Kickstarter Update #66 - Yu-san on story-building

[ManoTemple]

I bet you if there's a good showing at E3, they'll be able to reach that $7 million stretch goal mark, maybe more.

[The_Intruder]

I'm so glad Yu didn't spoil anymore footage of Shenmue 3. I want to be surprised when they do the full reveal trailer at E3. I think it should be the first game they show iin the conference but they always put Uncharted first.

What makes you so sure there will be a full reveal trailer at E3? I mean... I hope so too, but I don't want to be disappointed if Shenmue 3 doesn't make an appearance.

Im just going for what everybody been saying. I really hope they do show a trailer at E3 I got tired of waiting.

[Himuro]

Mystical elements are intrinsic to the game's plot. Seriously, if it bothers you then you've spent fifteen years pining over the wrong franchise, because that's just what Shenmue is, like it or not.

You could take the mystical elements literally (as in chi you will literally come from the heavens ) or metaphorically (as in, Shenhua is the Phoenix but not a literal Phoenix). Also, some of us enjoy how the games give a hint of mysticism beyond the realistic curtain and think that going full mysticism would ruin that. Would Shenhua's flower blowing or the ending of Shenmue II be as powerful as they are if the games made mysticism as the centrality of its story? I don't think so. Instead, you have a lot of mysteries, and not all mysteries need solving. Sometimes the mystery itself is the appeal.

All reasonable rebuttals.

[Peter]

Nice video, just listening to Yu speak slowly, and methodically fills me with confidence for unknown reasons.

But the sword of 7 stars question.... random? But then again, i knew the answer to the question when it was asked

Again as ive said, it does seem to be a filler episode which is absolutely fine by me, the month before June. After PSX i am keeping expectations tempered to prevent disappointment, but the possibility will always be there, and all arrows seem to be pointing in the right direction.

[Sonoshee]

All reasonable rebuttals.

You'd hardly post them if you didn't think so.

I'm not going to tell anyone what they should appreciate most about the games, I'm only talking about objective facts, and it's an objective fact that the mysticism became more overt as the story progressed. You don't have to like it, but to be in any way surprised or disappointed at the thought of the Sword of Seven Stars playing a role in Shenmue 3, which directly continues from Shenmue 2's ending featuring the Sword of Seven Stars, means at some point you were kidding yourself about the direction in which this series was already heading.

[O Rei do Frango Assado]

They really shouldn't be calling this kind of stuff "updates", as they're not saying anything about Shenmue 3's development and how it's coming along. Which is fine by me, as I've always said that I don't care about having constant updates about the game during development and the less they show, the better. I just want them to focus on making a great game.
But it really seems to me that they're doing this just because they pretty much promised something every month, as I even get the feeling that Suzuki isn't really in the mood to waste his time with this sort of "DVD extras" type of stuff. And I'm not just talking about that last extra question. I'm talking about his entire body language and the way he's talking there. It really seems like he's not really into it and that he's just saying whatever's coming to his mind to fill up those few minutes and get it done.

[Himuro]

All reasonable rebuttals.

You'd hardly post them if you didn't think so.

I'm not going to tell anyone what they should appreciate most about the games, I'm only talking about objective facts, and it's an objective fact that the mysticism became more overt as the story progressed. You don't have to like it, but to be in any way surprised or disappointed at the thought of the Sword of Seven Stars playing a role in Shenmue 3, which directly continues from Shenmue 2's ending featuring the Sword of Seven Stars, means at some point you were kidding yourself about the direction in which this series was already heading.

Depends.

If it ends with Ryo throwing hadoukens then no, that was never hinted as to where it was heading.

The sword is just a sword. Why would anyone have a problem with the sword itself?

In any case, your argument isn't really fair. Shenmue IV could descend into a complete fantasy story and you could still defend it with "this was hinted at the beginning." That doesn't necessarily mean you can't critique, and given Shenmue's high penchant for being highly realistic, makes your argument even more lopsided.

