View source for Shenmue/Development

{{back}}[[Category:Development]]
{{DevelopmentBob
| missedreleases=
{{MissedRelease|DC|1999-08-05{{magref|edge|72|14}}}}
{{MissedRelease|DC|1999-10-28{{magref|edge|74|6}}}}
{{MissedRelease|DC|2000-04{{magref|dmuk|3|16}}}}
}}
At [[Game Developers Conference 2014]], Yu Suzuki presented a post-mortem of ''Shenmue'', one of the single biggest project ever undertaken by Sega (or indeed any video game company), with an end budget of reportedly $70 million USD (thought to be shared between ''Shenmue'' and ''Shenmue II''). Development began as early as 1993, when Suzuki took a trip to mainland China, learning about martial arts and scouting locations for possible game ideas.

In its earliest stages, ''Shenmue'' was known as '''''The Old Man and The Peach Tree''''', a [[Sega Saturn]] game set in the city of Luoyang in 1950s China. The game was to feature a protagonist, Taro in pursuit of a mysterious figure called Master Ryu, and would play like a more traditional RPG.

As time moved on, ''The Old Man and The Peach Tree'' became a spin-off of the popular ''Virtua Fighter'' series of fighting games, now starring [[Akira Yuki|Akira]]. Now the project was being referred to as '''''Virtua Fighter RPG''''' (codenamed '''''Guppy'''''), and many of these early ''Virtua Fighter'' elements still exist in the final game, both in the fighting mechanics, and lead characters, Ryo still loosely resembling Akira and Lan Di possibly resembling Lau. The game was set to be a 45-hour adventure at this point spanning 11 chapters. 

It is under the name of ''Virtua Fighter RPG'' where ''Shenmue'' is understood to have been effectively greenlit by high-level Sega executives; upon a visit for [[GameWorks]] negotiations, [[Steven Spielberg]] was granted exclusive access to numerous prototype concepts at Sega's R&D offices. One of these was ''Virtua Fighter RPG'', of which after Spielberg reportedly expressed enthusiasm for, full-scale development was allowed for the project moving forward.{{ref|http://web.archive.org/web/20190316093010/https://www.4gamer.net/games/999/G999905/20190302005/}}

Nearing two years of development, ''Virtua Fighter RPG'' shed its ''Virtua Fighter'' aesthetics in favour of an original cast of characters (although the idea was partially revisited in 2004's ''[[Virtua Quest]]''). [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUe9ASlu9Us A significant amount of footage] has emerged from the period which followed - ''Shenmue'', much as we know it today, running on the Sega Saturn, in what is widely considered to be one of greatest technical showpieces on the system. Yu Suzuki has claimed that working on the Saturn was a very difficult task, but he was proud of what his team had achieved on the 32-bit system.

Inevitably due to the Saturn's struggle in Western markets, the still untitled ''Shenmue'' was brought to the Sega Dreamcast (then under its codename "Katana" - Katana-branded cigarettes are available throughout the game as a reference to this period). In the early days, the Katana specs had not been finalised, forcing Suzuki's team to make educated guesses as to how the game would perform.

==''Project Berkley'' and initial unveiling==
{{mainArticle|Project Berkley (demo disc)}}
While rumours of a ''Virtua Fighter RPG'' had been circulating for a while in the gaming press, the project was not officially announced until [[Sega New Challenge Conference II]] in October 1998, where it was given the code name '''''Project Berkley'''''{{magref|gamepro|124|36}} (named (albeit mispelt) after [[wikipedia:University of California, Berkeley|University of California, Berkeley]] because Yu Suzuki thought it "sounded cool"{{magref|cvg|205|9}}). No further details would be revealed until the launch of the Dreamcast, in which a special [[Project Berkley (demo disc)|''Project Berkley'' preview disc]] was bundled with the console's most anticipated launch title, ''[[Virtua Fighter 3tb]]''.

The ''Project Berkley'' disc features a 30-minute movie, showing pre-rendered sequences (many similar to the final game, albeit not rendered on a Dreamcat in real-time) and concept art. Most of the video features Yu Suzuki briefly exploring his history at Sega, and explaining his motives for creating an RPG, or, as was coined in this video, a new genre, "Full Reactive Eyes Entertainment" or "F.R.E.E.". Notably despite using a code name on the disc itself, the ''Shenmue'' name is used in the video; likely the first time it was shown.

At the end, an open invitation is provided to the [[Shenmue Seisaku Happyoukai]], a promotional event where the game was first shown to the world, running on a Dreamcast console. At this point in development, most of the game was said to take place in China and feature four "main" characters{{magref|nextgeneration|51|23}}; Ryo Hazuki, Rei Shenhua, Iwao Hazuki and Ren Wuying{{magref|totalcontrol|4|13}}. 

