Five Domains of Play

Shenmue, released in 2000 by Sega, is a landmark game for it's execution of 3D open-world action-adventure RPG. Though it wasn't the first game in this category, and the story was particularly engaging, it was clearly ahead of it's time visually. It's realistic graphics and soundtrack were celebrated upon it's release, securing it a position in 1Up's Essential 100 game titles.

It is with this in mind that we'll examine Shenmue within the framework of the 5 Domains of Play.

In terms of novelty, the game is based as closely to reality as could any game at the time. While the gameplay wasn't as strong as player would have liked, the open world certainly provided some surprises compared to more linear gameplay. Players could speak to NPCs, play mini-games in a casino, and practice fighting moves between their exploration of the world.

The goals are straightforward, but required additional practice and effort to improve fighting skills and acquire information to move the story forward. This extra work help provide meaningful fun for players as they explored.

Shenmue features a fair balance between the slow-paced exploration and faster-paced action, and while many of the jokes in the dialog failed with audiences, there was an attempt to keep interactions humorous and exciting. The games greatest strength, not just in terms of stimulation but overall, were its impressive graphics and soundtrack. Without this, the game could very well have been lost in history.

Though the game is for singe-players, there is a large AI community that you must interact with in order to progress. As a consequence, there are some relationship that must be fostered, and others that set the player up for conflict, creating an interesting dynamic between building and destroying within the world.

While there is lower risk while exploring and finding information throughout the game, the fight sequences are certainly higher risk, and if one's health meter is depleted during a fight, the player must begin the fight again. There are many clues the player must discover, and not all AI interactions are with "honest" characters. Again, Shenmue strikes a good balance between moments of calm in cheerful environments, and scenes with tense action in darker environments.

Overall, Shenmue certainly deserves to belong in 1Up's list of essential games; Its polished visuals and open-world exploration were impressive when released. The game certainly resonated with players, enough so that its sequel, Shenmue III has now become the most crowd funded game in Kickstarter's history, raising $6.3 million as of this writing, almost three times its $2 million goal.