Editing Shenmue (video game) (section)

==Development==
[[File:Yu Suzuki - Game Developers Conference 2011 - Day 3 (2).jpg|thumb|''Shenmue'' creator [[Yu Suzuki]]]]
''Shenmue'' was created by [[Yu Suzuki]]. After joining Sega in 1983, Suzuki created several successful [[arcade game]]s including ''[[Hang-On]]'' (1985)'', [[Out Run]]'' (1986) and ''[[Virtua Fighter (series)|Virtua Fighter]]'' (1993).<ref name="Corriea-2014">{{cite web|last=Corriea|first=Alexa Ray|date=March 19, 2014|title=Creator Yu Suzuki shares the story of Shenmue's development|url=http://www.polygon.com/2014/3/19/5527120/yu-suzuki-shenmue-gdc-2014-classic-game-postmortem|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150628071042/http://www.polygon.com/2014/3/19/5527120/yu-suzuki-shenmue-gdc-2014-classic-game-postmortem|archive-date=June 28, 2015|access-date=June 29, 2015|website=[[Polygon (website)|Polygon]]}}</ref> In comparison to arcade games, where the ideal experience is only a few minutes long, Suzuki wanted to make a longer experience and researched [[Role-playing video game|role-playing games]] (RPGs).<ref name="Corriea-2014"/>

To test camera, combat and conversation systems, Suzuki and [[Sega AM2]] built a prototype [[Sega Saturn]] game, ''The Old Man and the Peach Tree,'' about a young man, Taro, seeking a martial arts [[grandmaster (martial arts)|grandmaster]] in 1950s [[Luoyang]], China.<ref name="Eurogamer-2014">{{cite web|date=March 19, 2014|title=''Shenmue'' once featured cats that walk on two legs|url=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-03-19-shenmue-once-featured-cats-that-walk-on-two-legs|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151001191709/http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-03-19-shenmue-once-featured-cats-that-walk-on-two-legs|archive-date=October 1, 2015|access-date=June 29, 2015|website=[[Eurogamer]]}}</ref> Taro brings an old man a peach in exchange for information about the grandmaster; at the end of the game, the man skillfully skips stones across water to hunt fish, revealing that he is the grandmaster.<ref name="Corriea-2014"/>

In 1996, AM2 began developing a 3D Saturn RPG with the working title ''Guppy''.<ref name="Eurogamer-2014"/> This became ''Virtua Fighter RPG: Akira's Story'', an RPG starring the ''[[Virtua Fighter]]'' character [[Akira Yuki|Akira]]. AM2 planned a "cinematic" approach, including voice acting and elaborate combat sequences.<ref name="Corriea-2014"/> Suzuki researched locations in China, and constructed four acts with the themes "sadness", "fight",{{Sic|}} "departure" and "starting afresh". In this version of the story, Akira would overcome his grief following his father's death, travel to China, defeat an antagonist, and begin a journey with a new friend. Suzuki recruited a screenwriter, a playwright and film directors to write the multi-part story,<ref name="Corriea-2014"/><ref name="Polygon-2015"/> which ''[[IGN]]'' described as a "revenge epic in the tradition of [[Chinese cinema]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2009/04/21/ign-presents-the-history-of-sega?page=8 |title=''IGN'' presents the history of Sega|website=[[IGN]] |date=April 21, 2009|access-date=November 18, 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151106173810/http://www.ign.com/articles/2009/04/21/ign-presents-the-history-of-sega?page=8 |archive-date=November 6, 2015 }}</ref>

