Game Development Giant

"The demo was not long, and after it was played, the conference room fell into silence for a long time. No one could believe what they just saw. After a long time, someone finally broke the silence: This is really possible on SS Developed graphics?”

"Yu Suzuki stood up, with the same confident expression as when he worked hard to develop "Sleepwalking in America" ​​a few years ago and promised that if he lost money, he would use his salary to offset the time. He put his hands on the table and answered two simple questions in an unquestionable tone. One word: Yes!"

"A moment later, the conference room burst into warm applause. The development plan for this game was immediately approved. At that time, no one present could doubt how successful this game with only one demo would be after it was completed. Because in In their eyes, it will become a masterpiece that can compete with giants such as ff and dq, or even far surpass them, and truly transcend the era."

"So the development plan for "Shenmue", which has become synonymous with legend and pathos at the same time, was approved."

Jester couldn't help but admire Nakayama Hayao's courage and Suzuki Yu's ambition at that time. This was definitely not a development decision that an ordinary game development company could make. Seventy million US dollars in development funds were given to a game, and it was still in the market. Mid to late nineties.

This is so unbelievable.

In fact, Jester thought about it carefully. The reason why Sega made this decision may not only be moved and shocked by the game that Yu Suzuki described for them, but it may also be to save its own disadvantages in the console market. situation.

Because when "Shenmue" first appeared in Sega's high-level meeting, Sega's then-host, the Saturn, also known as the SS, was on the verge of death.

Square has completely broken off with Nintendo and has fully supported Sony. Enix, which has always regarded Square as an imaginary enemy, unexpectedly announced at a celebration dinner held by Sony that many people had predicted that it would be released on the SS. dqvii will be released on the ps platform.

Almost everyone in the industry knows that at that time, SCE Vice President Tokizaka Kazuya murmured excitedly: "With the guarantee of "DQ", our career is as stable as the blue sky above our heads." This series of blows , which plunged Sega into despair, but it did not give up its struggle.

What many people later had to believe was that for the console Saturn and even for Sega, "Shenmue" was indeed born as a savior at that time.

Although Hideki Okamura, head of Sega's software affairs department, once bluntly told the media: "Sega hates RPGs," this does not mean that Sega does not understand what Japan's number one RPG game means to a Japanese console.

However, when Sega made "Shenmue", it further tried to evolve this ancient game type. If successful, it may trigger a new round of craze for new game types. The benefits this will bring in all aspects will be immeasurable.

So Jester can completely understand Sega's original confidence and expectations for "Shenmue" because he is also a game producer. In the producer's mind, this game is not just an evolution of RPGs, but will lead a new era. iconic presence.

Of course, because the SS function was really unable to fulfill Yu Suzuki's ambitions, Shenmue's development plan was postponed to the Sega DC.

When drafting the game he was going to make, Jester recalled every bit of "Shenmue" and thought of "Shenmue". Naturally, he also thought of Yu Suzuki who was still at Sega. Of course, the Yu Suzuki of this era was completely different from the Yu Suzuki in his memory.

but. The only thing that remains unchanged is that whether it is this world or the Sega in his memory, Master Yu Suzuki has always been one of his most respected game producers. It can even be compared to the god of games, Shigeru Miyamoto.

Just like talking about Nintendo, it's impossible not to talk about Shigeru Miyamoto, just like talking about Sega. It’s impossible not to talk about Yu Suzuki.

As the only person in the Japanese game industry who can be on an equal footing with the god of games, Shigeru Miyamoto, as a game producer, "Shenmue" is certainly not just the product of a flash of inspiration in his mind. In fact, the idea of ​​"Shenmue" took a long time from scratch. Then we refine the idea and design a corresponding systematic game development template, which is based on a long period of precipitation.

Recalling the entire development process of "Shenmue" and the subsequent development direction of video games, Jester had to admire Suzuki Yu's far-sighted vision and ambition at the time, which was really convincing.

In Suzuki Yu's mind, his understanding of RPG games may be ahead of that of most game producers at the same time, and may be more than a decade ahead.

The ideal RPG in his mind should have a fully interactive background. If there is a world in the game, then this world should have most of the factors in the real world, and most importantly, everything in this world , will produce corresponding changes as the world changes.

This is a very huge and crazy idea, and the most direct result is the dubbing of more than 1,000 NPCs later seen in "Shenmue 2", and the exaggeration that the drawers in the rooms on every floor can be opened.

To put it simply, things in this game are all units contained by the same bit. These units have independent movement trajectories, and the trajectories will be affected by bit changes and will be folded or distorted. What changes the dominant bits is the player's progress in the game.

This idea was initially conceptualized and experimented by Sega's ace development team am2. At the time, it was called the Berkley Project.

The initial experimental subject of this plan was an RPG developed based on "VR Warrior" with Crystal as the protagonist. After that, the concept of this plan was further extended, and finally achieved a relatively complete realization in the production of "Shenmue". The concept also received an official name - "Full Response Visual Entertainment", which is also the name of "Shenmue". The full name of the game's genre.

And what is the full English name of Total Reaction Visual Entertainment?

full-reactive-eyes-entertainment, the English abbreviation is free, which is written the same way as free in English.

This is why it is said that this kind of game is a free world game. It is said to be a free world. In fact, its original meaning is full-response visual entertainment. Of course, it is easier to understand and more meaningful when it is said to be free. vivid.

The most famous masterpiece of this type of game will naturally become famous in later generations.

That's gta.

Of course, the GTA game series appeared earlier than "Shenmue", but the GTA before GTA3 and the GTA series we played later were not the same games at all. In GTA2, this was just a God's vision overlooking game.

It can be said that it was "Shenmue" that inspired Rockstar and produced GTA3, which shocked the world at that time.

This concept completely appears in a manner that transcends the limitations of all game types. It can even be said that the result of its realization in game types has made its meaning break through various standards defined by the industry.

Free represents not only the type of game "Shenmue", but a standard that will influence the entire game industry in the following years. It is also a revolutionary totem in the history of game evolution. It was born out of RPG, but far surpasses it. The scope that rpg can cover.

From the perspective of the experiencer, as the game progresses, the entire game world will be affected by what the player does, and this influence will also react on the player itself. This influence also has many Great range and staying power.

To understand it from Jester's perspective now, it is necessary to build a huge virtual world based on changes in real life. In Suzuki Yu's own words, "Shenmue" will realize a virtual world based on the changes of residents. A fully conscious urban landscape where you can live and work in a realistic way. Seasons will rotate, weather factors will affect the progress of the game, players must find ways to make a living in order to survive, and so on.

All this was almost unbelievable at the time. If you don't understand what kind of madness this kind of statement represented in that era, you only need to play GTA to get a general understanding.

Yes.

Jester now wants to make a game like this from the bottom of his heart.

A free game.

What is in front of him now is not only a blank in this type of game development technology, which has completely surpassed the vision of the entire era for at least ten years, but the most important thing is the function of the game console.

On this generation of Dreambox 2, such a game is completely impossible to realize. Even if it can be realized on the next generation of game consoles, it is still unknown. However, Jester still wants to try it. In fact, , this is a very, very, very big pie.

Draw pies for all players.

Jester even believes that as long as he describes the game world he wants to complete to the players at the carnival, the players of this era will tremble all over, because they have never seen such a game before. Even unheard of.

The more I thought about Jester, the more excited I became.

He felt that he had to communicate with the hardware development department. Although Jester knew that it was a taboo to suddenly increase the configuration of a game console when one-third of the development was completed, but if it could reach his level in the next era If you want to make a 'free' game.

That's worth it too. (To be continued...)