Legends get new lease on life

Chinese culture has no shortage of riveting mythologies and legends - many of which have been given a modern polish in the gaming sector.

With 200 million registered users, China's homegrown hit Honor of Kings, a trendy mobile game whose international version was one of six titles used in e-sports' historic debut at the 2018 Asian Games, continues to incorporate more Chinese cultural elements.

As the latest example, the game has launched a new character called Chang'e, based on China's mythological moon goddess.

Chang'e debuted through augmented reality technology during the opening ceremony performance before the final of Sunday's Honor of Kings Champion Cup winter season at Oriental Sports Center in Shanghai, attracting about 15,000 spectators and tens of millions of viewers online.

"Honor of Kings has invested heavily in the cultural innovation sector in 2018," said Mars Hou, general manager of Tencent's interactive entertainment marketing department.

"We followed the background and the nature of China's traditional culture to give the characters a modern form, including the use of cutting-edge artificial intelligence, augmented reality and virtual reality technologies to attract young players."

In October Honor of Kings launched a new visual effects package for a character called Yang Yuhuan, based on the historical figure known as one of the Four Beauties of ancient China.

The new effects were inspired by the ancient history of Dunhuang, a major stop on the Silk Road in Gansu province. They were also the result of cooperation with Dunhuang Research Academy, which is responsible for the conservation and management of the Mogao Grottoes, the Yulin Grottoes and the Western Thousand-Buddha Grottoes at the ancient site.

"The culture of Dunhuang contains many great values, including peace, inclusiveness, teamwork and fairness which should still be promoted in modern society," said Zhang Xiantang, the academy's deputy director.

"We have to use the modern concept and new technologies to absorb and present the core and meaningful elements of Dunhuang culture. The young generation is attracted to e-sports, so we can promote the culture and catch the new generation's attention."

Apart from visual effects, music is also vital to attracting players. The game marked its third anniversary by staging a concert at Wuliangye Chengdu Performing Arts Center in Chengdu, Sichuan province, on Oct 28, with Chinese folk music favorite Han Hong performing the theme song for the character Yang Yuhuan.

A theme song entitled Forever Chang'an accompanied the launch of a new version of the game that is based on the history of Chang'an, an ancient capital of over 10 dynasties.

The music was composed by Canadian Academy Award winner Howard Shore, whose Hollywood credits include The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies.

King of Glory's main theme was created by Oscar-winning German composer Hans Zimmer, who scored The Lion King and the Pirates of the Caribbean series.