I have finished implementing Osana's friday event. With this, all five of Osana's weekday events are now complete. Yandere-chan can now sabotage Osana's interactions with Senpai to severely damage their relationship and destroy Osana's chances of dating Senpai. However, this feature won't be 100% finished until there is a cutscene where Osana confesses to Senpai. In this cutscene, Yandere-Chan will either watch the love of her life slip out of her grasp, or watch her rival's hopes and dreams be shattered by rejection. The cutscene that presently occurs when Riku confesses his love to Kokona is just a placeholder. It doesn't represent my vision for the actual confession between Osana and Senpai. The confession cutscene is a key aspect of my vision for the game, so I'm not going to make a video about the process of sabotaging Osana's interactions with Senpai until after a proper confession cutscene is finally in the game. Judging by the rate of my progress ever since the conversion to C# and Unity 5, I think I'll be able to get the confession cutsceneinto the game relatively quickly, and then I can finally make a video showing off all of the work I've done on Osana. After that, I'll explain what else needs to be done before I can release a build that actually has Osana in it. In short, I've made important progress with Osana, but you have to wait a little while longer before I can show it to you. In times like these, when I'm not ready to make a video showing off my latest progress, I make a video about something else related to the games development. And today, I'm going to be revisiting the topic of the Yakuza character that I described in August. If you don't care about the Yakuza at all, then I guess today's video ends right here. But if you are interested in hearing more about him, then the rest of the video should be a nice treat. After I proposed the concept of a career criminal that eliminates Yandere-Chan's rivals for her, I received a lot of questions about the character. Answering these questions has caused the Yakuza to develop some additional depth, which is what I'll be telling you about today. After I described the morbid crimes that the Yakuza is involved with, many people asked me what his younger brother thinks of him. A lot of people were curious to hear if the delinquent actually knows what his older brother does for a living. I've spent some time thinking about it, and I'll tell you what I've come up with. I imagine that the delinquent has idolized his older brother since early childhood. The delinquent thinks that his older brother is cool and badass and wants to follow in his brother's footsteps. He probably does not realize the true extent of his brother's criminality. The Yakuza might simply tell his brother that he steals from rich, greedy, corrupt CEOs or something that sounds vaguely ethical. I imagine that the Yakuza and his younger brother had a very difficult childhood. Perhaps one parent was dead and the other was an alcoholic or disabled. So the Yakuza, from a young age, had to assume the responsibility of taking care of himself and his younger ,brother and maybe his own parent as well. His family needed money more than anything, but conventional jobs just weren't paying enough money to sustain them. So, he turned to a life of crime to earn enough money to provide a good life for him and his brother, and this eventually led him to join the Yakuza. Primarily, he just wanted to make sure that his kid brother wouldn't have to struggle as much as he did. the last thing that the Yakuza wants is to see his little brother entering a life of crime. The Yakuza probably discourages his brother from following in his footsteps, but the delinquent refuses to change his ways. Perhaps, instead of asking Yandere-chan for fresh victims, the Yakuza would ask her to steer his brother away from the criminal life style. perhaps the Yakuza would only perform favors for Yandere-chan if she can demonstrate that she is making progress in reforming the delinquent. However, the delinquent is a loyal young man who would never abandon his friends, so in order to change him, Yandere-chan would first need to reform all of the other delinquents one by one. This would have heavy consequences once the delinquent rival, Osoro, arrives at school. It's possible that Yandere-Chan might be able to choose how she will help the Yakuza; either by providing him with fresh human bodies, or by reforming his younger brother. Yandere-Chan's school - Akademi High - is supposed to be a prestigious school only accepts the highest caliber of students. So, you may be wondering why this school even tolerates delinquents in the first place. I do have an explanation; it's a side story that involves the delinquents, Osoro, and the guidance counselor. I don't want to give it away at this point in time, but you can rest assured that there is a logical explanation for the presence of delinquents at a prestigious school, and you can rest assured that, even BEFORE I suggested the idea of the Yakuza, I already had a plan for how the player would be able to reform the delinquents. Some people have asked if the Yakuza feels shame for the crimes he has committed, or if he is simply pure evil. I've come up with three possible ways to explain his actions. Perhaps, he only targets people that would be considered "bad guys"...like corrupt businessmen, corrupt politicians, corrupt cops. People whose selfish actions are making life worse for hundreds or thousands of people. By kidnapping them and harvesting their organs, he is making sure that these disgusting people will be removed from society, and will contribute their body parts to people in need. Perhaps the Yakuza is a vigilante, and every person he kidnaps her kills is someone who deserved it. So then, why does he agree to kidnap schoolgirls for yandere chan? Perhaps Yandere-chan manipulates him into thinking that her rivals are horrible people who deserve to die. Perhaps she tricks the Yakuza into carrying out vigilante justice on whoever she is marked for death. Or, perhaps the Yakuza's boss is threatening to kill the Yakuza's younger brother, unless the Yakuza does whatever his boss demands. The Yakuza doesn't enjoy his job, but he's forced to do it, in order to prevent his brother from being killed. Perhaps his ultimate goal is to rise to the top of his organization and kill his boss so that his brother will be safe. Perhaps the Yakuza ending might involve helping the Yakuza kill his bosses so that he is freed from their control. Or, perhaps years and years of doing horrible things on a daily basis has slowly eaten away at the Yakuza's sanity. To escape the guilt and the shame of ending and ruining so many lives, he thinks of nothing but providing his younger brother with a safe, comfortable life. In other words, everything he does is the result of a warped twisted love for his brother. Like a yandere, in a way. If half of all students in the school disappear or die, the remaining students should refuse to go to school. As a result, the school would have to close. This would cause senpai to transfer to another school in another city, which would be an instant game over for Yandere-chan. In other words, killing too many students would prematurely end the game. Yandere-chan pays the Yakuza for his services by supplying him with kidnapped students. Every week, his services will cost more than the previous week, even if Yandere-Chan has never done business with him before.