In 1997, development moved to Sega's upcoming console, the [[Dreamcast]]. In 1998, the Sega of America vice president, [[Bernie Stolar]], told [[Next Generation (magazine)|''Next Generation'']] that Suzuki's next project would "rock the gaming world".<ref name="TheHistory">{{cite web|date=July 13, 1999|title=''Shenmue'', the History|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/1999/07/14/shenmue-the-history|access-date=June 8, 2020|website=[[IGN]]}}</ref> That year, to better market the game as a Dreamcast "[[Killer application|killer app]]", the ''Virtua Fighter'' connection was dropped and Suzuki announced the working title ''Project Berkley''.<ref name="TheHistory"/> By the time of the Dreamcast's release that November, it had been retitled ''Shenmue''.<ref name="Corriea-2014" /> Sega announced that ''Shenmue'' was so unique it belonged to a new genre it termed "full reactive eyes entertainment" or "FREE".<ref name="TheHistory" />[[File:Shenmue Saturn.png|thumb|A screenshot of an early version of ''Shenmue'', then titled ''Virtua Fighter RPG: Akira's Story,'' for the [[Sega Saturn]]]]AM2 focused on developing the game world, creating a large open environment with minigames and subquests. The setting is modeled on Dobuita in [[Yokosuka]], Japan.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.stripes.com/news/yokosuka-street-hosts-players-of-video-game-1.47957|title=Yokosuka street hosts players of video game|last=BATDORFF|first=ALLISON|date=April 21, 2006|work=Stars and Stripes|access-date=July 9, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180709153725/https://www.stripes.com/news/yokosuka-street-hosts-players-of-video-game-1.47957|archive-date=July 9, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> The team worked with interior decorators to design more than 1,200 rooms and locations,<ref name="Corriea-2014"/><ref name="Edge68">''[[Edge (magazine)|Edge]]'', issue 68, January 1999, page 22</ref> and created over 300 characters, each with names, personalities and relationships, some modeled on Sega employees,<ref>[http://shmuplations.com/shenmue/ Shenmue – 2000 Developer Interview] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150817001900/http://shmuplations.com/shenmue/ |date=August 17, 2015 }}, Shmupulations</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Classic 'Shenmue' Interview Unearthed |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/olliebarder/2015/08/16/classic-shenmue-interview-unearthed/ |website=Forbes |access-date=December 12, 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160102161135/http://www.forbes.com/sites/olliebarder/2015/08/16/classic-shenmue-interview-unearthed/ |archive-date=January 2, 2016 }}</ref> with detailed clay models as animation references.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NUFIBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA212|title=A Brief History Of Video Games: From Atari to Virtual Reality|page=212|author=Richard Stanton|year=2015|publisher=Little, Brown Book |isbn=978-1-47211-880-6|access-date=August 24, 2018}}</ref> [[Meteorological]] records of 1986 Yokosuka were used to create algorithmically generated weather and day-and-night cycles.<ref name="Corriea-2014"/> The cut scenes are rendered in [[Real-time computer graphics|real time]], without [[full-motion video]] (FMV), and [[motion capture]] was used to capture the movements of [[Budō]] ([[Japanese martial arts]]) experts.<ref>''Game Informer'', issue 71 (March 1999), page 51</ref> To fit the material onto a manageable number of discs, AM2 developed a new type of [[data compression]].<ref name="Corriea-2014"/>

In 1999, AM2 focused on fixing bugs, finding hundreds each day. At the time, there were no [[bug tracking system|bug-tracking system]]s, so the team tracked bugs with [[Microsoft Excel|Excel]] spreadsheets; at one point, they had tracked over 10,000 unresolved bugs.<ref name="Corriea-2014"/> On one occasion, several [[non-player character]]s became trapped in the convenience store where they had gone as part of their scripted routines; Suzuki's solution was to widen the store's door.<ref name="Eurogamer-2014"/> The [[product placement]] of the [[Coca-Cola]] and [[Timex Group USA|Timex]] brands also created problems, as the companies had strict specifications for their implementation.<ref name="Corriea-2014"/> Suzuki said the biggest challenge was management, with over 300 staff and no experience of large projects.<ref name="Corriea-2014"/>

According to the localizer [[Jeremy Blaustein]], ''Shenmue''{{'}}s English [[Video game localization|localization]] was fraught with problems exacerbated by the project's scale. At Suzuki's insistence, the English voices were recorded in Japan, which greatly restricted the casting; Blaustein said "we hired basically every single [English-speaking] person that exists [in Japan] and calls themselves a voice actor".<ref name="Szczepaniak">{{Cite web |last=Szczepaniak |first=John |title=The life and games of Jeremy Blaustein |url=http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/jb/jb2.htm#shenmue |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151210021137/http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/jb/jb2.htm |archive-date=December 10, 2015 |access-date=December 4, 2015 |website=[[Hardcore Gaming 101]]}}</ref> The scripts were translated by several people, creating consistency problems, and arrived late, leaving no time for rewrites or proper direction.<ref name="Szczepaniak"/>

''Shenmue'' became the [[List of most expensive video games to develop|most expensive game ever developed]] at the time, reported to have cost Sega {{US$|70 million|long=no}}. In 2011, Suzuki said the figure was closer to $47 million including marketing.<ref name="Diver-2015"/> Development also covered some of ''[[Shenmue II]]'' (2001), which was completed for a smaller amount,<ref name="IGN History of Dreamcast">{{cite web|last=Fahs|first=Travis|date=September 9, 2010|title=''IGN'' presents the history of Dreamcast|url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2010/09/10/ign-presents-the-history-of-dreamcast|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140928201508/http://www.ign.com/articles/2010/09/10/ign-presents-the-history-of-dreamcast|archive-date=September 28, 2014|access-date=October 31, 2014|website=[[IGN]]}}</ref> and groundwork for future ''Shenmue'' games.<ref name="Ages">{{cite web|title = Shenmue: Through the Ages|website=IGN|url =https://www.ign.com/articles/2007/08/08/shenmue-through-the-ages|date=August 8, 2007|access-date = June 8, 2020}}</ref>