Beijing time October 16, 2019, Sony Interactive Entertainment (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. held the world premiere of "Journey to the West: The Hero Is Back" officially held in Beijing, and the PS4 National Bank version of the game was officially launched. In addition to the game's production team, Oasis Games and October Culture, partners of "Journey to the West: The Hero Is Back", also came to the scene to show players the exciting content of this domestic IP game. Of course, as the invited media, the video game bus also attended the launch ceremony.
After the screening of a promotional film specially made for the game by the famous Peking Opera actor Qiu Jirong, October Culture President Liu Wei, Oasis Games President Wang Yuhui, and Sony Interactive Entertainment Asia Executive Vice President Oda Hiroyuki introduced this to us one after another. Games, and discussed the promotion of domestic IP. Director Ryo Takeuchi of the
"Reason I Live Here" series of documentaries also announced at this event that he has filmed a new chapter for the game version of "Journey to the West: The Great Sage Returns", which is worth looking forward to. In the subsequent activities, the game's voice actors Chen Guang, Xi Yue, and Xuan ZONE restored the scenes in the game on-site and shared their voice experience. The host game anchor Yinzi even tried it on the spot, and successfully challenged the Canglong Boss in just 5 minutes and won a round of applause.
It is not difficult to see from this event that the influence of domestic IP is gradually becoming stronger, and it is also expanding overseas. With the launch of the game "Journey to the West: The Great Sage Returns", it is sure that more people will be willing to learn about domestic IP and its adapted games. In the future, players will have more opportunities to play more domestic boutique games.
After the world premiere of "Journey to the West: The Great Sage Returns", our reporter interviewed Mr. Hiroyuki Oda, Executive Vice President of Sony Interactive Entertainment Asia, Mr. Kitagawa Ryudai, Game Director, Mr. Tatsuya Hattori, and Creative Producer Mr. Tatsuya Suzuki.
Q: During the film introduction of the festival, you mentioned that the humor and action of the game are closely related to Jackie Chan's movie, but the overall game is based on the movie "The Return of the Great Sage", and the movie also covers There are many elements of Peking opera. How do you integrate these elements? Let them appear in an unobtrusive form?
Beichuan Ryūdai: For your question, I would like to say a core concept. The Japanese team is not as familiar with "Journey to the West" like all Chinese players. We must continue to learn during the development process. This is an introduction Process, this is the major premise of integration.
The second point about integration, the collision with the October culture and finally letting the game go overseas and conform to the aesthetic concepts of global players are the topics we are constantly working on. At present, when the domestic IP is not well-known overseas, the game is a better way for overseas players to contact. Therefore, we have the opportunity for cooperation between the three parties. We have spent a lot of work in this aspect. This is another A kind of fusion.
In order to better understand this culture, we have incorporated the essence of Peking Opera, Jackie Chan’s martial arts, and Journey to the West into the game. We have done a lot of work, including collecting customs in China and continuing to communicate with October culture, etc. . We hope to bring Chinese IP to PS4 while retaining the essence. This is our focus.
Hattori Tatsuya: makes IP better in the world. The humor element of the game is very important, because the humor element is a good point of contact with global players. When integrating IP into the game, we will consider two points:
First, we have done a lot of work to enable players to quickly understand the background of "Journey to the West". You can find out after watching the animation at the beginning of the game. This opening chapter tells everyone the story. Foreword and afterword.
Second, how to incorporate humor elements into the game. We did this through Jackie Chan's kung fu and the retention of the humor and unique character of the hero in the movie.
first sell you a story. In the future, we will have additional stories. Players will have the opportunity to play with the armored saint and experience the essence of the movie.
Tatsuya Suzuki: Japan also has a "Journey to the West" series, so why do we say that the Japanese still don't know much about Journey to the West? Because whether it is novels, TV series or cartoons, basically the latter part of "Journey to the West" is the main part. The four masters and disciples went to Tianzhu to learn from the main description of Japanese film and television works. This time there is no sand monk, Jiang Liuer is not Tang Sanzang in the traditional sense.From the perspective of understanding, this will take some time for Japanese developers.