As a result, paying the Yakuza for his services could rapidly deplete the school's population and lead directly to a game over. That's a serious design flaw. But, there's another problem, too - many people have expressed that they have no desire to use the Yakuza's services, because what happens to his victims is simply too gruesome. I have an idea that could resolve both of these problems. As I've mentioned, Yandere-chan's school is a very prestigious institution; some of the students come from very rich families. The Yakuza might ask Yandere-chan to find the richest students in school and kidnap them for him. then, the Yakuza would demand ransom money from the students' parents and release the student once he has been paid. This way, Yandere-chan could earn favors from the Yakuza without depleting the school's population, and without sending any innocent students to a fate they doesn't deserve. Despite the differences between Info-chan and the Yakuza, a lot of people have expressed that these two characters are still too similar in terms of functionality, and that they can't coexist. A lot of people have also mentioned, that the actual real-life Yakuza have been on the decline for the past decade, so a badass Yakuza character in a modern-day setting simply isn't very believable. I have a solution for both of these problems. It's an idea that I've had since 2014, although I've never had a reason to mention it in my videos... ...until now. It's called: 1980s mode. The protagonist of this mode would be Yandere- Chan's mother, attending High School in 1989. Her objective would be to eliminate anyone who tries to date the young man that she has fallen in love with. Because of the time period, you wouldn't have access to anything that didn't exist in the 80s, such as smartphones, social media, or Info-Chan. Although 1980s mode would feature a different cast of characters and take place in a different time period, it wouldn't be an entirely separate game. It would be more like an elaborate difficulty mode where the player has access to less tools, and a few of the rules are different, along with a handful of cosmetic changes. It's designed to be something that I could add to the game in very little time, with very few new assets - similarly to Mission Mode or Lovesick Mode. The reason I bring it up is because, in the 1980s, the Yakuza were much more powerful than they are today. A powerful and dangerous Yakuza character makes a lot more sense in 1989 than in modern day. What I'm saying is that perhaps the Yakuza should be restricted exclusively to 1980s Mode, where he would offer a few of the services that the player would normally get from Info Chan. On a related note, THIS isn't how Japanese delinquents are usually portrayed in modern days. Modern Japanese delinquents are usually depicted like this. THIS kind of appearance is associated with really old-school delinquents. So, it would make a lot of sense if the delinquents in 1980s Mode are portrayed THIS way, delinquents in modern day are portrayed more like this. Then again, it's also possible that there would be no delinquents in 1980s mode, since the school was much more strict back then. In this case, the player would need to find a completely different way to get in touch with a member of the Yakuza. I'm sorry that I still need a little more time before I'll be able to make a proper video about Osana. I hope that I've been able to entertain you by discussing these details about the Yakuza. I feel very confident that in my next video I'll be able to show off a new elimination method for the first time in months. Thank you for following the development of Yandere Simulator.
-Ethics- On the topic of ethics, I think all three are good options. However, I think that either manipulating Yakuza guy or Yakuza guy being super warped would be best. Manipulating him could be used as a skill check. Maybe you'd need enough psychology/seduction to convince him to perform vigilante justice. This could also act as a way to inflate the cost of his services without increasing body counts. If Yakuza guy needs to be balanced, this would be a good way to go. But if he doesn't need to be balanced, and we just want an interesting story, I think having him be super twisted would be most interesting. Having a sudden reveal where you discover how messed up the cool stoic guy is would be very interesting.
-Hostages- The ransom idea is a good compromise. Maybe when you hand over a student, the Yakuza grades them by how much money they would bring in. If the student is super rich or hard to befriend, you are rewarded with maintaining the school population. If they aren't rich, then they meet a gruesome fate. It would be up to the player to pick and chose which students they think would survive. Or if the player doesn't care, that would be reflected in their selection.
