Phantom Blade Zero producer says foreign themes can “be an advantage, rather than a barrier” for a global audience
Phantom Blade Zero’s producer believes authentic cultural themes are important for games and shouldn’t be diluted for a global audience.
Liang Qiwei (known as Soulframe), who’s also the CEO of developer S-Game, discussed the topic with Japanese site 4Gamer at this year’s Tokyo Game Show (thanks Automaton).
The forthcoming action game has a “kung-fu punk” aesthetic, described as “using kung-fu and martial arts as the core and clothing it in popular culture”.
Further, Qiwei suggested that having an obscure theme is part of the appeal for a global audience, comparing the game with Game Science’s Black Myth: Wukong that’s achieved enormous success.
“If we look at recent titles, Black Myth: Wukong had a much higher hurdle to overcome than our game does in terms of culture as it’s completely based on a classic Chinese work of literature,” said Qiwei.
“So [Game Science] may encounter this problem of players not understanding the cultural background. But in my opinion, the quality and playing experience of a game are its core. If you can achieve high quality and an entertaining playing experience, I think that a difficult theme can actually be an advantage, not a disadvantage. If your game is entertaining, players will perceive unfamiliar themes as something fresh.”
He continued: “The reason we Chinese players know about Western and Japanese culture is because we had very entertaining Western and Japanese games as an entry point. We gradually became accustomed to them. I doubt Chinese players knew much about Japanese samurai at first, and I don’t think they were especially interested in them. But because there were so many good games about them, they’re now basically recognized as a pop theme.
“So, to repeat, if the game itself is interesting, the sense of its themes being foreign can be an advantage, rather than a barrier. I think it’s a very strong plus that draws in more players.”
It’s certainly an interesting take, considering one criticism of Black Myth: Wukong was its disjointed storytelling that relied on knowledge of the novel it’s based on. Equally, this could have driven renewed interest in the novel, particularly outside of China.
Phantom Blade Zero has been likened to From Software’s Dark Souls games, though Qiwei insisted the game is not a soulslike despite some influence.
I got to play Phantom Blade Zero at Gamescom and adored its tense, parry-driven action.