Yokosuka was set to appear in this earlier version of ''Shenmue'', but only briefly, in a period set 30 years before the main events of the game (which would have meant the mid-1950s){{magref|nextgeneration|52|24}}. However, only Chinese footage was shown during this period; nothing from the Yokosuka section would be seen until mid-1999.

''Shenmue'' was an ambitious game and remains to this day one of the most costly video game projects ever conceived. At some point during development, Yu Suzuki is alleged to have been exempt from attending Sega board of directors meetings by [[Hisashi Suzuki]] due to his concentration on the project.{{ref|http://web.archive.org/web/20190316093010/https://www.4gamer.net/games/999/G999905/20190302005/}} When was first made public, it was said to involve three chapters{{magref|edge|82|40}}, which ballooned into a 16-chapter{{magref|edge|82|40}}{{magref|totalcontrol|7|103}} epic to be shipped as one game in early 1999{{magref|dmuk|1|34}}. No firm release date was given, however, and the deadline was missed - the first of several. The new release date was pencilled in as August.

==Delays==
Towards the back-end of March 1999, at [[Tokyo Game Show '99 Spring]], Yu Suzuki announced that the full ''Shenmue'' package had been delayed{{magref|arcade|7|14}}{{magref|nextgeneration|54|10}}. Instead, the game would be split into two for Japanese audiences (sold at {{price|2,800|region=JP}} each{{magref|nextgeneration|54|10}}), however by the time of the planned US launch in 2000, the two halves would be combined into a single package{{magref|nextgeneration|58|37}}.

Nevertheless the game was playable, with five kiosks showcasing the game{{magref|nextgeneration|54|10}}. The demo showcased three gameplay modes of the game, "Free Quest & QTE", "Free Battle" and a tutorial where Tom teaches Ryo a move{{magref|cvg|210|56}}{{magref|totalcontrol|7|104}}. Reception to the game was reportedly mixed{{magref|cvg|210|56}}, as while the graphics were widely praised, questions were raised about the simplicity of the QTE segments. An almost identical build would later be showcased at [[Shinjuku Joypolis]] between 24th March and 4th April{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20000612225717/http://www.shenmue.com:80/history/index.html}} for those who couldn't make it to TGS.

August 5th, 1999 became the new release date for the first part of ''Shenmue''{{magref|edge|72|14}}, with part two arriving "just before Christmas"{{magref|arcade|7|14}}. At [[Sega New Challenge Conference '99]], part one was delayed again until October 28{{magref|edge|74|6}}, with part two set to arrive a couple of months later{{magref|nextgeneration|58|37}}. A decision was made to release a "demo" version of the game, ''[[What's Shenmue]]'' in August in its place, to help promote the game ahead of the full release.

The 16 chapters of ''Shenmue'' were at this point set to be spread across three games{{magref|edge|82|40}}, however no details were released about part three. It was suggested that the explanation of the term "Shenmue" would be revealed in the third part, however{{magref|dcmonthly|8|12}}.

On September 30th, Sega announced another delay{{magref|edge|78|11}}, and that the first part of ''Shenmue'', set in mainland China would launch in Japan in April 2000{{magref|dmuk|3|16}}. The second part in Yokosuka would follow some time later{{magref|dmuk|3|16}}, with potentially more sequels to come. The blame was placed on the complexity of the AI and weather routines{{magref|edge|78|11}}. It was at some point in 1999 that the Yokosuka section was expanded significantly, eventually becoming the subject of the first game.

There were still plans to release the game in the West in the Winter of 2000, but it was widely assumed to be subtitled{{magref|dmuk|3|16}}. Delays for the European version were attributed to the many lanugages the subtitles would need translating into.

In a rare move for the industry, part one of ''Shenmue'' had its release date brought forward to the 29th of December{{magref|dmuk|4|10}}, its sequel being pushed back further to an undisclosed date{{magref|edge|82|40}}, leading to stocks in Sega rising by 5%{{magref|edge|80|132}}. This time the game launched in Japan as expected, though the combined version once planned for the US and Europe would now be split as well.

At some point the number of overall chapters was reduced from 16 to only 7{{magref|dcmonthly|8|12}}. Part one would contain the first chapter, part two would contain 2, 3, 4 and 5 and part three (presumably) 6 and 7. Such was the state of development that chapter 2 would later be relegated to a comic book, while the contents of chapters 6 and 7 were never publicly discussed.