-Historical Accuracy- Although your explanation makes perfect sense, I kinda don't like the idea of restricting the Yakaza to 1980s mode. This is entirely because I really like the idea of using them in the main game. Maybe the fact that the Yakuza are on the decline could play into Yakuza guy's stress? And 80s mode guy could be way less stressed.
I adored the backstory in this video. I will usually prefer game development videos, but ones about characters and their development are great! Especially since the thought that's gone into the yakuza is apparent. Before this, the yakuza just seemed like an interesting feature I'd use once, but now that it's getting more fleshed out it's definitely more interesting.
Everything that was proposed for the younger brother's side of the story was something that I personally really liked. It's honestly adorable how much he looks up to his older brother. The idea of reforming him to stray away from the path of a yakuza is really nice and helps give them both more character development in the game, which I love.
I'm pretty much okay with almost everything proposed for the yakuza brother himself. The third option, of him being almost like a yandere, was definitely my favourite of the three. Killing a boss as the endgame for the yakuza route was interesting... but you'd have to be careful not to steer the game too much away from its actual story.
The yakuza being in 1980s mode! I love it! So much! It feels much more appropriate for the time period and I've always mentally viewed Ryoba as more brutal for some reason so having her utilise the yakuza would be great. Having delinquents in both eras should be fine as long as they're properly differentiated from each other, but... that yellow hair... is just a placeholder so I'm never gonna mention it again! Maybe one delinquent with that colour would be fine, but with all of them it's quite... yeah.
Also, everything "bennitori" pointed out.
I think it's pretty dumb to restrict the Yakuza to 1980s mode just because it doesn't fit the times.
There are still yakuza. Sure, they're not so tough anymore, but they still exist. Just because of that, we have to cut a really interesting and fun gameplay feature?
Gameplay should go before story, even if the story is good. And you could definitely still work the Yakuza into a modern setting believably.
To the people saying the yellow hair looks bad, keep in mind that those hairstyles were probably only to convey a concept and not something yandev planned to implement without improving dramatically first
I truly believe moving the Yakuza to 1980's Mode is the smart move. After watching part of Yakuza 0 myself, feels more plausible because of historical accuracy (aka a time where Yakuza were more powerful and their sense of honor had actual weight, since nowadays they kept being mistaken as simple thughs) AND fills a role that mode was missing: A powerful ally that provides services, like Info-chan.
Also, a character with much more questionable ethics fits a more brutal character like Ryoba AND having to reach an actual criminal should feel as a hard thing to do, just like 1980's Mode is meant to be.
I think this is the first time I've heard Yandere Dev explicitly applying the love/sickness motif to other minor characters.
The Yakuza being mentally sick, or eroded by years of violence, and still having a huge familial love for his little brother is perfect for the game.
It makes me wonder what are the other love/sick situations of the other characters. Why is Info-chan lovesick, why is the Guidance Counselor lovesick, the Journalist, the Headmaster, Nemesis, the Rivals. Maybe Senpai is the only pure love character in the game, other than 1980s Yandere's father.
This video made me legit feel bad for the Yakuza. Poor dude just wants to help his brother ;_;
I used to hate the idea of the yakuza, but i love the idea of him being a vigilante that you have to manipulate. It slots REALLY well into the social manipulation aspect that the game already has. Also, it just feels much better for a player to be all sneaky and manipulative instead of just kidnapping people and selling them as sex slaves.
I still don't know if the feature should be in the game but this video has made me a bit more open minded on the subject.
Don't worry, Yandev, a good portion of your fanbase are huge nerds about your game. We love learning things like character backstory!
On the topic of the ransoms, I'm not sure I like it. Part of the appeal of YanSim is that you have the option of being a fucked up and twisted sociopath. That's inherently interesting. Dealing with the Yakuza of all people should be one of the most twisted paths. It's part of that fantasy of becoming a really horrible person within a video game. What's the point of it if the people I'm doing this to aren't getting the organs harvested, and just get to go back to their parents after a large sum is paid? The Yakuza route should be as dark as possible.
I don't personally like the idea of the yakuza being a strictly 1980's mode feature. It's a story that I'd be excited to explore as Yandere-chan, in the same way that being a match-maker or a serial killer are interesting stories to explore. It should be in the main game.
I remember you mentioning a long time ago that you were considering a path in which the player becomes the leader of the delinquents. That's something I've always really wanted to do in this game. Become the delinquent leader, have this group of lackeys that you ca ask for sketchy favors, take down the old delinquent boss when she comes back in some sort of combat minigame, it all sounds so awesome. What I'm wondering is how the Yakuza brother might tie into that path. Do you have any plans for that? And is that sort of path still planned for the game?