above action, was the most important thing. What we were striving for, was to make an interactive film, with QTE sequences and a lot of video sequences that made up the story as you'd go. Nowadays, technology has allowed for hyper-realism, so I believe the challenge is now not so much in achieving an image as much as enhancing gameplay.




R3: Shenmue's story is so extensive, it wouldn't have fit into a single video-game, so we got Shenmue II. However, the story remains unfinished and each year, or at least in cyclical fashion, fans keep on pleading you to go on. There have been rumours, at the last E3, that we may be close to a third instalment. So... What do you want to say to the legions of fans, worldwide?

YS: (Laughs) Each year, there's a new rumour that we're making Shenmue III, and, even though 14 years have passed, the fans keep on waiting. I sincerely appreciate it, and, if the correct circumstances arise, I would be willing.




R3: Well, when people start handling out awards recognizing your career, one might think it would be coming to an end, but that doesn't seem to be Suzuki-san's case. Do you have any projects around the corner?

YS: I like drawing a lot, and, of course, I have a passion for video games, but what I like doing the most is creating things. Right now, I have a couple of projects going on for mobile phones, consoles and even thematic parks. Counting on important partners, surely interesting things will happen.




R3: Here in the auditorium there are a lot of young developers, full of enthusiasm, who have their own projects. Naturally, with an important figure such as yourself present, I would like to ask you what word of advice would you give to a young video-game developer?

YS: Well, nowadays we are able to rely on technology and programming languages such as Unity, which have made things easier for everyone, since you no longer have the need to count on a big studio to realize your ideas while leading you the way. The one advice I have for you is, do not try emulate what others have made; hence, I invite you to develop your own projects with their own personality.

[Giorgio]

Great translation, Nahovil! It's nice to have it in text form, too. Thank you, for this.

Right now, I have a couple of projects going on for mobile phones, consoles and even thematic parks. Counting on important partners, surely interesting things will happen.

Interesting, indeed, that he have projects for consoles, too. But, I think, for those, too, he needs funding, and that is why he calls for the "important partners". I also think Yu have talked about thematic parks before, but I am not sure (don't remember right now) why; I'll have to do a research on the past for that.

[BlueMue]

Nice to read. Thanks for this!

[Nahovil]

Great translation, Nahovil! It's nice to have it in text form, too. Thank you, for this.

Right now, I have a couple of projects going on for mobile phones, consoles and even thematic parks. Counting on important partners, surely interesting things will happen.

Interesting, indeed, that he have projects for consoles, too. But, I think, for those, too, he needs funding, and that is why he calls for the "important partners". I also think Yu have talked about thematic parks before, but I am not sure (don't remember right now) why; I'll have to do a research on the past for that.

Nice to read. Thanks for this!

You're welcome. I was surprised he mentioned consoles, too; if Shenmue isn't being worked on, I wonder what sort of project it is.

[shredingskin]

I just don't believe anything.

He has been teasing Psy Phi for quite a long time, some fighting game with animals, the other game that was inspired by I don't know wich artist and talking about kinect and move. All the people that he talked about new projects just seem to see some random photoshopped concept.

He's just out of touch with everything at this moment I think. Or he is just getting paid for "concepts" and he googles some shit, grabs photoshop and makes up a story to recieve the check.