Q: You can see that there are a lot of RPG collection elements in "Journey to the West: The Return of the Great Sage", which are not in the movie. How did you manage to join the original movie with no characters in the movie without creating a sense of disobedience?
Hattori Tatsuya: is different from the movie itself as a game. The game has a unique system. This time we faithfully restored the characteristics of the movie when we made the system. The game has three characters, Wukong, Zhu Bajie, and Jiang Liuer. How to make these three perform their own duties is an important point in our design of the game. For example, the big sage is responsible for collecting, and others are responsible for prompting. This is the core part of our game. .
Beichuan Ryūda: There is one more thing about . The big difference between this development and the movie is that the game lasts about 10 hours, and the movie ends in 90 or 120 minutes. How to reflect the 90-minute transition of the movie Big problem.
If you have been playing games in the same way as movies, there is a sense of boredom. Adding fun, growth elements or collecting elements is a more important link. We have done a lot of work in this area, including how to balance the movie and game system. Very important.
has made a lot of efforts in these aspects. Sometimes we have more intense disputes with the October culture. From the perspective of the game, some elements will violate the original intention of the movie itself, etc. After a lot of collisions, it finally formed the present Such a situation.
Suzuki Tatsuya: always feel bored when doing the same actions alone, so how to make the player's mood constantly fluctuate in the game, this also pays attention to, growth factors, collection factors also play a big role in this regard , So that everyone will not get tired, this is our core.
Q: At the ceremony just now, you saw that there are three steps in your domestic development. Building a Chinese IP is the third step. "The Return of the Great Sage" is a milestone and has been officially released. Can we expect more in the future? Chinese IP built in the form of?
Hiroyuki Oda: We have a determination not only to sell games to Chinese consumers, but also to dig out excellent local IPs in China, and sell them to the world after gamification. Today I will introduce you to the "Journey to the West: The Great Sage" "Return" is the first step, after which we will try our best to bring IP gamification to everyone.
Q: "Journey to the West" is a traditional Chinese cultural theme. The Return of the Great Sage is not only a game, but also an overseas Chinese culture. What achievements does Sony Interactive Entertainment hope to achieve in Chinese cultural overseas?
Hiroyuki Oda: After the gamification of "The Return of the Great Sage", the third-party THQ in Europe and the United States will distribute it, and we will sell it in Asia and Japan. Including me, I don’t know much about "Journey to the West", so the sale is not the ultimate goal. We hope that we can slowly convey these works to consumers everywhere, and we will work harder in this regard in the future.
Q: During the production process, you found a lot of domestic players to test the game. Some players may be familiar with "Journey to the West", but are not familiar with the game. You have thought about which player "The Return of the Great Sage" is for Is it? Do you want players who don’t play games to learn about PlayStation consoles or other platforms through this game, or do you want players with higher levels of gaming?
Beichuan Dragon University: first, this game was developed because "The Return of the Great Sage" itself is an all-you-can-eat movie. When designing the game, we also hope to attract players who have never played the console to play this together. This game can expand the influence of the console among domestic players through this game. The original intention of our game design is to familiarize these players with the game through the influence of IP.
Second, on this basis, we have added elements to the game to attract core players. From this perspective, both novice players and core players can find the elements that suit them in the game, so they like this game. We are to maximize the game to all classes in China.
Q: As far as I know, you have invited many famous voice actors for the overseas version of "The Return of the Great Sage". How did you consider the choice of voice actors and how did you invite these voice actors?
Hattori Tatsuya: Japanese versionIf so, we invited a lot of well-known voice actors, Japanese voice actors.