''Shenmue'', in its raw form at one point covered 50-60 CD-ROMs{{intref|Interview: Yu Suzuki (2014-09-18) by Shenmue Dojo}}, forcing the team to focus on ways to compress data. One space saving measure employed was to recycle animations for multiple characters, including at one point, to animals, leading to bipedal cats and men "strutting like Marilyn Monroe".

''Shenmue'' employed various techniques that up until this point had only been seen in movie production. Every character, no matter how minor, was given a voice (both in Japanese and later English), and the game was given a cinematic musical score performed by an orchestra headed by [[Takenobu Mitsuyoshi]].

Originally, the main characters were sketched out and handed to AM2's 3D modellers, however the result was unsatisfactory, leading to Yu Suzuki and the team into creating full-size heads of the characters out of clay to assist the artists.

Extensive research into the time period was conducted by the team. Weather patterns of the mid-1980s were modelled for the sake of realism{{magref|nextgeneration|58|34}}.

In terms of polygon counts, the first location background in ''Shenmue'' has 57,120 polygons,{{ref|[http://imgur.com/OUDTrfx Location model]}} in addition to 3207 polygons per tree,{{ref|[http://i.imgur.com/pr3XTEY.jpg Tree model]}} and with 3000 to 14,331 polygons per character.{{ref|[http://i.imgur.com/Ai8RRWN.jpg Nozomi model]}}{{ref|[http://i.imgur.com/bxv4HG1.jpg Ryo model]}}

==Localisation==
The Japanese release features licensed drinks from the Coca-Cola company. These were replaced in Western versions with non-branded versions, as Sega had only obtained the rights to these products in Japan.

Western localisation was handled by [[IMagic]]. One of the major stumbling blocks was Yu Suzuki's insistence that all the English dubbing occurred in Japan, despite the abundance of more naturally fitting actors in the US{{intref|Interview: Jeremy Blaustein (2010-03-31) by GameSetWatch}}. A lack of English voice actors in Japan led to voice actors making the journey from the US specifically for the game, including Corey Marshall (Ryo) who had never visited Japan before{{intref|Interview: Jeremy Blaustein (2010-03-31) by GameSetWatch}}. Marshall also practised martial arts, and was hired due to a policy of hiring voice actors who would be similar to their in-game counterparts (despite the actors never being seen in-game){{intref|Interview: Jeremy Blaustein (2010-03-31) by GameSetWatch}}.

Despite Marshall fulfilling Suzuki's list of requirements, his voice was adjusted digitally for the final game to make Ryo sound younger{{intref|Interview: Jeremy Blaustein (2010-03-31) by GameSetWatch}}.

Other localisations include the main atagonist, Souryuu, being renamed Lan Di for the Western versions.

==Event appearances==
{{EventGameHistory|Shenmue|Project Berkley|Shenmue: Ichishou Yokosuka}}

==Concept artwork==
<gallery>
Shenmue VirtuaFighterRPG Akira Ryo conceptart.jpeg|''Virtua Fighter RPG''
VirtuaFighterRPG conceptart 1.png|''Virtua Fighter RPG''
VirtuaFighterRPG conceptart 2.png|''Virtua Fighter RPG''
VirtuaFighterRPG conceptart 3.png|''Virtua Fighter RPG''
VirtuaFighterRPG conceptart 4.png|''Virtua Fighter RPG''
VirtuaFighterRPG conceptart 5.png|''Virtua Fighter RPG''
VirtuaFighterRPG conceptart 6.png|''Virtua Fighter RPG''
VirtuaFighterRPG conceptart 7.png|''Virtua Fighter RPG''
VirtuaFighterRPG conceptart 8.png|''Virtua Fighter RPG''
VirtuaFighterRPG conceptart 9.png|''Virtua Fighter RPG''
VirtuaFighterRPG conceptart 10.png|''Virtua Fighter RPG''
VirtuaFighterRPG conceptart 11.png|''Virtua Fighter RPG''
</gallery>

==Design documents==
<gallery>
Shenmue VirtuaFighterRPG TheLegendofAkira development designdocument.png
</gallery>

==Development photographs==
<gallery>
YuSuzuki VirtuaFighter2 1993Chinatrip.png|A tour photograph from [[Yu Suzuki]]'s 1993 trip to China for the development of ''[[Virtua Fighter 2]]''.
MasterWu YuSuzuki VirtuaFighter2 1993Chinatrip 2.png|[[Yu Suzuki]] training with an intoxicated Master Wu during his 1993 trip to China for the development of ''[[Virtua Fighter 2]]''.
YuSuzuki Shenmue 70ManBattle demo TGS99Spring delighted.png|[[Yu Suzuki]] watches in delight as a young gamer tries ''[[Shenmue]]'''s 70 Man Battle demo at the [[Tokyo Game Show '99 Spring]].
</gallery>

