Recently, the action game "Master" launched by French indie game studio Sloclap has caught fire.
As a boy, I grew up loving everything related to "fighting" (it doesn't mean girls can't fight). Growing up bathed in the glory of Hong Kong movies in the 80s and 90s, I really imitated the actions of kung fu movies such as "Drunken Fist" and "Wong Fei Hung" in my childhood.
You've all swung this pose, haven't you?
At that time, I didn't know what nanpai hong fist was and what tiger crane double shape was, but the moves and styles on the screen made me instinctively rush to the beach and go out to find other children to practice.
Perhaps since then, the "Chinese Kung Fu Pride" rooted in my genes has awakened. Even though I began to be enthusiastic about various MMA (mixed martial arts) events after watching Zhen Zidan's "Fuse", the "Raid" series, the "John Wick" series and other works also made me sigh at the breakthroughs of action movies in various countries, but in my heart, Chinese kung fu is still a unique top presence.
Because Chinese kung fu not only has the dimension of "can not fight", it also contains a lot of oriental charm and thinking. It encompasses ancient wisdom, unique systems, and the real battlefield baptism behind "getting rid of guns and fists". The reason why many related cultural and entertainment works are classic is because they grasp the core charm of kung fu. I would like to believe that even if Chinese kung fu has spread all over the world, it is still us Orientals who can best show the essence of it.
But after actually experiencing "Master", I still can't help but have some feelings. After all, this serious answer sheet from the overseas team may not be so pleasant in experience, but it is enough to make me moved.
Let's start with the game itself.
"Master" is a kung fu game, not a "kung fu theme" game
On a rainy night, I broke into the boxing gym, and a group of people called me a "traitor" and "no face to come back", and I just did what I should do - knock them down one by one. My companions had cleared quite a few areas, and I drove straight in until I stood in front of my Master. The next thing is not so warm master-apprentice reunion. After The Master fell, our real protagonist was introduced: the only son left by the Master.
The screen is then stained blood red, unfolding what may be the best game opening/tutorial in recent years, with highly stylized scenes and music, the player is matched with the enemy in the blood mist, familiar with the basic operations of the game: tap, heavy hit, run, block, up/down section dodge, and then the journey of revenge begins.
The first two acts set the tone throughout the game: a simple and clean drawing style, atmospheric scenes in the movie, a secondary auxiliary plot, a basic operation that is not tedious, and difficulties that you may not be ready for.
As the protagonist of the game, our "master" uses a set of white eyebrow boxing techniques. The game's creative director, Jordan Layani, studied with Benjamin Culos, a descendant of the French branch of Foshan Baimei Boxing, who studied with Foshan Baimei boxers Chen Youwen, Liu Weiji and Liu Weixin, and was adopted by Liu Weixin as a successor. In a report on Xinhuanet, we can see that the plaque of the Culos Martial Arts Hall is being put into the game as an Easter egg.
As a short-hitting inner family fist in the south, there are boxing poems that describe the white eyebrow fist as "the inner family fist white eyebrow, practicing inch muscles, eyes shining brightly, light swallow flying". It can be said that the entire game fighting style of "Master" is full of strong and fierce, strong coherence, and wide route.
Sloclap's resume (having developed the critically acclaimed action game Absolver) makes me wonder about their love of fighting, but from the beginning of The Master's release, what I was most curious about was how they intended to interpret the ever-changing kung fu with a relatively "hardboard" game mechanics.
In the most basic structure, "Master" adopts the design of "posture", similar to "Only Wolf", each person has a posture bar in addition to the amount of health, pure defense will accumulate posture value, and when it collapses, the character will be in an undefendable state for a short time and take more damage. Xi Wu has always had the saying of "starting to stand for three years" and "learning to play first zama", although this design is not the first time we have seen it in the game, but it can be said to be a perfect fit in "Master".
I want to hit ten in one! This is indeed one of the most exciting scenes in traditional martial arts films, and the minions can't show my grandmaster temperament without starting together. In "Master", such scenes abound, in order to make you become Jackie Chan or Jet Li in the movie, the game abandons the traditional locking setting, and there is no visual cue when the enemy attacks, the purpose is to make the whole fight process more immersive.
In Master, you'll get the kung fu experience of breaking the enemy's posture and executing with all your might, while counterattacking or dodging in time based on the actions of other opponents, or you can make the most of the surrounding environment by taking a stick or throwing a bottle to achieve a dozen scenes of classic kung fu movies.
Twenty years of kung fu in this punch, can you stop it! In addition to pure fighting, "Master" cleverly interprets another important connotation of kung fu through a high-concept idea: "Kung fu is time." "After each fall, the player can use the power of the mysterious copper coin to resurrect, and the resurrection will age by the number of deaths. The older the master, the lower the health, but the higher the attack power.
After the age of 70, players face permanent death. Even if you return to the level after death, the age you accumulated before entering this level will not be reset, which means that in order to complete the Master, you must have enough strength not to be hit by the years first, which requires the player to become a generation of grandmasters in the resurrection of the dead and the repetition of the past, there is no other shortcut.
In general, from the perspective of action-adventure games, if the Batman Arkham series of games is through the combination of QTE-style button counterattacks and various prop moves to reflect the "fist-to-flesh fighting sense", then "Master" is the opposite of this logic of "presenting the pleasure of fighting through game mechanics", following the idea of reproducing the changeable kung fu boxing path, to design its own unique set of game mechanisms.