Tatsuya Suzuki: Especially in Japan, the Japanese version of "The Return of the Great Sage" was localized by Studio Ghibli of Miyazaki Jun's son Miyazaki Goro. We cannot guarantee that all the characters in the game are exactly the same as the voice actors of the Japanese version of the movie, but we have also invited many voice actors of the movie version. At least for Japanese players, this aspect can attract them. For example, Mizuki Nana participated in the dubbing work of this work.
Q: There are often disputes and exchanges between the producer and the October culture. In the ending part of "The Return of the Great Sage" in the movie, some people say that it is too hasty or unsatisfactory. In the game, the handling of the ending part is completely in accordance with the movie or is there Adjust and modify part of yourself? If there are adjustments, how do you coordinate and communicate with October Culture?
Hattori Tatsuya: , what you said is true, the ending is the most ferocious part of our quarrel. The biggest difference lies in the goal of the game. As a production team, we need to give everyone a sense of accomplishment after ten hours of playing. This is what the players pursue. And the tragic endings of some stories in the movie cannot form a sense of accomplishment. There is a conflict between this game and the movie itself. This is the most fierce part of our debate.
As for what we did in the end, please try it after purchasing the game.
Beichuan Dragon University: movies are not the same way as the game, one is to tell the story, and the other is to consider the operation and the sense of accomplishment the player obtains. Parallel worlds in the same universe, the universe is the same, but the two lines are parallel. In this case, we add a lot of elements that are not in the movie to fill in the blanks caused by the parallel world. This is a big challenge for us. , Of course, we are basically done now. At the end, I hope you will go back and have a good experience, but it is not the same.
Tatsuya Suzuki: I would like to add that in today’s promo, there are the same characters of Jin Dasheng, but they are the characters of the Dark Lord. These are not in the movie. We are adding new characters for these games. At that time, there were more controversies and collisions. Please enjoy them.
Q: Just now you mentioned that the game "The Return of the Great Sage" is about ten hours long. How much content can be added to the original game based on the two DLCs, "Havoc in Heaven" and "Soul Purgatory" announced on ChinaJoy this year? Can you reveal it?
Beichuan Longda: You will know how much content can be added to . However, we can say one thing, the "Havoc in Heaven" and "Soul Purgatory" just mentioned are things that happened five hundred years ago from the perspective of the world.
The story of the four main lecturers and apprentices of "Journey to the West" in Japan. It doesn’t describe much about Huaguoshan and the Tiangong Temple. After consulting the opinions of the players and the Shanghai company, we found that everyone wanted to do it five hundred years ago. Monkey King.
In order to meet this demand, we have presented to everyone "Making Havoc in Heaven" and "Soul Purgatory" practiced in the practice of Wuxing Mountain under the circumstance of humor and cool action. Of course, DLC is a bit less than this one.
In addition, "Soul Purgatory" is a bit different from "Harassment in Heaven". "Soul Purgatory" is reflected in at least the first three minutes of the movie, while "Soul Purgatory" is completely original and has nothing to do with the movie. Emphasis on clearance, action, and competition. There are also a lot of problems in the communication with October Culture, because this thing is not a movie after all.
Q: "The Return of the Great Sage" is a rare game jointly developed by China and Japan. Will you continue to use this format for games in the future? Are there any lessons that can be summed up from this, or any inspiration for future cooperation?
Tatsuya Suzuki: As you mentioned, the cultures of China and Japan are not the same, and there are many collisions, but the two sides also have similarities. If the basic principles remain unchanged, quarrels are more conducive to the project.
We all want to do good things. We are all true people. The premise of doing a good game remains the same. Instead, this dispute will become a driving force. This is a benign dispute or collision. These experiences can definitely be used in similar cooperation in the future. If there is an opportunity, we still hope to cooperate with Chinese partners.
Hattori Tatsuya: If has the opportunity to continue such cooperation, I also look forward to it. "The Return of the King" this IP may develop a sequel in the future.
We have buried a lot of foreshadowing in the generation, such as the scene of Jiang Liuer and Zhu Bajie high-fiving. Zhu Bajie said that two people may not be enough to shoot, but five people may be more powerful. Everyone knows that Tang Seng has a few masters and apprentices, plus one who is not a human being, which means five people.
