On August 20 at 10:00 AM, the Chinese action game "Black MYTH - Steam Edition: Zhong Kui" (hereinafter referred to as "Black Zhong Kui") released a new gameplay demo. Art Director Yang Qi took this opportunity to detail the improvements made in "Black Zhong Kui" based on its predecessor and addressed some of the controversies surrounding "Black MYTH - Steam Edition: Wukong" (hereinafter referred to as "Black Wukong"). According to Yang Qi, "Black Zhong Kui" will see improvements in five key areas compared to "Black Wukong".
First, "Black Zhong Kui" will excel in rendering overcast weather to create a more immersive narrative atmosphere. Due to certain rendering challenges with global illumination, it is difficult to accurately convey the physical presence of objects under overcast skies, often resulting in flat visuals and distorted color distribution. Therefore, "Black Wukong" used sunlight to mask these issues. Even when depicting oppressive environments, the main light source was adjusted to sunset or cool tones, primarily to boost contrast and distract the viewer. While effective, this approach ultimately reduced the visual credibility and led to some unresolved auto-exposure artifacts.
Second, "Black Zhong Kui" will deliver "believable" combat interactions and feedback. Like "Black Wukong," Yang Qi emphasized that believability is crucial, especially in games featuring gods and demons. Currently, Game Science's approach is quite straightforward: heavily stacking basic motion data, ensuring seamless coverage of transition frames, and keeping camera movements restrained to avoid a staged feel. These aspects test both design skills and patience. Yang Qi also shared an amusing anecdote: the animation team at Game Science has been secretly adding extra sessions at the motion capture studio every day. Much of the captured data remained unprocessed by the time the current gameplay demo was finalized, with Director Yang jokingly remarking that they have no sense of cost efficiency.
Third, the game will adhere to a grounded design style, avoiding creativity that merely caters to visual appeal. Yang Qi stated that Game Science had strayed from this path for a long time in previous designs. Although "Black Wukong" was moving back in the right direction, it wasn't enough.
Fourth, narrative presentations will minimize their stage-like feel. Yang Qi mentioned that in "Black Wukong," characters often delivered lines in a stiff manner, with almost no spatial blocking. Scenes frequently involved characters standing on a "stage," taking turns speaking while pretending to listen, walking back and forth, or engaging in simplistic actions like jumping or attacking. These issues will be improved in "Black Zhong Kui," aiming for richer and more varied performance styles.
Fifth, and lastly. The most criticized issue in "Black Wukong" was the inexplicable invisible walls. Yang Qi couldn't explain this in just a few words, but the proposed cure is to eliminate invisible walls as much as possible. This presents new challenges for collision settings of scene objects, map accessibility, and character alignment animations. Due to potential gameplay spoilers, Yang Qi could only state that Game Science is working hard to overcome these hurdles.
Finally, Yang Qi noted that the project is still in its early stages. The PV only features one test map and a few unfinished story snippets, offering little in terms of convincing content. He expressed gratitude to the广大 netizens for their support of Game Science and "Black MYTH - Steam Edition: Wukong".