==Promotional screenshots==
<gallery>
DreamcastPressDisc4 Shenmue SHENMUE1.jpg
NurnbergerSpielwarenmesse1999 Shenmue Play 001.png
NurnbergerSpielwarenmesse1999 Shenmue Play 002.png
NurnbergerSpielwarenmesse1999 Shenmue Play 004.png
NurnbergerSpielwarenmesse1999 Shenmue Battle 001.png
NurnbergerSpielwarenmesse1999 Shenmue Battle 002.png
DreamcastPressDisc4 Shenmue SHENMUE4.jpg
DreamcastPressDisc4 Shenmue SHENMUE2.jpg
DreamcastPressDisc4 Shenmue SHENMUE3.jpg

SegaPRFTP Shenmue 0082.jpg
SegaPRFTP Shenmue 0091.jpg
SegaPRFTP Shenmue CHAI5.jpg
SegaPRFTP Shenmue FORKLIF1.jpg
SegaPRFTP Shenmue FORKLIF2.jpg
SegaPRFTP Shenmue FORKLIF3.jpg
SegaPRFTP Shenmue GAME 007.FL.jpg
SegaPRFTP Shenmue GAMECEN1.jpg
SegaPRFTP Shenmue GAMECENT.jpg
SegaPRFTP Shenmue IWAO 1.jpg
SegaPRFTP Shenmue IWAO 2.jpg
SegaPRFTP Shenmue IWAO 5.jpg
SegaPRFTP Shenmue IWAO 6.jpg
SegaPRFTP Shenmue jumper.jpg
SegaPRFTP Shenmue MOVEINS1.jpg
SegaPRFTP Shenmue MOVEINS2.jpg
SegaPRFTP Shenmue MOVEINS3.jpg
SegaPRFTP Shenmue MOVEINS4.jpg
SegaPRFTP Shenmue NOZOMI3.jpg
SegaPRFTP Shenmue OISI .jpg
SegaPRFTP Shenmue OISI 2.jpg
SegaPRFTP Shenmue OISI 6.jpg
SegaPRFTP Shenmue OP 016.FL.jpg
SegaPRFTP Shenmue OP 022.FL.jpg
SegaPRFTP Shenmue OP 023.FL.jpg
SegaPRFTP Shenmue QTETITLE.jpg
SegaPRFTP Shenmue QTEBATT2.jpg
SegaPRFTP Shenmue QTEBATT5.jpg
SegaPRFTP Shenmue QTE 004.FL.jpg
SegaPRFTP Shenmue ROUKA.jpg
SegaPRFTP Shenmue RYO.jpg
SegaPRFTP Shenmue RYO1.jpg
SegaPRFTP Shenmue SHENFA 1.jpg
SegaPRFTP Shenmue SHUEI 4.jpg
SegaPRFTP Shenmue time control.jpg
SegaPRFTP Shenmue TITLEFRE.jpg
SegaPRFTP Shenmue BATTLE1.jpg
SegaPRFTP Shenmue BATTLE2.jpg
SegaPRFTP Shenmue BATTLE 3.jpg
SegaPRFTP Shenmue BATTLE4.jpg
SegaPRFTP Shenmue TITLEQTE.jpg
SegaPRFTP Shenmue QTECHAS1.jpg
SegaPRFTP Shenmue QTECHAS2.jpg
SegaPRFTP Shenmue QTECHAS3.jpg
SegaPRFTP Shenmue QTECHAS4.jpg
SegaPRFTP Shenmue QTECHAS5.jpg
SegaPRFTP Shenmue QTECHAS6.jpg
SegaPRFTP Shenmue QTECHASE.jpg
DreamcastScreenshots Shenmue shenmue2.png
DreamcastScreenshots Shenmue shenmue3.png
DreamcastScreenshots Shenmue shenmue7.png
DreamcastScreenshots Shenmue shenmue9.png
DreamcastScreenshots Shenmue shenmue10.png
DreamcastScreenshots Shenmue shenmue11.png
DreamcastScreenshots Shenmue shenmue12.png
DreamcastScreenshots Shenmue shenmue13.png
</gallery>

==Timeline==
{{VTimelineDevelopment
| game=Shenmue
| game2=Project Berkley
| game3=Shenmue: Ichishou Yokosuka
| format=DC
}}

==References==
<references />

{{ShenmueOmni}}