The annual China Science Fiction Conference has become the most anticipated event for domestic "science fiction fans". The 4th China Science Fiction Convention was held in Beijing from November 2 to 3, and it is believed that the award-winning works will soon trigger a wave of enthusiasm again.
The influence of the Chinese Science Fiction Convention, which has only four sessions of history, is obviously far less influential in the world than the World Science Fiction Convention (worldcon), which has a history of 80 years, but backed by a huge Chinese reading population base, as well as the creative population promoted by online literature and self-media platforms, with the support and promotion of government departments, manufacturers and all sectors of society, the Chinese Science Fiction Convention wants to compete with the World Science Fiction Convention, as well as the European Science Fiction Convention and the Japanese Science Fiction Convention.
In 2015 and 2016, science fiction novels from China, "The Three-Body Problem" and "Beijing Folding", both won the Hugo Award from the World Science Fiction Congress. In 2019, after the release of the movie "The Wandering Earth", it earned more than 4 billion yuan at the box office, ranking among the top 20 in the global science fiction film box office. Of course, these achievements have greatly encouraged and encouraged Chinese science fiction fans, but it cannot be denied that the science fiction culture composed of science fiction literature, science fiction movies, drama, painting, etc. is rooted in the European and American cultural system in history, and has formed a relatively fixed framework for more than a hundred years.
Therefore, the question arises, when Chinese science fiction crosses different cultural backgrounds to the world, can it break through the traditional framework and inject new elements into the science fiction culture that belongs to all mankind?
Perhaps it is precisely because of this problem that the 2019 China Science Fiction Convention is slightly different from previous editions, in terms of works and issues, "science fiction + game" has become one of the important issues that the academic, industry, and science fiction enthusiasts of this conference are concerned about.
Science fiction games are becoming more and more socially valuable
About 30 years ago, Japan's Nintendo entered the European and American families with video game products, not only hardware, but also a variety of game software that is exotic for European and American people, and since then, video games have become a business card of Japanese culture to the world.
Are there any unique elements of Japanese culture that are more suitable for video games? Not.
When the opportunity comes, break through the old framework, transcend the tradition, and occupy a competitive advantage, similar leapfrog development occurs not only in the business field, but also in the cultural field from time to time.
More than a hundred years ago, when science fiction culture began to become popular, the center was in Europe, and when science fiction movies emerged, the center shifted to the United States. Then, if science fiction games take the upper seat and occupy a place in the mainstream science fiction culture market, there will be a new science fiction culture center.
In recent years, Tencent Games, as a leading game manufacturer in China, has set up the Tencent Games Dream Pursuit Program to help the national science as one of the priorities, and now, there are several high-quality science and science fiction games such as "Namu", "How Electricity Is Formed", "Kambala Space Project" and so on, or self-developed or agent-operated. These achievements, from the perspective of the future, are expected to become an important thrust to promote the popularity of Chinese science fiction culture and the promotion of the status of Chinese science fiction culture together with science fiction literature and science fiction movies.
Therefore, this year's China Science Fiction Convention also deliberately focused on the concept of "science fiction + game" and added a special forum of "science fiction in the game world" to bring new weather and vitality to Chinese science fiction.
Since its inception, the China Science Fiction Convention has been adhering to the principle of using whimsy to depict the future of science and technology, disseminate scientific knowledge, and promote the spirit of science. The slogan of this conference, "Scientific Dreams, Create the Future", is just like encouraging game manufacturers to join the camp of science fiction culture and create more fantastic ideas for the future.
As Fu Xin, general manager of Tencent Game Government Cooperation, said in his speech, the proposal of Tencent Game Dream Pursuit Plan is to be an explorer in the field of science fiction and explore with all sectors of society how to realize the unity of the artistic value, economic value and social value of science fiction games.
Digitally connect popular science and science fiction
Some people may think that games are fundamentally incompatible with science fiction, the former is the pursuit of sensory stimulation, and the latter is to guide people to think about significant scientific problems. In fact, this kind of thinking is called being bound by stereotypes.
Fu Xin also made a special statement in her speech: games and science fiction originate from the same spiritual dynamics, that is, imagination and creation.
Classic video games, can be recognized by users for a long time, sensory stimulation is only one of the indicators, whether you can project the user's imagination and sense of creativity for technology, the future, life, wealth, dreams, the unknown world, is actually more critical.
In particular, the game of exploring social value should restore real things and scenes, and connect all aspects of the world across time and space by digital means, which is not so much a game as a new way of knowing the world in the digital age.
Traditional science fiction products, whether literature or film and television, must be attached to a considerable amount of fun, story, in order to circulate and obtain commercial value, inevitably forced to give up in terms of authenticity and science. In contrast, the integration of science fiction and games, or digital science fiction products, can use more performance technologies, such as holograms, intelligent interaction, VR, simulation, etc., to show more accurate scientific principles while maintaining interest, involving more subjects. When the relevant technology is maturely applied, it is the day to break through the framework of traditional science fiction works and shape a new way of expression of science fiction culture.
On the other hand, the development of science fiction culture depends on the precipitation of national scientific heritage. Especially in China, the scientific literacy of creators needs the long-term accumulation of the whole society, and we obviously lack the corresponding historical conditions. This is also why it is more urgent to reconstruct science fiction culture by digital means in China and realize the leapfrog transformation of science fiction culture.
In the old system, science fiction was biased towards the literary category, while popular science focused more on the scientific category, and strictly speaking, the communication between the two was limited. Digital science fiction, whether called science fiction games or popular science teaching courseware, can connect the two into one, which will not only produce more social value, but also promote people's awe and gratitude for science, invisibly improving national scientific literacy.
Beijing News editor Wu Longzhen
Proofreading Liu Jun