Essentially, Shenmue can be anything you want. It had a highly realistic world but also hints behind the curtain of mystical forces. Saying that people should accept the mysticism at face value isn't really helpful because Shenmue means different things to different people.

Personally, I'm in it for the pathos and Ryo coming to terms with the death of his father. I'm in it for the adventure and intrigue and mystery. The last thing I'm in it for is Ryo shooting a hadouken.

Yu Suzuki could justify Ryo morphing into a literal tiger and just because it was hinted doesn't mean it'd be actually good.

[Let's Get Sweaty]

"Update" is Kickstarter terminology for anything posted in that section and mailed out to backers.

They quite possibly wish they hadn't promised such regular updates, but they did, and so they're trying to meet those expectations with new content of some kind, whether it's what they'd most like to be doing or not.

[Himuro]

Anyways, I have no problem with the sword playing a part. It's a sword; useless by itself. Certainly not mystical.

[Jibby]

I seriously doubt Yu has a problem with giving these interviews. Regarding the 'body language', he's probably just exhausted. Overseeing the development of Shenmue III and making sure every single little detail looks right (especially in a game with as much detail as Shenmue) must be tiring work, so it makes sense that he's not super lively in the interview.

Obviously Yu is passionate about Shenmue, more so than any of us here I would argue, so I don't see why he 'wouldn't want to waste his time' talking about the finer details of it to the people who made it possible.

[Spaghetti]

I seriously doubt Yu has a problem with giving these interviews. Regarding the 'body language', he's probably just exhausted. Overseeing the development of Shenmue III and making sure every single little detail looks right (especially in a game with as much detail as Shenmue) must be tiring work, so it makes sense that he's not super lively in the interview.

Obviously Yu is passionate about Shenmue, more so than any of us here I would argue, so I don't see why he 'wouldn't want to waste his time' talking about the finer details of it to the people who made it possible.

He's not exactly very lively in interviews anyway, if I recall. He's always seemed kinda reserved and not the type to be bouncing off the walls. Either way, he seems in good spirits even if understandably exhausted.

If the collection of quotes from journalists, Cedric Biscay, Ryan Payton, and Yu himself are to be believed; he's been working full-speed since the project started rolling in late 2015. Nearly two years of late nights and working weekends is no joke.

[Switch]

I'm glad Ryo will kill fucking Randi.

[Sappharad]

Did they say see you next month in the last update? I feel like they normally say that. They've got to have an update after E3 anyways, after Shenmue 1 and 2 HD and 3 trailer is shown off obviously right ?

Right
...There must be an update after the reveal trailer and Shenmue HD announcement!

PS. Yes, they said "See you next month!" in the update #65.

Since the videos were filmed on Saturday April 15th, I feel like they probably had intended to post it last week but didn't get around to it until this morning.

Also, the fact that they're working on Saturdays tells me that they're still trying really hard to make December.

[FlagshipFighter]

Also, the fact that they're working on Saturdays tells me that they're still trying really hard to make December.

This is why I think, for now, December is still possible. I guess the logic at YSnet is that if they continue to haul ass and don't hit any major development problems, then they'll make it on time.

I think this may have been why the game was in prototype for over a year. They did a lot of heavy lifting in terms of demoing mechanics and locking down design goals while they had time on their side. Obviously that doesn't mean they finalised anything, but half the battle of game design seems to be knowing what you want, and knowing how to achieve it. That could be why Yu thinks it's possible to finish the game this year.

I guess an analogy of what I'm saying could be that it takes less time to get from A to B if you plan your journey ahead of time.

[khmlight3]

Did they say see you next month in the last update? I feel like they normally say that. They've got to have an update after E3 anyways, after Shenmue 1 and 2 HD and 3 trailer is shown off obviously right ?

Right
...There must be an update after the reveal trailer and Shenmue HD announcement!

PS. Yes, they said "See you next month!" in the update #65.

Since the videos were filmed on Saturday April 15th, I feel like they probably had intended to post it last week but didn't get around to it until this morning.

Also, the fact that they're working on Saturdays tells me that they're still trying really hard to make December.

So do you think there will be another update this month maybe?