Photo:Web

China's first AAA game, Black Myth: Wukong, secured top honors at the 2024 Golden Joystick Awards, winning "Ultimate Game of the Year" and "Best Visual Design," while earning additional nominations for "Best Game Direction," "Best Action Game," and "Best Art Direction."

As one of the world's oldest gaming industry awards, with a history spanning decades, the Golden Joystick Awards cover PC, console, and mobile games, holding significant prestige among gamers globally.

"The Golden Joystick once again highlights the impact of this game. Some might say this kasaya (a metaphor for honor) doesn't matter to Wukong, but I think, with the weather so cold, having an extra kasaya never hurts," Game Science's chief Feng Ji, the producer of Black Myth: Wukong, said in his acceptance speech.

Feng also hinted that new content might be added to the game by the end of the year.

"You may have already finished the game, and that's perfectly fine. I hope you'll keep following us - there might be some surprises later this year," he noted.

Photo:Web

After winning the Best Visual Design award, the team discussed the challenges they encountered in creating a world that feels both unfamiliar and vaguely familiar, to deeply immerse players in the game's characters, environments, actions, and performances. This approach would be not only a major creative motivation but also a core challenge for the team.

"The motion capture technology we used in Black Myth: Wukong is quite representative," Liu Yaodong, the manager of the motion capture technology companywhich was involved in the game's production, told Global Times. "Its main feature is the 1:1 replication of all the actors' martial arts moves onto the game characters. By scanning and recreating traditional scenes, we were able to bring elements of Journey to the West and traditional Chinese culture to life in the game."

For ordinary players, the cultural experience playing Black Myth: Wukong is one of the key factors why the game is so unique.

Zack, also known as Asmongold, a popular American Twitch streamer with over 3.1 million followers on YouTube, remarked that Black Myth: Wukong has significant appeal among non-Chinese players.

"For Chinese players, Journey to the West is a well-known mythological tale, and Sun Wukong is a legendary hero beloved by all. In contrast, Western players are relatively unfamiliar with this story, and that unfamiliarity sparks curiosity. It drives Western audiences to explore this myth steeped in Chinese culture and delve into the philosophical ideas it conveys," he said in his video.

What makes this game so special, for Chinese, lies in "its ability to revitalize this legendary tale with fresh and authentic storytelling." Liang Hui, a devoted fan of the game, told the Global Times.

"Even more exciting is watching how non-Chinese players are reacting to it. It's like they're immersing themselves in a world deeply familiar to us, but now they're experiencing it for the first time. It makes me realize just how rich and unique our mythology is. For once, we're sharing one of our own stories with the world, and it's being warmly embraced."