Shenmue III Kickstarter Update August 2016

It's all been a bit quiet on the Shenmue III front recently. Apart from the odd snarky comment I've heard on various podcasts about how shit it's inevitably going to be* when it finally drops, there's been precious little information forthcoming from Ys Net's headquarters in Japan. That changed today though, with a Kickstarter update titled 'From the Dev Room.' The update only really consists of a short video where several developers are interrupted and asked to show the camera what they're working on though, so don't get too excited.

One guy shows that he's working on a recreation of the river jumping section from Shenmue II and demonstrates some wireframe animations of Ryo trying his best not to get his trainers wet; while a colleague shows off a section in which Ryo is avoiding being crushed by falling rocks. I've taken a few screen grabs of the video and dotted them around here, but you should probably go and check out the video on the Kickstarter page too. Oh, and donate while you're there if you haven't already.

A couple of things I noticed, for what it's worth. First, the sections shown are only QTEs - there's still no footage of anything other than Ryo dicking about in the woods, prancing over streams or staring longingly into the distance like he's waiting for a bus. I'd have liked to have seen some footage of more built up locales or towns, but maybe Ys Net are keeping that stuff under wraps for now. I also noted that the second developer (the guy working on the cliff section and sporting an impeccably trimmed goatee) was using an Xbox 360 controller. Nothing too strange about that in game development I'm sure, especially when using a PC...but I just thought it was interesting seeing as the game is primarily coming the PS4 when it hits consoles. Finally, in the outro there are two Dreamcasts in the background. Which is nice, if you like that sort of thing.

Source: Kickstarter / Sarah Frechy
*This is not my opinion. It's the opinion of other people I've heard discussing Shenmue III on podcasts I listen to. Just covering my ass.