In addition, there will be Nezha in the future DLC. He may also appear as the main character in the second generation or the following works. We look forward to the opportunity to continue to cooperate with you in the future.
Beichuan Dragon University: Let me add that we are the main link to the October culture. I am under the pressure of the October culture and game development, like being caught in a splint. However, I always believe that in artistic creation, especially when the cultures of two different countries collide, there is definitely a concept of not knowing each other.
In this case, as long as you can truly face each other and you can convince the other party, you will have room for modification. Treating each other with sincerity, dressing people, and not getting acquainted with each other can continuously strengthen the trust of both parties. Through this cooperation, I can deeply feel these principles.
Q: In the actual experience of the game, the bench is a weapon that occupies a large proportion, and some skills are also linked to the bench. Is an arrangement like this also a product of cultural collision?
Hattori Tatsuya: has many interesting examples in cultural collisions. For example, most Japanese people don’t know that Monkey King has a master. October Culture tells us that Monkey King’s master is the ancestor of Bodhi. We really want to know. How many spells did he learn from his master, and did he learn the later spells from the master?
has to be more realistic in the game. In this regard, we have a lot of collisions with October culture, and many spells we provided have been rejected. Constantly running in, absorbing humor elements, and bursting out new concepts through collisions is a typical way.
Q: The movie "The Return of the Great Sage" was released four years ago. Its influence and audience memory must be lower than when it was first released. What methods do you have to stimulate fans' word-of-mouth benefits or increase their purchase rate?
Beichuan Ryudai: You asked this question very well. As you said, this movie has been released in 2015, and now it is also facing some problems of declining popularity. We think this way:
first, the game is not complete It is a movie, which is a brand-new interpretation method based on movie IP. The game may attract players who have not watched a movie in a brand-new way;
second, another movie "Nezha Zhi" by Cultural Investment in October this summer "Magic Boy" is also very popular. The popularity of the animation boom in China has not diminished. Our game audience also includes people who like to watch animated movies. This is more compatible with our players;
Third, overseas players may even connect to movies. I haven't read it, and there is no problem of declining popularity. Let them know this IP through games. At this level, we hope PlayStation can make more contributions.
Tatsuya Suzuki: Some movie games of the same name in Hollywood are also on sale, but there are not too many movies and games on sale at the same time. From a market perspective, simultaneous sales will have a superimposing effect, but the overall bonus depends on the game itself.
From this point of view, we will also pay attention to the content when contacting new IP or making next-generation works in the future, while selecting the strongest combination of market popularity and game accuracy to make it better.
Q: Not long ago, the second piece of Journey to the West Animation "Havoc in Heaven" has been announced, and the game also has a plot of "Havoc in Heaven", and neither of them has confirmed the release/release time. These two works will be Don't you plan to use the superimposed effect of the two works to be sold together in the same time period?
Beichuan Longda: , let’s tell you, we were surprised when we saw the release of the movie "Journey to the West: Harassment in Heaven". We did not get any notice in advance. Although "The Great Sage Returns" DLC and this movie have the same name is purely coincidental, but under the premise of having the same worldview, we will not rule out the possibility of having a PS4 game after the movie is released. We may learn from some movie content by then. Or add our own unique content, we will not change in this respect.
In addition, we also really want to know the details of the movie "Havoc in Heaven".
Q: October Culture this yearAnother film produced, "Nezha: The Devil Child Comes to the World" has a box office of more than 4 billion, and the results are very good. At the same time, "Nezha" and "The Return of the Great Sage" have many similarities. Sony and October Culture currently have There is no idea of adapting "Nezha" to a game like "The Return of the Great Sage", or is there such a possibility?
Beichuan Longda: Our original intention to build a new IP with our Chinese partners will remain unchanged. In the future, it may be "Nezha" or some other things. In short, we will continue to work hard.
