Shenmue 3 - Interview with Yu Suzuki

Eurogamer talked to Yu Suzuki to discuss how Shenmue 3 is coming along.

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So how many people are working on the game then? Suzuki is vague but notes that "I can't tell you the exact number but it's far fewer than I had back at Sega but I can say that some people that worked with me on the original Shenmue are involved."

One aspect which separates Shenmue 3 from its forebears is its core technology. The bulk of Suzuki's work with AM2 was built using bespoke code designed specifically for each game but, with Shenmue 3, YsNet has embraced Unreal Engine 4. Suzuki tells me "Unreal Engine is a great fit for our approach because we can prototype very quickly. To me, this is a valuable feature. In my case, I take on a lot of new challenges and rely on a lot of trial and error. I need to be able to quickly see the results and try out new ideas. I feel that the concept of the Unreal Engine and my approach to developing the game is a good match."

Compared to previous projects, he tells me "because I started coding previous games from scratch, I knew pretty much everything about the program. In the case of a game engine like Unreal, however, it's a kind of 'black box' so it's more challenging to fine tune everything at a lower level. I'm working to find the best way to utilize the engine which means sometimes adjusting the game scenario or plan itself to better accommodate the tools set. Overall, though, I think it's a really good engine."

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