In terms of experience, "Master" is fresh, in this subject that no one has ever seriously touched, it uses a new set of mechanisms to combine kung fu and grandmaster culture, not simply applying the subject matter. But inevitably, it also has some problems, perhaps too much pursuit of players to really become a "master" by exercising their muscle memory, which is in a very harsh space for clear operational guidance, repeated rewards for passing, and feedback for players to feel their progress.
Success or success, the way of the master, people are different. As a forerunner, "Master" is indeed qualified to erect a plaque for himself.
Kung Fu games don't have to be done by China
Sloclap's presentation of Chinese kung fu is not superficial.
The production team's excavation of the concept of "kung fu" is not to ask a white eyebrow boxing master to do action guidance, but to use a unique combat design, stylized audio-visual and looping framework around time to show the fierce and dashing "shape" of Chinese kung fu, the "god" that accumulates over time and accumulates thick hair, and even the deeper oriental benevolent philosophy.
"It's okay, Tsushima is not made by the Japanese"
This kind of Western studio's presentation of Eastern themes is definitely a rare phenomenon in the past. Many of the past attempts of Western creators seem to us to be somewhat ironic.
Whether it is BioWare's famous work "Emerald Empire" in the early years, or games such as "Shaolin Nine Martial Monkeys" and "Legend of Shuyan" in recent years, it is basically a "Zuo Zong Tang Chicken" flavor. I believe that a Chinese will have a hard time identifying with the oriental content presented in these games.
After all, the water in our east is too deep for foreign friends to hold on, and "Shaolin VS Wudang", a game that pays tribute to Hong Kong kung fu movies, is already a more resonant attempt. Of course, the "nonsense" temperament of the inner strands is still difficult to cover up.
"Shaolin VS Wudang", in fact, is quite funny
For the behavior of Western creators to depict Oriental themes, Chinese people often have a slightly twisted mentality.
On the one hand, the content produced by Western creators does satisfy part of our national pride. Because their presentation of oriental content is inevitably in the form, there will be deviations in understanding, and it is easy to eventually go to the funny and magical way. These Western works have long confirmed the "invisibility" of Eastern culture, making us both proud of the mystery of Chinese culture and delighted in the popularity of cultural symbols such as Kung Fu overseas.
Just like Quentin in "Kill Bill 2" let the heroine go up the mountain to practice boxing with the old Taoist Liu Jiahui, I did watch it interestingly, but I just thought it was "very funny". We love to see foreigners' brain-hole presentation of Chinese culture, but we will never think that they "understand it".
Quentin already knows better?
On the other hand, overseas favor for Chinese themes and Chinese elements is sometimes angry or dismissive because of some "stereotype" problems. The audience generally feels that these oriental theme works from the Western perspective have an arrogance derived from the "oriental cultural curiosity psychology". Just like movies such as "Kung Fu Dream" and "The King of Kung Fu", it seems that they want to show the charm of Chinese kung fu, but they often end up being madly complained about by Chinese audiences. The reason for this is self-evident.
From this point of view, the emergence of "Master" is indeed a valuable new chapter. At the very least, in terms of tone, in the atmosphere, and in the aesthetic presentation of the white eyebrow fist, it has made a serious attempt in place with the help of the carrier of the game, so that Chinese players can also be addicted and enjoy the charm of this southern fist.
In contrast, the embodiment of kung fu elements in domestic games is not too much.
In addition to a few works such as "Wind Rolling Clouds", "Meteor Butterfly Sword", "Sword Sealing Magic Record" (including online version) and other good performances, the fight design in many martial arts and costume-themed works is often the gorgeous path of Japanese RPG and ACT.
2012's "Wind and Clouds", a domestic masterpiece
We can often see the "hundred spirits of the sword, shadow body, drawing sword slash" under the blessing of various gorgeous special effects, but there are few hard bridge hard horse moves such as "wearing, locking, sealing, hooking, pumping, crushing, and drilling". Even when it comes to Chinese genres such as Eight Pole Quan and Bagua Palm, my first reaction is "VR Warrior", "Iron Fist", "Shenmue" and other works from Japan.
From a certain point of view, the overseas hot pillow and product accumulation of kung fu games have come ahead of us, of course, this is not a good thing.
The black Wing Chun master in "Tekken 7", handsome and explosive
After the success of Souls of Tsushima in 2020, players continue to recognize the game's important role in cultural convergence. Japan can do Western-style fantasy such as "Dark Souls", Western teams can also make up the sword and sword film "Soul of Tsushima", and China has also begun to engage in "cultural arch fire" such as "Showa Monogatari of the United States". From the perspective of creation, this is really a wonderful trend, some of China's characteristic culture, why can't it be carried forward by friends in other countries?
Overseas teams may not have the deep sense of belonging we have, and the distinction between East Asian regional cultures is also blurred. However, he has a deep understanding and experience of how to use games to express oriental content and express those long-standing traditions in a cooler and more eye-catching form.
"Master" B station New Year's greeting video under the netizen summary
China has previously used film and television and other carriers to convey the charm of national art to the world. In terms of games, I am more happy to see creators from all over the world join in, so that oriental themes can really become active in the world, and oriental culture can achieve better understanding and excavation in overseas teams.
After all, "the whole world is speaking Chinese", isn't that the best cultural export?